Gamo | Ethnologue

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639: gmv
Alternate Names: Gammo, Gemu, Gereze
Autonym: Gamotso
Population: 1,654,400, all users. L1 users: 1,630,000 (2018), increasing. L2 users: 24,400. 600,000 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 1,630,000 (2018).
Location:: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Gamo-Gofa zone.
Language Status: 4 (Educational).
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, North, Gonga-Gimojan, Gimojan, Ometo-Gimira, Ometo, Central
Dialects: Dache. Lexical similarity: 79%–91% with Gofa [gof], 82%–87% with Dorze [doz], 73%–80% with Dawro [dwr], 79%–89% with Wolaytta [wal], 49% with Koorete [kqy], 44% with Male [mdy].
Typology: SOV; postpositions; case suffixes; derived nouns formed by suffixation of verbs; passives.
Language Use: Everyday rural life. Neutral attitudes. Also use Amharic [amh]. Used as L2 by Baiso [bsw], Ethiopian Sign Language [eth], Mositacha [dox].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 18%. Church-based literacy program started 2007. Taught in primary schools in grades 1–4 as the medium of instruction, in grades 5–9 as a subject. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. NT: 2011.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Gamo
Writing: Ethiopic script [Ethi], used in Church literature. Latin script [Latn], official usage.

Location: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Gamo-Gofa zone.