Page Type: languageAweer | Ethnologue

BOB ISO 639-3

Aweer

Af Aweera Autonym

A language of Kenya

ISO 639
bob
Alternate Names
Aweera, Bon, Ogoda, Waboni, Wata-Bala, “Boni” (pej.), “Sanye” (pej.)
Autonym
Af Aweera
Population
7,600 (2009 census), increasing. 1,600 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 20,100 (2019 census).
Location:
Garissa county: north and west of Mundane range; Lamu county: Indian Ocean area inland north of Lamu city; Tana River county: forests inland from Kipini city; 11 villages or more.
Language Status
6a (Vigorous).
Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Rendille-Boni
Dialects
None known. Lexical similarity: with Rendille [rel] of Marsabit County (most similar).
Language Use
Vigorous. Home, community. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Also use English [eng]. Also use Orma [orc]. Also use Somali [som]. Also use Swahili [swh].
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 1% (2007 BTL). Literacy rate in L2: 40% or less in Kiswahili [swh] or English [eng] (2007 BTL). Many suspicious of literacy as colonizing force.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Aweer
Writing
Latin script [Latn].
Other Comments
Different from Sanye [ssn] (Waat) of the Oromo Group or Dahalo [dal] (Sanye) of Southern Cushitic. Also referred to as “Sanye”, a pejorative term meaning hunter-gatherer group. Being settled in scattered villages and encouraged to switch to farming. Muslim.

Also Spoken in

Map

Location: Garissa county: north and west of Mundane range; Lamu county: Indian Ocean area inland north of Lamu city; Tana River county: forests inland from Kipini city; 11 villages or more.