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Cushitic languages

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Cushitic
Geographic
distribution
Egypt, Sudan, Horn of Africa, East Africa
Linguistic classificationAfro-Asiatic
  • Cushitic
Proto-languageProto-Cushitic
Subdivisions
Language codes
ISO 639-2 / 5cus
Glottologcush1243
Distribution of the Cushitic languages in Africa

Map of the Cushitic languages

The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Somaliland), as well as the Nile Valley (Sudan and Egypt), and parts of the African Great Lakes region (Tanzania and Kenya). Speakers of Cushitic languages and the descendants of speakers of Cushitic languages are referred to as Cushitic peoples. The phylum was first designated as Cushitic in 1858.[1] Major Cushitic languages include Oromo, Somali, Beja, Agaw, Afar, Saho and Sidamo.[2]

Based on onomastic evidence, the Medjay and the Blemmyes of northern Nubia are believed to have spoken Cushitic languages related to the modern Beja language.[3] Less certain are hypotheses which propose that Cushitic languages were spoken by the people of the C-Group culture in northern Nubia,[4] or the people of the Kerma culture in southern Nubia.[5] Historical linguistic analysis indicates that the languages spoken in the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic culture of the Rift Valley and surrounding areas, may have been languages of the South Cushitic branch.[6]

Major and official languages

The Cushitic languages with the greatest number of total speakers are Oromo (25 million),[7] Somali (16.2 million),[8] Beja (3.2 million),[9] Sidamo (3 million),[10] and Afar (2 million).[11] Oromo is the working language of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia.[12] Somali is one of two official languages of Somalia, and as such is the only Cushitic language accorded official language status at the country level.[13] It also serves as a language of instruction in Djibouti,[14] [15]and as the working language of the Somali Region in Ethiopia.[12] Beja, Afar, Blin and Saho, the languages of the Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic that are spoken in Eritrea, are languages of instruction in the Eritrean elementary school curriculum.[16] The constitution of Eritrea also recognizes the equality of all natively spoken languages.[17] Additionally, Afar is a language of instruction in Djibouti,[14] as well as the working language of the Afar Region in Ethiopia.[12]

Origin

There is some evidence of a Proto-Cushitic language as far back as the Early Holocene.[18][19][20][21][22]

Typological characteristics

Phonology

Most Cushitic languages have a simple five-vowel system with phonemic length (/a a: e e: i i: o o: u u:/); a notable exception are the Agaw languages, which do not contrast vowel length, but have one or two additional central vowels.[2][23] The consonant inventory of many Cushitic languages includes glottalic consonants, e.g. in Oromo, which has the ejectives /pʼ tʃʼ kʼ/ and the implosive /ᶑ/.[24] Less common are pharyngeal consonants ʕ/, which appear e.g. in Somali or the Saho–Afar languages.[2][24]

Pitch accent is found most Cushitic languages, and plays a prominent role in morphology and syntax.[2][25]

Grammar

Nouns

Nouns are inflected for case and number. All nouns are further grouped into two gender categories, masculine gender and feminine gender. In many languages, gender is overtly marked directly on the noun (e.g. in Awngi, where all female nouns carry the suffix -a).[26]

The case system of many Cushitic languages is characterized by marked nominative alignment, which is typologically quite rare and predominantly found in languages of Africa.[27] In marked nominative languages, the noun appears in unmarked "absolutive" case when cited in isolation, or when used as predicative noun and as object of a transitive verb; on the other hand, it is explicitly marked for nominative case when it functions as subject in a transitive or intransitive sentence.[28][29]

Possession is usually expressed by genitive case marking of the possessor. South Cushitic—which has no case marking for subject and object—follows the opposite strategy: here, the possessed noun is marked for construct case, e.g. Iraqw afé-r mar'i "doors" (lit. "mouths of houses"), where afee "mouth" is marked for construct case.[30]

Most nouns are by default unmarked for number, but can be explicitly marked for singular ("singulative") and plural number. E.g. in Bilin, dəmmu "cat(s)" is number-neutral, from which singular dəmmura "a single cat" and plural dəmmura "several cats" can be formed. Plural formation is very diverse, and employs ablaut (i.e. changes of root vowels or consonants), suffixes and reduplication.[31][32]

Verbs

Verbs are inflected for person/number and tense/aspect. Many languages also have a special form of the verb in negative clauses.[33]

