Ethiopia Languages: Difference between revisions

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| link1=[[Ethiopia Genealogy|Ethiopia]]
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| link5=[[Ethiopia Language and Languages|Languages]]
| link5=[[Ethiopia Languages|Languages]]
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*[http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Ethiopic.html Language Gulper] Languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea
==Description==
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm Omniglot] Amharic
 
[[Category:Africa]]
There are 90 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the following.  <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=there%20are%2090%20individual%20languages%20spoken%20in%20Ethiopia., accessed 8 Sep 2021.</ref>
 
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushitic_languages Cushitic Branch]
**[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oromo_language '''Oromo language'''] - spoken by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oromo_people Oromo People]. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.
**[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_language '''Somali language'''] - spoken by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis Somalis]. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_languages Semitic Branch]
**[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic '''Amharic Language'''] - spoken by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amhara_people Amhara People]. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.
**[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigrinya_language '''Tigrinya language'''] - spoken by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigrayans Tigrayans]. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.
 
Together, these four groups make up about three-quarters of Ethiopia's population.  <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=Together%2C%20these%20four%20groups%20make%20up%20about%20three-quarters%20of%20Ethiopia's%20population., accessed 8 Sep 2021.</ref>
 
Other Afroasiatic lanquauges with a significant number of speakers include...<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages, accessed 25 Oct 2021.</ref>
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidama_language '''Sidama language''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_language '''Afar language'''] - spoken by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_people Afar People]. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadiyya_language '''Hadiyya language''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaw_languages '''Agaw language''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurage_languages '''Gurage languages''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harari_language '''Harari languages''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silt%CA%BCe_language '''Siltʼe''']}}
{{Block indent|*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argobba_language '''Argobba''']}}
 
English is the most spoken foreign language and is used in schools and federal laws. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=English%20is%20the%20most%20widely%20spoken%20foreign%20language, accessed 25 Oct 2021.</ref>
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Languages of Ethiopia<br>
as of 2007 Census
!Language
!Percentage
of Population
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oromo_language Oromo]
|33.8%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic Amharic]
|29.3%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_language Somali]
|6.3%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigrinya_language Tigrinya]
|5.9%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidama_language Sidamo]
|4.0%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolaitta_language Wolaytta]
|2.2%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurage_languages Gurage]
|2.0%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_language Afar]
|1.7%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadiyya_language Hadiyya]
|1.7%
|-
|[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamo-Gofa-Dawro_language Gamo-Gofa-Dawro]
|1.5%
|-
|Others
|11.6%
|}
 
==Word List(s)==
* [http://mylanguages.org/oromo_phrases.php#:~:text=List%20of%20Phrases%20in%20Oromo Phrases in Oromo] - MyLanguages.org
* [https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/somali.php#:~:text=Useful%20phrases%20in%20Somali Useful Phrases in Somali] - Omniglot
* [http://ilanguages.org/amharic_phrases.php Amharic Phrases] - iLanguages
* [http://learn101.org/amharic_phrases.php Amharic Phrases] - Learn101
* [https://wikitravel.org/en/Amharic_phrasebook#:~:text=Phrase%20list Amharic Phrase list] - WikiTravel
* [https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/tigrinya.php#:~:text=Useful%20phrases%20in%20Tigrinya Useful Phrases in Tigrinya] - Omniglot
 
==Alphabet and Pronunciation==
'''Alphabet'''
* [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm#:~:text=The%20syllables%20with%20the%20vowel%20transliterated Amharic Alphabet] - Omniglot
* [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm#:~:text=Somali%2FOsmanya%20alphabet Somali/Osmanya Alphabet] - Omniglot
* [https://omniglot.com/writing/oromo.htm#:~:text=Ge'ez%20script%20for%20Oromo Ge'ez Script for Oromo] - Omniglot
* [https://omniglot.com/writing/oromo.htm#:~:text=Arabic%20script%20for%20Oromo Arabic Script for Oromo] - Omniglot
* [https://omniglot.com/writing/oromo.htm#:~:text=Latin%20alphabet%20for%20Oromo Latin Alphabet for Oromo] - Omniglot
* [https://omniglot.com/writing/tigrinya.htm#:~:text=The%20Tigrinya%20script The Tigrinya script] - Omniglot
 
'''Pronunciation'''
* [https://forvo.com/languages/om/#:~:text=Oromo%20pronunciation%20dictionary Oromo Pronunciation Dictionary] - Forvo
* [https://forvo.com/languages/so/#:~:text=Somali%20pronunciation%20dictionary Somali Pronunciation Dictionary] - Forvo
* [https://forvo.com/languages/am/#:~:text=Amharic%20pronunciation%20dictionary Amharic Pronunciation Dictionary] - Forvo
* [https://forvo.com/languages/ti/#:~:text=Tigrinya%20pronunciation%20dictionary Tigrinya Pronunciation Dictionary] - Forvo
 
