East Cushite languages

The East Cushitic languages belong to the Cushitic primary branch of the Afro-Asian language family . Most of these languages ​​are spoken in south-west Ethiopia ; East Cushitic languages ​​are also spoken in east Ethiopia, south-east Eritrea , Somalia , Djibouti and north-east Kenya .

The most important individual languages ​​are Oromo, spoken by around 30 million people, and Somali , the national language of Somalia, spoken by at least 12 million . Other East Cushitic languages, each with over a million speakers, are Sidama , Hadiyya , Kambaata and Afar .

classification

• Afro-Asian
  • Cushy
    • East Kushite
      • Highland East Kushite
        • Alaba-K'abeena / Qabena; K'abeena is also partly classified as a dialect of Kambaata
        • Burji
        • Kambaata (including Timbaro)
        • Gedeo
        • Hadiyya
        • Libido / mareko; emerged from the hadiyya
        • Sidama
      • Lowland East Kushite
        • Afar-Saho
          • Afar
          • Saho
        • Omo-Tana languages (Somaloid)
          • (North Omo-Tana / Bayso ; also classified under West Omo-Tana)
          • West Omo Tana
            • Arbore
            • Dassanetch
            • El Molo
          • East Omo Tana / Sam languages
            • West Sam / Rendille
            • East Sam
              • Bonuses
              • Somali (including Maay , Maxaa)
        • (Oromoid; omitted in some classifications, so that Oromo and Konso-Gidole form two separate branches of East Kushitic)
          • Konso gidols
            • Konso
            • Dirasha (Gidole)
          • Oromo
      • Dullay languages
        • Bussa
        • Gawwada
        • Tsamay
      • ( Yaaku ; allocation to East Kushite disputed)

Tosco and Savà (2003) also classify Ongota / Birale as part of East Kushitic, while other researchers consider this language to be a separate branch of the Afro-Asian language family. In 1980, Robert Hetzron proposed that the South Cushite languages spoken in Tanzania be classified as part of the East Cushite languages for morphological reasons.

Web links

• East Kushitic on Ethnologue (different classification)

swell

• Cushitic , in: Siegbert Uhlig (Ed.): Encyclopaedia Aethiopica , Volume 1, 2003, ISBN 978-3447047463

1. ↑ cf. Baiso at Ethnologue
2. ↑ cf. East Kushite at Ethnologue
3. ↑ Graziano Sava, Mauro Tosco: The classification of Ongota language , in: Lionel Bender et al. (Ed.): Selected comparative-historical Afrasian linguistic studies. LINCOM Europe, Munich 2003
4. ↑ Maarten Mous: A grammar of Iraqw , Kuschitische Sprachstudien 9, Buske Verlag 1993, ISBN 9783875480573 (p. 3f.)