Most languages distinguish seven person/number categories: first, second, third person, singular and plural number, with a masculine/feminine gender distinction in third person singular. The most common conjugation type employs suffixes. Some languages also have a prefix conjugation: in Beja and the Saho–Afar languages, the prefix conjugation is still a productive part of the verb paradigm, whereas in most other languages, e.g. Somali, it is restricted to only a few verbs. It is generally assumed that historically, the suffix conjugation developed from the older prefix conjugation, by combining the verb stem with a suffixed auxiliary verb.[34] The following table gives an example for the suffix and prefix conjugations in affirmative present tense in Somali.[35]

suffix
conjugation
prefix
conjugation
"bring" "come"
1.sg. keen-aa i-maadd-aa
2.sg. keen-taa ti-maadd-aa
3.sg.masc. keen-aa yi-maadd-aa
3.sg.fem. keen-taa ti-maadd-aa
1.pl. keen-naa ni-maad-naa
2.pl. keen-taan ti-maadd-aan
3.pl. keen-aan yi-maadd-aan

Syntax

Basic word order is verb final, the most common order being subject–object–verb (SOV). The subject or object can also follow the verb to indicate focus.[36][37]

Classification

Overview

The Cushitic languages usually include the following branches:[38]

These classifications have not been without contention, and many other classifications have been proposed over the years.

Proposed classification of Cushitic and its sub-divisions
Greenberg (1963)[39] Hetzron (1980)[40] Fleming (post-1981) Orel & Stobova (1995)
  • Afro-Asiatic
    • Beja (not part of Cushitic)
    • Cushitic
      • Highland
        • Rift Valley (Highland East Cushitic)
        • Agaw
      • Lowland
        • Southern
          • Omo-Tana
          • Oromoid
          • Dullay
          • Yaaku
          • Iraqw
        • Saho-Afar
  • Afro-Asiatic
    • Omotic
    • Erythraean
      • Cushitic
      • Ongota
      • Non-Ethiopian
        • Beja
  • Afro-Asiatic
    • Cushitic
      • Omotic
      • Beja
      • Agaw
      • Sidamic
      • East Lowlands
      • Rift
Diakonoff (1996) Militarev (2000) Tosco (2000)[41] Ehret (2011)[42]
  • Afro-Asiatic
    • East–West Afrasian
      • Cushitic

(Does not include Omotic)

  • Afro-Asiatic
    • South Afrasian
      • Omotic
      • Cushitic
  • Afro-Asiatic
    • Cushitic
      • Beja
      • Agaw
      • East
        • Highland
        • Lowland
          • Southern
            • Nuclear
              • Omo-Tana
              • Oromoid
            • Transversal
              • Dullay
              • Yaaku
          • Saho-'Afar
        • Dahalo
        • Iraqw (+South Cushitic)
  • Afrasian
    • Omotic
    • Erythraic
      • Cushitic
        • North Cushitic
          • Beja
        • Agäw-East-South Cushitic
          • Agäw
          • East-South Cushitic
            • Eastern Cushitic
            • Southern Cushitic
      • North Erythraic
        • Chado-Berber
          • Chadic
          • Berber (Amazight)
        • Boreafrasian
          • Egyptian
          • Semitic

Beja

Beja constitutes the only member of the Northern Cushitic subgroup. As such, Beja contains a number of linguistic innovations that are unique to it, as is also the situation with the other subgroups of Cushitic (e.g. idiosyncratic features in Agaw or Central Cushitic).[43][44][45] Hetzron (1980) argues that Beja therefore may comprise an independent branch of the Afroasiatic family.[40] However, this suggestion has been rejected by most other scholars.[46] The characteristics of Beja that differ from those of other Cushitic languages are instead generally acknowledged as normal branch variation.[43]

