Dullay languages

The Dullay languages ​​are a group of closely related languages ​​that are spoken by various ethnic groups in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region in southwest Ethiopia. These include the individual languages ​​Tsamay ( Ts'amakko ), Bussa ( Dobaze ) and Gawwada (with different dialects ). They are considered in part as a dialect continuum.

The Dullay languages ​​belong to the Cushitic languages ​​, a branch of the Afro Asiatic language family. They are often classified separately from the highland and the tieflandostkuschitischen languages ​​and the Yaaku as Ostkuschitische languages. Here they are to the Yaaku the next.

The spokesman for the Dullay languages ​​do not consider themselves as a unified group and have no term that encompasses all. Dullay is the name that the Dullay - speaking groups for the River officially mentioned in Amharic Weyt'o use, where they live. Other introduced by linguists for this language group names are Werizoid ( after the former administrative name of the area ) or Qawko ( according to the word for " man " in the Dullay languages).

In Ethiopia, all Dullay -speaking groups with the exception of Tsamay are referred to as " Gawwada " and registered in accordance with censuses. In the 2007 census 68,600 and 20,046 Gawwada Tsamay were counted.