==Language Aids and Dictionaries==
'''Dictionaries''''
* Muudee, Mahdi Hamid. ''Hamid Muudee's Oromo dictionary : English-Oromo.'' Atlanta, GA: Sagalee Oromoo Pub. Co., 1995. '''''Available at:''''' [https://www.worldcat.org/title/33362146 WorldCat].
* Hashi, Abdirahman A. ''Fiqi's Somali English dictionary.'' Jigjiga, Ethiopia: Fiqi Educational Materials, 1998. '''''Available at:''''' [https://www.worldcat.org/title/44749914 WorldCat].
* Leslau, Wolf. ''Concise Amharic dictionary : Amharic-English, English-Amharic.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. '''''Available at:''''' [https://www.worldcat.org/title/70877427 WorldCat].
* Asfeha, Amanuel. ''Mesob English Tigrinya dictionary.'' n.p.: n.p., 2015. '''''Available at:''''' [https://www.worldcat.org/title/950006182 WorldCat].
 
'''Online Dictionaries'''
* [https://glosbe.com/en/om Dictionary English - Oromo] - Glosbe
* [https://glosbe.com/so/en Somali Online Dictionary] - Glosbe
* [https://www.lexilogos.com/english/somali_dictionary.htm Somali Online Dictionary] - Lexilogos
* [https://www.amharicpro.com/ English - Amharic Online Dictionary] - AmharicPro
* [https://dictionary.abyssinica.com/ Amharic Online Dictionary] - Abyssinica
* [https://glosbe.com/en/ti Dictionary English - Tigrinya] - Glosbe
 
'''Language Aids'''
* [http://learn101.org/oromo_grammar.php#:~:text=Oromo%20Grammar Oromo Grammar] - Learn101
* [http://learn101.org/somali_grammar.php Somali Grammar] - Learn101
* [http://polymath.org/somali_grammar_list.php Somali Grammar] - Polymath
* [http://learn101.org/amharic_grammar.php Amharic Grammar] - Learn101
* [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm#:~:text=Punctuation Amharic Punctuation] - Omniglot
* [https://www.linguashop.com/tigrinya-grammar Tigrinya Grammar] - LinguaShop
 
==Additional Resources==
* [https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/oromo/ Oromo Language Overview] - MustGo travel
* [http://aboutworldlanguages.com/somali Somali Language Overview] - MustGo travel
* [https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/amharic/ Amharic Language Overview] - MustGo travel
* [https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/tigrinya/ Tigrinya Language Overview] - MustGo travel
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
 
[[Category:Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Language and Handwriting]]

Latest revision as of 12:42, 19 August 2025

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Description[edit | edit source]

There are 90 individual languages spoken in Ethiopia. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the following. [1]

Together, these four groups make up about three-quarters of Ethiopia's population. [2]

Other Afroasiatic lanquauges with a significant number of speakers include...[3]

*Afar language - spoken by the Afar People. One of the five official languages of Ethiopia.

English is the most spoken foreign language and is used in schools and federal laws. [4]

Languages of Ethiopia
as of 2007 Census
Language Percentage

of Population

Oromo 33.8%
Amharic 29.3%
Somali 6.3%
Tigrinya 5.9%
Sidamo 4.0%
Wolaytta 2.2%
Gurage 2.0%
Afar 1.7%
Hadiyya 1.7%
Gamo-Gofa-Dawro 1.5%
Others 11.6%

Word List(s)[edit | edit source]

Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

Alphabet

Pronunciation

Language Aids and Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries'

  • Muudee, Mahdi Hamid. Hamid Muudee's Oromo dictionary : English-Oromo. Atlanta, GA: Sagalee Oromoo Pub. Co., 1995. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Hashi, Abdirahman A. Fiqi's Somali English dictionary. Jigjiga, Ethiopia: Fiqi Educational Materials, 1998. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Leslau, Wolf. Concise Amharic dictionary : Amharic-English, English-Amharic. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Asfeha, Amanuel. Mesob English Tigrinya dictionary. n.p.: n.p., 2015. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries

Language Aids

Additional Resources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=there%20are%2090%20individual%20languages%20spoken%20in%20Ethiopia., accessed 8 Sep 2021.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=Together%2C%20these%20four%20groups%20make%20up%20about%20three-quarters%20of%20Ethiopia's%20population., accessed 8 Sep 2021.
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages, accessed 25 Oct 2021.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Ethiopia," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia#Languages#:~:text=English%20is%20the%20most%20widely%20spoken%20foreign%20language, accessed 25 Oct 2021.
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