Joseph Halévy (1873) identified linguistic similarities shared between Beja and other neighboring Cushitic languages (viz. Afar, Agaw, Oromo and Somali). Leo Reinisch subsequently grouped Beja with Saho-Afar, Somali and Oromo in a Lowland Cushitic sub-phylum, representing one half of a two-fold partition of Cushitic. Moreno (1940) proposed a bipartite classification of Beja similar to that of Reinisch, but lumped Beja with both Lowland Cushitic and Central Cushitic. Around the same period, Enrico Cerulli (c. 1950) asserted that Beja constituted an independent sub-group of Cushitic. During the 1960s, Archibald N. Tucker (1960) posited an orthodox branch of Cushitic that comprised Beja, East Cushitic and Agaw, and a fringe branch of Cushitic that included other languages in the phylum. Although also similar to Reinisch's paradigm, Tucker's orthodox-fringe dichotomy was predicated on a different typological approach. Andrzej Zaborski (1976) suggested, on the basis of genetic features, that Beja constituted the only member of the North Cushitic sub-phylum.[47] Due to its linguistic innovations, Robert Hetzron (1980) argued that Beja may constitute an independent branch of the Afroasiatic family.[40] Hetzron's suggestion was arrived at independently,[48] and was largely ignored or rejected by almost all linguists (Zaborski 1984[49] & 1997; Tosco 2000;[47] Morin 2001[50]). Appleyard (2004) later also demonstrated that the innovations in Beja, which Hetzron had identified, were centered on a typological argument involving a presumed change in syntax and also consisted of only five differing Cushitic morphological features. Marcello Lamberti (1991) elucidated Cerulli's traditional classification of Beja, juxtaposing the language as the North Cushitic branch alongside three other independent Cushitic sub-phyla, Lowland Cushitic, Central Cushitic and Sidama. Didier Morin (2001) assigned Beja to Lowland Cushitic on the grounds that the language shared lexical and phonological features with the Afar and Saho idioms, and also because the languages were historically spoken in adjacent speech areas. However, among linguists specializing in the Cushitic languages, Cerulli's traditional paradigm is accepted as the standard classification for Beja.[47]

Other divergent languages

There are also a few poorly-classified languages, including Yaaku, Dahalo, Aasax, Kw'adza, Boon, the Cushitic element of Mbugu (Ma'a) and Ongota. There is a wide range of opinions as to how the languages are interrelated.[51]

The positions of the Dullay languages and of Yaaku are uncertain. They have traditionally been assigned to an East Cushitic subbranch along with Highland (Sidamic) and Lowland East Cushitic. However, Hayward thinks that East Cushitic may not be a valid node and that its constituents should be considered separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of Cushitic.[51]

The Afroasiatic identity of Ongota has also been broadly questioned, as is its position within Afroasiatic among those who accept it, because of the "mixed" appearance of the language and a paucity of research and data. Harold C. Fleming (2006) proposes that Ongota is a separate branch of Afroasiatic.[52] Bonny Sands (2009) thinks the most convincing proposal is by Savà and Tosco (2003), namely that Ongota is an East Cushitic language with a Nilo-Saharan substratum. In other words, it would appear that the Ongota people once spoke a Nilo-Saharan language but then shifted to speaking a Cushitic language while retaining some characteristics of their earlier Nilo-Saharan language.[53][54]

Hetzron (1980)[55] and Ehret (1995) have suggested that the South Cushitic languages (Rift languages) are a part of Lowland East Cushitic, the only one of the six groups with much internal diversity.

Cushitic was formerly seen as also including the Omotic languages, then called West Cushitic. However, this view has been abandoned. Omotic is generally agreed to be an independent branch of Afroasiatic, primarily due to the work of Harold C. Fleming (1974) and Lionel Bender (1975); some linguists like Paul Newman (1980) challenge Omotic's classification within the Afroasiatic family itself.

Extinct languages

A number of extinct populations have been proposed to have spoken Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic branch. Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst (2000) proposed that the peoples of the Kerma Culture – which inhabited the Nile Valley in present-day Sudan immediately before the arrival of the first Nubian speakers – spoke Cushitic languages.[5] She argues that the Nilo-Saharan Nobiin language today contains a number of key pastoralism related loanwords that are of proto-Highland East Cushitic origin, including the terms for sheep/goatskin, hen/cock, livestock enclosure, butter and milk. However, more recent linguistic research indicates that the people of the Kerma culture (who were based in southern Nubia) instead spoke Nilo-Saharan languages of the Eastern Sudanic branch, and that the peoples of the C-Group culture to their north (in northern Nubia) and other groups in northern Nubia (such as the Medjay and Belmmyes) spoke Cushitic languages with the latter being related to the modern Beja language.[56][57][58][59] The linguistic affinity of the ancient A-Group culture of northern Nubia—the predecessor of the C-Group culture—is unknown, but Rilly (2019) suggests that it is unlikely to have spoken a language of the Northern East Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan, and may have spoken a Cushitic language, another Afro-Asiatic language, or a language belonging to another (non-Northern East Sudanic) branch of the Nilo-Saharan family.[60] Rilly also criticizes proposals (by Behrens and Bechaus-Gerst) of significant early Afro-Asiatic influence on Nobiin, and considers evidence of substratal influence on Nobiin from an earlier now extinct Eastern Sudanic language to be stronger.[61][62][63][4]

