Argobba language

Argobba
Argobba
Native to	Ethiopia
Ethnicity	Argobba
Native speakers	44,000 (2007 census)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic South Semitic Ethiopic South Ethiopic Transversal South Ethiopic Amharic–Argobba Argobba; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	agj
Glottolog	argo1244
ELP	Argobba

Argobba is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken in an area north-east of Addis Ababa by the Argobba people. It belongs to the South Ethiopic languages subgroup along with Amharic and the Gurage languages.

Writing in the mid-1960s, Edward Ullendorff noted that it "is disappearing rapidly in favour of Amharic, and only a few hundred elderly people are still able to speak it."^[2] Today, many Argobba in the Harari Region are shifting to the Oromo language.^[3]

The language is spoken in a number of pockets and has at least four regional variations (dialects) in Harar (extinct), Aliyu Amba, Shewa Robit and Shonke.

Notes[]

^ 2007 Census
^ Ullendorff, Edward, (1965) The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People, second edition (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 131f. ISBN 0-19-285061-X.
^ Kifleyesus, Abbebe. 2006. The Argobba of Ethiopia are not the Language They Speak. Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies 9:7-22.

References[]

Cohen, Marcel (1931) Études d'éthiopien méridional (Collection d'ouvrages orientaux). Paris: Geuthner.
Cohen, Marcel (1939) Nouvelles Études d'éthiopien méridional. Paris: Ancienne Honoré Champion.
Leslau, Wolf (1997) Ethiopic Documents: Argobba. Grammar and dictionary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03955-8.
Zelealem Leyew and Ralph Siebert (1994) Argobba. S.L.L.E. Linguistic Reports no. 22. Addis Ababa: SIL/Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University.
Zelealem Leyew, Ralph Siebert (2002), Sociolinguistic Survey Report of the Argobba Language of Ethiopia SIL Electronic Survey Reports, SILESR 2002-026 (PDF)

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[1] 2007 Census

[2] Ullendorff, Edward, (1965) The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People, second edition (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 131f. ISBN 0-19-285061-X.

[3] Kifleyesus, Abbebe. 2006. The Argobba of Ethiopia are not the Language They Speak. Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies 9:7-22.

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