Oromo language
The most widely spoken Cushitic language, native to Ethiopia and Kenya.
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Oromo is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Oromo people, native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia and northern Kenya. It is used as a lingua franca in Oromia and northeastern Kenya. It is officially written in the Latin script, although traditional scripts are also informally used.
Speakers
With over 41.7 million native speakers, Oromo accounts for about a third of Ethiopia’s population, giving it the largest number of first-language speakers in the country. It is the second most widely spoken language in Ethiopia overall, after Amharic, when second-language speakers are included. Beyond Ethiopia, forms of Oromo are spoken as a mother tongue by roughly half a million people in northern and eastern Kenya, and by smaller emigrant communities in South Africa, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. Oromo is the most widely spoken Cushitic language and ranks among the five African languages with the largest number of native speakers.
It serves as an official working language of Ethiopia and is the working language of several regional states, including Oromia, Harari Region, Dire Dawa, and parts of the Amhara Region. It is used as a medium of primary education in Oromia, Harari, Dire Dawa, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Addis Ababa, and appears on federal websites alongside Tigrinya. The language has several major varieties, including Southern Oromo (Boranaa–Arsii–Gujii), Eastern Oromo (Harar), Orma, West Central Oromo (including Mecha/Wollega and Shewa), and Waata. Historically, under Haile Selassie’s government, Oromo was effectively banned in education, conversation, and administration.
Language policy
After the 1974 revolution, literacy campaigns and radio broadcasts began in Oromo, though materials were printed in the Ethiopic script. Widespread instruction in Oromo was not realized until after 1991, when the regional state of Oromia was created under ethnic federalism, allowing the language to become the medium of instruction in elementary schools and a language of administration. Radio broadcasts in Oromo began in Somalia in 1960 and later in Kenya. In 2022, Google Translate added Afaan Oromo.
Lore & Background
With more than 41.7 million speakers making up 33.8% of the total Ethiopian population, Oromo has the largest number of native speakers in Ethiopia and ranks as the second most widely spoken language in Ethiopia by total number of speakers (including second-language speakers), following Amharic. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by an additional half-million people in parts of northern and eastern Kenya. It is also spoken by smaller numbers of emigrants in other African countries such as South Africa, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Oromo is the most widely spoken Cushitic language and among the five languages of Africa with the largest mother-tongue populations.
Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of Ethiopia and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system, including Oromia, Harari Region, Dire Dawa and Oromia in the Amhara Region. It is a language of primary education in Oromia, Harari, Dire Dawa, Benishangul-Gumuz Region and Addis Ababa. It is used as an internet language for federal websites along with Tigrinya. Under Haile Selassie's government, Oromo was de facto banned in education, in conversation and in administrative matters.
Reader's Guide
Oromo is written with a Latin alphabet called Qubee which was formally adopted in 1991. Various versions of the Latin-based orthography had been used previously, mostly by Oromos outside of Ethiopia and by the OLF by the late 1970s. With the adoption of Qubee, it is believed more texts were written in the Oromo language between 1991 and 1997 than in the previous 100 years.
In Kenya, the Borana and Waata also use Roman letters but with different systems. The Shaaldaa script is an indigenous Oromo script invented by Sheikh Bakri Sapalo (1895–1980, also known by his birth name, Abubaker Usman Odaa) in the late 1950s and used underground afterwards. The Arabic script has also been used intermittently in areas with Muslim populations.
Did You Know?
- Within Africa, Oromo is the language with the fourth most speakers, after Arabic (if one counts the mutually unintelligible spoken forms of Arabic as a single language), Swahili and Hausa.
- The first comprehensive online Oromo dictionary was developed by the Jimma Times Oromiffa Group (JTOG) in cooperation with SelamSoft.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is Oromo language in its world?
With over 41.7 million native speakers, Oromo is Ethiopia's most widely spoken mother-tongue language and its second most spoken overall after Amharic. It is also the most widely spoken Cushitic language on the African continent.
What is Oromo language's official role?
Oromo holds official working-language status in the Ethiopian government, giving it a formal institutional role alongside other national languages. It is additionally used as a common means of communication in Oromia and northeastern Kenya.
Also in the Codexery
More in Languages And Writing Systems
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Oromo language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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