Linguistic evidence indicates that Cushitic languages were spoken in Lower Nubia, an ancient region which straddles present day Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan, before the arrival of North Eastern Sudanic languages from Upper Nubia

Julien Cooper (2017) states that in antiquity, Cushitic languages were spoken in Lower Nubia (the northernmost part of modern day Sudan).[64] He also states that Eastern Sudanic speaking populations from southern and west Nubia gradually replaced the earlier Cushitic speaking populations of this region.[65]

In Handbook of Ancient Nubia, Claude Rilly (2019) states that Cushitic languages once dominated Lower Nubia along with the Ancient Egyptian language.[66] He mentions historical records of the Blemmyes, a Cushitic speaking tribe which controlled Lower Nubia and some cities in Upper Egypt.[67][68] He mentions the linguistic relationship between the modern Beja language and the ancient Blemmyan language, and that the Blemmyes can be regarded as a particular tribe of the Medjay.[69]

Additionally, historiolinguistics indicate that the makers of the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic (Stone Bowl Culture) in the Great Lakes area likely spoke South Cushitic languages.[6]

Christopher Ehret (1998) proposed on the basis of loanwords that South Cushitic languages (called "Tale" and "Bisha" by Ehret) were spoken in an area closer to Lake Victoria than are found today.[70]

Also, historically, the Southern Nilotic languages have undergone extensive contact with a "missing" branch of East Cushitic that Heine (1979) refers to as Baz.[71][72]

Reconstruction

Christopher Ehret proposed a reconstruction of Proto-Cushitic in 1987, but did not base this on individual branch reconstructions.[73] Grover Hudson (1989) has done some preliminary work on Highland East Cushitic,[74] David Appleyard (2006) has proposed a reconstruction of Proto-Agaw,[75] and Roland Kießling and Maarten Mous (2003) have jointly proposed a reconstruction of West Rift Southern Cushitic.[76] No reconstruction been published for Lowland East Cushitic, though Paul D. Black wrote his (unpublished) dissertation on the topic in 1974.[77] No comparative work has yet brought these branch reconstructions together.

Comparative vocabulary

Basic vocabulary

Sample basic vocabulary of Cushitic languages from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:318) (with PSC denoting Proto-Southern Cushitic):[78]

