Oromo language

Oromo is a Cushitic language within the Afroasiatic family, spoken mainly by the Oromo people in Ethiopia’s Oromia region and northern Kenya. It functions as a lingua franca across Oromia and northeastern Kenya. With over 41.7 million speakers—roughly 33.8% of Ethiopia’s population—it has more native speakers than any other language in the country. In total speakers (including second-language users), it ranks second in Ethiopia, behind Amharic. Oromo is also the most widely spoken Cushitic language globally and ranks among the five African languages with the largest number of mother-tongue speakers.

The language is an official working language of Ethiopia and serves as the working language of several federal states, including Oromia, the Harari Region, Dire Dawa, and Oromia within the Amhara Region. It is used as the medium of primary education in Oromia, Harari, Dire Dawa, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Addis Ababa. Federal websites use Oromo (alongside Tigrinya) as an internet language. During Haile Selassie’s rule, Oromo was effectively banned in education, conversation, and administration.

Several varieties of Oromo exist. Ethnologue (2015) lists five ISO codes: Southern Oromo (Boranaa–Arsii–Gujii, including Gabra and Sakuye), Eastern Oromo (Harar), Orma (Munyo, Orma, Waata/Sanye), West Central Oromo (Western and Central Oromo, including Mecha/Wollega, Raya, Wello/Kemise, Tulema/Shewa), and Waata. Blench (2006) divides Oromo into four languages: Western Oromo (Maca), Shewa (Tuulama, Arsi), Eastern Oromo (Harar), and Southern Oromo (Ajuran, Borana, Gabra, Munyo, Orma, Sakuye, Waata). Some varieties have been studied and classified.

About 85% of Oromo speakers live in Ethiopia, mainly in Oromia. There are also speakers in Somalia. In Kenya, Ethnologue reports 627,000 speakers of Borana and Orma, languages closely related to Ethiopian Oromo. Within Africa, Oromo ranks fourth in number of speakers, after Arabic (if its mutually unintelligible spoken forms are counted as one language), Swahili, and Hausa. Many people from other ethnic groups, such as the Omotic-speaking Bambassi and the Nilo-Saharan-speaking Kwama in northwestern Oromia, speak Oromo as a second language.

Oromo has a rich oral tradition. In the 19th century, scholars began writing it in the Latin script. Johann Ludwig Krapf translated the Gospels of John and Matthew into Oromo in 1842, also producing a grammar and vocabulary. German scholar Karl Tutschek published the first Oromo dictionary and grammar in 1844. The first printed transliteration of Oromo appeared in a German newspaper in 1846. After Abyssinia’s expansion under Menelik II, the language’s development as a written tool was interrupted. The few published works, such as Onesimos Nesib’s and Aster Ganno’s late-19th-century Bible translations, used the Geʽez alphabet. Following the 1974 Revolution, a literacy campaign included Oromo, and publishing and radio broadcasts began, all using the Ethiopic script (e.g., the newspapers *Bariisaa* and *Urjii*). Plans to teach Oromo in schools were not realized until Mengistu Haile Mariam’s government fell in 1991, except in areas controlled by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). After the creation of Oromia under ethnic federalism, Oromo became the medium of instruction in elementary schools across the region and a language of administration. After the OLF left the transitional government in the early 1990s, the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization (OPDO) continued developing the Oromo community.

Radio Mogadishu began Oromo broadcasts in Somalia in 1960, featuring music and propaganda; the song *Bilisummaan Aannaani* (Liberation Is Milk) became a hit in Ethiopia. In response, the Ethiopian government started its own Oromo radio program. In Kenya, the Voice of Kenya has broadcast Oromo (Borana dialect) since at least the 1980s. The Borana Bible in Kenya was printed in 1995 using the Latin alphabet, but with different spelling rules than Ethiopian Qubee. The first comprehensive online Oromo dictionary was created by the Jimma Times Oromiffa Group (JTOG) with SelamSoft. Voice of America broadcasts in Oromo as part of its Horn of Africa programming. In May 2022, Google Translate added Afaan Oromo. The Ethiopian government uses Oromo and Qubee in state radios, TV stations, and regional newspapers.