Oromo, West Central | Ethnologue

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639: gaz
Alternate Names: Afan Oromo, Ittu, Ituu, Oromiffa, Oromoo, “Galla” (pej.)
Autonym: Afaan Oromoo
Population: 19,100,000 in Ethiopia (2018). 36,600,000 all Oromo speakers in Ethiopia (2018 World Factbook). Ethnic population: 30,000,000. Total users in all countries: 19,196,000.
Location:: Widespread.
Language Status: 2 (Provincial). De facto language of provincial identity in Oromia Region. West Central Oromo [gaz] is lingua franca of the area.
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Oromo
Dialects: Western Oromo, Central Oromo. Subdialects are Mecha (Maccha, Wellaga, Wallaga, Wollega), Raya, Wello (Wollo), and Tulema (Tulama, Shoa, Shewa). Harar and Borana are most divergent. A member of macrolanguage Oromo [orm].
Typology: SOV; postpositions; gender (masculine/feminine); case-marking (7 cases); verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject; passives (active, middle, passive); tense and aspect; 25 consonant and 10 vowel phonemes; pitch accent.
Language Use: Also use Amharic [amh]. Used as L2 by Anfillo [myo], Gumuz [guk], Gwama [kmq], Hozo [hoz], Komo [xom], Màwés Aasʼè [myf], Seze [sze].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 22%. Taught in primary schools as medium of instruction in grades 1–10. Literature. Newspapers. Radio. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1899–1998.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Oromo, West Central
Writing: Ethiopic script [Ethi], used until 1990s. Latin script [Latn], used since 1990s.
Other Comments: In Ethiopia, Oromo is viewed as one people who speak one language. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.