Branch Northern Southern Eastern Central
Gloss Beja[79] Iraqw[80][81] Oromo[82] Somali[83] Awŋi[84] Kemantney[85]
'foot' ragad/lagad yaaee miila/luka lug lɨkw lɨkw
'tooth' kwire sihhinoo ilkee ilig ɨrkwí ɨrkw
'hair' hami/d.ifi se'eeengw dabbasaa timo ʧiʧifí ʃibka
'heart' gin'a muuná onnee wadne ɨʃew lɨbäka
'house' gau/'anda do' mana guri/min ŋɨn nɨŋ
'wood' Hindi slupi mukha qori/alwaax kani kana
'meat' ʃa/dof fu'naay foon so'/hilib ɨʃʃi sɨya
'water' yam ma'ay biʃan biyo/maayo aɣu axw
'door' ɖefa/yaf piindo balbala irrid/albaab lɨmʧi/sank bäla
'grass' siyam/ʃuʃ gitsoo ʧ'itaa caws sigwi ʃanka
'black' hadal/hadod boo gurraʧʧa madow ʧárkí ʃämäna
'red' adal/adar daa/aat diimaa cas/guduud dɨmmí säraɣ
'road' darab loohi karaa/godaana jid/waddo dad gorwa
'mountain' reba tlooma tuullu buur kán dɨba
'spear' fena/gwiʃ'a *laabala (PSC) waraana waran werém ʃämärgina
'stick' (n) 'amis/'adi *hhada ulee/dullaa ul gɨmb kɨnbɨ
'fire' n'e 'asla ibidda dab leg wɨzɨŋ
'donkey' mek daqwaay haare dameer dɨɣwarí dɨɣora
'cat' bissa/kaffa nyauw adure bisad/dummad anguʧʧa damiya
'dog' yas/mani seeaay seere eey gɨséŋ gɨzɨŋ
'cow' ʃ'a/yiwe slee sa'a sac ɨllwa käma
'lion' hada diraangw lenʧ'a libaax wuʤi gämäna
'hyena' galaba/karai *bahaa (PSC) waraabo waraabe ɨɣwí wäya
'sister' kwa hat'ay obboleeytii walaal/abbaayo séná ʃän
'brother' san nana obboleessa walaal/abboowe sén zän
'mother' de aayi haaɗa hooyo ʧwá gäna
'father' baba baaba aabba aabbe tablí aba
'sit' s'a/ʈaʈam iwiit taa'uu fadhiiso ɨnʤikw- täkosɨm-
'sleep' diw/nari guu' rafuu hurud ɣur\y- gänʤ-
'eat' tam/'am aag ɲaaʧʧu cun ɣw- xw-
'drink' gw'a/ʃifi wah ɗugaaiti cab zɨq- ʤax-
'kill' dir gaas aʤʤeesuu dil kw- kw-
'speak' hadid/kwinh 'oo' dubbattu hadal dibs- gämär-
'thin' 'iyai/bilil *'iiraw (PSC) hap'ii caato ɨnʧu k'ät'än-
'fat' dah/l'a *du/*iya (PSC) furdaa shilis/buuran morí wäfär-
'small' dis/dabali *niinaw (PSC) t'innoo yar ʧɨlí ʃigwey
'big' win/ragaga *dir (PSC) guddaa/dagaaga weyn dɨngulí fɨraq

Numerals

Comparison of numerals in individual Cushitic languages:[86]

