Languages ​​of Eritrea

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The languages ​​of Eritrea are generally spoken by nine ethno- linguistic groups. Each of them has its own idiom : Afar , Arabic ( spoken only by the Rashaida ), Bedscha (spoken by the Hedareb ), Blin , Kunama , Nara , Saho , Tigre and Tigrinya . These nine languages ​​have the status of national languages ​​with equal rights.

Eritrea has no official languages, but Tigrinya and Arabic are the working languages. The Italian language , the official language of the former colony of Italian-Eritrea , is still widely understood and spoken specifically by residents of the capital, Asmara . However, the English language is about to overtake Italian. Tigrinya and Arabic were already the official languages in the federal province of Eritrea from 1952 to 1956 and are still the most common national languages, although Arabic has recently been spreading more and more, especially among Muslims. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) published an extensive Tigrinya-Arabic dictionary in 1985, followed by Tigrinya-English in 1986.

As part of the gradual curtailment of Eritrean autonomy under Ethiopian rule, the Amharic language became the official language in the province of Eritrea in 1956. Today it is mainly spoken by people of Eritrean origin who have been pressured to leave their homes in Ethiopia.

The educational policy, in which primary schools teach in the respective mother tongue, has been comparatively successful.

The Altäthiopische is the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church .

Language families and groups

Nilosaharan languages
Afro-Asian languages

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle: Les langues en Erythrée. in: Chroniques Yeménites. 8, 2000.
  2. ^ Library of Congress - Federal Research Division: Country Profile: Eritrea, September 2005 (PDF; 131 kB) Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  3. Fact. August 2008.
  4. Tekle M Woldemikael: Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea . In: African Studies Review, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Ed.): African Studies Review . 46, No. 1, April 2003, p. 117. JSTOR 1514983 1514983 . doi : 10.2307 / 1514983 . Retrieved January 27, 2007.