Kafa | Ethnologue

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639: kbr
Alternate Names: Caafiti, Caffino, Kaffa, Kaffinya, Kaficho, Kefa, Keffa, Kefficho, Manjo
Autonym: Kafi noono
Population: 1,236,700, all users. L1 users: 1,190,000 (2018). L2 users: 46,700. 445,000 monolinguals (1994 census). Ethnic population: 1,300,000 (2018).
Location:: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Bonga town area; border areas in Oromia region.
Language Status: 4 (Educational).
Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, North, Gonga-Gimojan, Gonga, South
Dialects: Kafa, Bosha (Garo). Bosha may be a distinct language. Manjo is an argot based on Kafa [kbr] (Bender 1983b).
Typology: SOV.
Language Use: Also use Amharic [amh]. Used as L2 by Chara [cra], Nayi [noz].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 22%. Taught in primary schools in grades 1–4 as the medium of instruction, in grades 5–10 as a subject. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 2020.
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Kafa
Writing: Ethiopic script [Ethi], used in Church literature. Latin script [Latn], official usage.
Other Comments: Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.

Location: Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Bonga town area; border areas in Oromia region.