The Oxford Handbook of Ethiopian Languages

This handbook provides a comprehensive account of the languages spoken in Ethiopia, exploring both their structures and features and their function and use in society. The first part of the volume provides background and general information relating to Ethiopian languages, including their demographic distribution and classification, language policy, scripts and writing, and language endangerment. Subsequent parts are dedicated to the four major language families in Ethiopia - Cushitic, Ethiosemitic, Nilo-Saharan, and Omotic - and contain studies of individual languages, with an initial introductory overview chapter in each part. Both major and less-documented languages are included, ranging from Amharic and Oromo to Zay, Gawwada, and Yemsa. The final part explores languages that are outside of those four families, namely Ethiopian Sign Language, Ethiopian English, and Arabic. With its international team of senior researchers and junior scholars, The Oxford Handbook of Ethiopian Languages will appeal to anyone interested in the languages of the region and in African linguistics more broadly.

Ronny Meyer, Maître de conferences, Institut National de Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO),Bedilu Wakjira, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Addis Ababa University,Zelealem Leyew, Professor of Linguistics, Addis Ababa University

Ronny Meyer teaches Amharic at the Institut National de Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) and carries out research on Ethiosemitic languages at the Langage, Langues et Cultures d'Afrique (LLACAN) laboratory. He previously held positions at the Universities of Mainz and Addis Ababa, and his publications include Language Use in Ethiopia from a Network Perspective (with Renate Richter; Peter Lang, 2003) and Language Contact and Language Change in Ethiopia (co-edited with Joachim Crass; Rüdiger Köppe, 2009).

Bedilu Wakjira is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Addis Ababa University, where he specializes in Ethiosemitic languages with particular focus on Kistane. His many academic publications include the textbook Literature in Language Teaching, used in many Ethiopian universities. He has also published several collections of poetry and other literary work in Amharic.

Zelealem Leyew is Professor of Linguistics at Addis Ababa University, where he was previously Chair of the Department of Linguistics (2001-2002) and Dean of the College of Humanities, Language Studies, Journalism, and Communication (2015-2019). He has also held positions at the Universities of Cologne, Frankfurt, and Hamburg. His many publications on descriptive, sociolinguistic, and anthropological issues include The Kemantney Language: A Sociolinguistic and Grammatical Study of Language Replacement (Rüdiger Köppe, 2003).

Detailed contents
Acknowledgements
List of maps, figures, and tables
Abbreviations and acronyms
The contributors
Ethiopia-specific issues
Preface
Part I: Background and general issues
1. Ethiopian languages and their demographic distribution, Ronny Meyer and Moges Yigezu
2. Classification of Ethiopian languages, Grover Hudson
3. Linguistic diversity in Ethiopian languages, Ronny Meyer and Moges Yigezu
4. Language endangerment in Ethiopia, Azeb Amha and Zelealem Leyew
5. Language policy and planning in Ethiopia, Derib Ado
6. Language in the media, Bedilu Wakjira and Teshager Shiferaw
7. Scripts and writing in Ethiopia, Ronny Meyer and Bedilu Wakjira
8. Linguistic avoidance and taboo in Ethiopian languages, Anbessa Teferra
9. Language and music, Katell Morand
Part II: Cushitic languages
10. General overview of Cushitic, Mauro Tosco
11. Awngi, Zelealem Leyew and Yaregal Allene
12. Gawwada, Mauro Tosco
13. Kambaata, Yvonne Treis
14. Konso, Ongaye Oda Orkaydo and Maarten Mous
15. Oromo, Giorgio Banti and Shimelis Mazengia
16. Saaho, Giorgio Banti and Moreno Vergari
17. Sidaama, Kazuhiro Kawachi
18. Somali, Morgan Nilsson
19. Xamtanga, Chloé Darmon
Part III: Ethiosemitic languages
20. General overview of Ethiosemitic, Olga Kapeliuk
21. Amharic, Mengistu Amberber
22. Argobba, Andreas Wetter
23. Chaha group, Fekede Menuta and Sascha Völlmin
24. Old Ethiopic (Geez), Amsalu Tefera and Maria Bulakh
25. Inor group, Berhanu Chamora, Jean-François Prunet, and Sharon Rose
26. Kistane, Bedilu Wakjira
27. Mesqan, Ousman Shafi and Ronny Meyer
28. Tigrinya, Maria Bulakh
29. Zay, Ronny Meyer
Part IV: Nilo-Saharan languages
30. General overview of Nilo-Saharan, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal
31. Berta, Torben Andersen
32. Northern Gumuz, Colleen Ahland
33. Koegu (Muguji), Osamu Hieda
34. Majang, Andreas Joswig
35. Mursi, Bettina Mütze and Colleen Ahland
36. Nuer, Noam Faust and Eitan Grossman
37. Suri (Tirmaga-Chai), Michael Bryant
38. Uduk, Don Killian
Part V: Omotic languages
39. General overview of Omotic, Rolf Theil
40. Hamar, Sara Petrollino
41. Kafa, Rolf Theil
42. Northern Mao (Mawes Aats'è), Michael Ahland
43. Sezo, Girma Mengistu Desta
44. Sheko, Anne-Christie Hellenthal
45. Wolyatta, Motomichi Wakasa
46. Yemsa, Silvia Zaugg-Coretti
Part VI: Other Ethiopian languages
47. Ethiopian Sign Language, Eyasu Hailu and Pawlos Kassu
48. Ethiopian English, Orin Gensler
49. Arabic in Ethiopia, Endris Mohammed and Andreas Wetter
References
Indexes