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 Role of Semitic Languages in the Development of Writing Systems
• The Chadic Languages
• The Cushitic and Omotic Languages
• The Berber Languages
• South Semitic Division
• West Semitic Division
• The Semitic Languages
• The Egyptian Languages
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2025, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Language and Linguistics