Afroasiatic languages:
The Cushitic and Omotic Languages
The two principal Cushitic languages are Oromo, the tongue of 20 million people in Ethiopia and Kenya, and Somali, spoken by 9 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Among the many other Cushitic languages are Agaw, Bedawi, Burji, Daasanach, Komso, Saho-Afar and Sidamo. Oromo is written in the Ethiopic script (see discussion of writing below); Somali, in the Roman alphabet. The Omotic languages were formerly classified with the Cushitic and are spoken by perhaps 3 million people who live in SW Ethiopia in the Omo River region. Dizi, Gonga, Gimira, Janjero, Kaficho, and Walamo are among the Omotic languages.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- The Egyptian Languages
- The Semitic Languages
- The Berber Languages
- The Cushitic and Omotic Languages
- The Chadic Languages
- The Role of Semitic Languages in the Development of Writing Systems
- Bibliography
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