Alaba-K’abeena

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639: alw
Alternate Names: Alaaba, Allaaba, Halaba, K’abeena, K’abena, Qebena, Wanbasana
Population: 307,700, all users. L1 users: 278,000 (2007 census). 227,000 Alaba, 51,300 K’abeena (2007 census). L2 users: 29,700. 111,000 monolinguals (1994 census). Ethnic population: 286,000 (2007 census). 233,000 Alaba, 52,700 K’abeena (2007 census).
Location:: Oromia region: Rift Valley southwest of Lake Shala; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region.
Language Status: 5* (Developing).
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Highland
Dialects: Alaaba (Alaba, Wanbasana), K’abeena (Qebena). Lexical similarity: 81% with Kambaata [ktb], 64% with Sidamo [sid], 56% with Libido [liq], 54% with Hadiyya [hdy].
Typology: SOV.
Language Use: Positive attitudes. All also use Amharic [amh] (Crass 2007).
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 9%. Taught in primary schools as a subject in grades 1–4. Grammar.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Alaba-K’abeena
Writing: Ethiopic script [Ethi].
Other Comments: Muslim.

Location: Oromia region: Rift Valley southwest of Lake Shala; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region.