Classification Language 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
North Beja (Bedawi) ɡaːl ˈmale mheːj ˈfaɖiɡ eːj (lit: 'hand') aˈsaɡwir (5 + 1) asaːˈrama (5 + 2) asiˈmheːj (5 + 3) aʃˈʃaɖiɡ (5 + 4) ˈtamin
South Alagwa (Wasi) wák ndʒad tam tsʼiɡaħ kooʔan laħooʔ faanqʼw dakat ɡwelen mibi
South Burunge leyiŋ / leẽ t͡ʃʼada tami t͡ʃʼiɡaħa koːʔani laħaʔu faɴqʼu daɡati ɡweleli mili
South Dahalo vattúkwe (mascu) / vattékwe (fem) líima kʼaba saʕála dáwàtte < possible from 'hand' sita < Swahili saba < Swahili nane kenda / tis(i)a kumi
South Gorowa (Gorwaa) wak tsʼar tám tsʼiyáħ kooʔán laħóoʔ fâanqʼw dakáat ɡwaléel / ɡweléel mibaanɡw
South Iraqw wák tsár tám tsíyáħ kooán laħoóʔ faaɴw dakaát ɡwaleél mibaaɴw
Central Bilin (Bilen) laxw / la ləŋa səxwa sədʒa ʔankwa wəlta ləŋəta səxwəta səssa ʃɨka
Central, Eastern Xamtanga lə́w líŋa ʃáqwa síza ákwa wálta láŋta / lánta sə́wta sʼájtʃʼa sʼɨ́kʼa
Central, Southern Awngi ɨ́mpɨ́l / láɢú láŋa ʃúɢa sedza áŋkwa wɨ́lta láŋéta sóɢéta sésta tsɨ́kka
Central, Western Kimant (Qimant) laɣa / la liŋa siɣwa sədʒa ankwa wəlta ləŋəta səɣwəta səssa ʃɨka
East, Dullay Gawwada tóʔon lákke ízzaħ sálaħ xúpin tappi táʔan sétten kóllan ħúɗɗan
East, Dullay Tsamai (Ts'amakko) doːkːo laːkːi zeːħ salaħ χobin tabːen taħːan sezːen ɡolːan kuŋko
East, Highland Alaaba matú lamú sasú ʃɔːlú ʔɔntú lehú lamalá hizzeːtú hɔnsú tɔnnsú
East, Highland Burji mičča lama fadia foola umutta lia lamala hiditta wonfa tanna
East, Highland Gedeo mitte lame sase šoole onde ǰaane torbaane saddeeta sallane tomme
East, Highland Hadiyya mato lamo saso sooro onto loho lamara sadeento honso tommo
East, Highland Kambaata máto lámo sáso ʃóolo ónto lého lamála hezzéeto hónso tordúma
East, Highland Libido mato lamo saso sooro ʔonto leho lamara sadeento honso tommo
East, Highland Sidamo (Sidaama) mite lame sase ʃoole onte lee lamala sette honse tonne
East, Konso-Gidole Bussa (Harso-Bobase) tóʔo lakki, lam(m)e, lamay ezzaħ, siséħ salaħ xúpin cappi caħħan sásse /sésse kollan húddʼan
East, Konso-Gidole Dirasha (Gidole) ʃakka(ha) fem., ʃokko(ha) masculine lakki halpatta afur hen lehi tappa lakkuʃeti tsinqoota hunda
East, Konso-Gidole Konso takka lakki sessa afur ken lehi tappa sette saɡal kuɗan
East, Oromo Orma tokkō lamā sadi afurī ʃanī ja tolbā saddeetī saɡalī kuɗenī
East, Oromo West Central Oromo tokko lama sadii afur ʃani jaha tolba saddet saɡal kuɗan
East, Rendille-Boni Boni kóów, hál-ó (mascu) / hás-só (fem) lába síddéh áfar ʃan líh toddóu siyyéèd saaɡal tammán
East, Rendille-Boni Rendille kôːw / ko:kalɖay (isolated form) lámːa sɛ́jːaħ áfːar t͡ʃán líħ tɛːbá sijːɛ̂ːt saːɡáːl tomón
East, Saho-Afar Afar enèki / inìki nammàya sidòħu / sidòħoòyu ferèyi / fereèyi konòyu / konoòyu leħèyi / leħeèyi malħiini baħaàra saɡaàla tàbana
East, Saho-Afar Saho inik lam:a adoħ afar ko:n liħ malħin baħar saɡal taman
East, Somali Garre (Karre) kow lamma siddeh afar ʃan liʔ toddobe siyeed saɡaal tommon
East, Somali Somali ków labá sáddeħ áfar ʃán liħ toddobá siddèed saɡaal toban
East, Somali Tunni (Af-Tunni) ków lámma síddiʔ áfar ʃán líʔ toddóbo siyéed saɡáal tómon
East, Western Omo-Tana Arbore tokkó (masc)/ takká (fem), ˈtaˈka laamá, ˈlaːma sezzé, ˈsɛːze ʔafúr, ʔaˈfur tʃénn, t͡ʃɛn dʒih, ˈd͡ʒi tuzba, ˈtuːzba suyé, suˈjɛ saaɡalɗ, ˈsaɡal tommoɲɗ, ˈtɔmːɔn
East, Western Omo-Tana Bayso (Baiso) koo (masculine) / too (feminine) lɑ́ɑmɑ sédi ɑ́fɑr ken le todobɑ́ siddéd sɑ́ɑɡɑɑl tómon
East, Western Omo-Tana Daasanach tɪ̀ɡɪ̀ɗɪ̀ (adj.)/ tàqàt͡ʃ ̚ (crd.)/ ʔɛ̀ɾ (ord.) nàːmə̀ sɛ̀d̪ɛ̀ ʔàfʊ̀ɾ t͡ʃɛ̀n lɪ̀h t̪ɪ̀ːjə̀ síɪ̀t̚ sàːl t̪òmòn
East, Western Omo-Tana El Molo t'óko / t'áka l'ááma séépe áfur kên, cên yíi tíípa, s'ápa fúe s'áákal t'ómon

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lipiński, Edward (2001). Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar Volume 80 of Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Peeters Publishers. p. 21. ISBN 9042908157. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Appleyard (2012), p. 202.
  3. ^ Rilly (2019), pp. 132–133.
  4. ^ a b Cooper (2017). sfnp error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFCooper2017 (help)
  5. ^ a b Bechhaus-Gerst 2000, p. 453.
  6. ^ a b Ambrose (1984), p. 234.
  7. ^ "Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia (2007)". Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia. p. 118. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Somali". Ethnologue. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Bedawiyet". Ethnologue. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Sidamo". Ethnologue. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Afar". Ethnologue. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
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References

Further reading