Ethiopia

Standard Amharic

also: Addis Amharic

The Addis-Ababa-based standard of Amharic. Ethiopia's federal working language and one of the major Semitic languages of the Horn of Africa.

Gojjam Amharic

The Amharic of the Gojjam region in north-western Ethiopia. Often cited as one of the most conservative Amharic varieties.

Oromo

also: Afaan Oromoo

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language and the most-spoken language of Ethiopia, with around 37 million speakers. The official working language of the Oromia Region, written in Latin-based Qubee.

Somali

also: Soomaali

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language and the official language of Somalia. Also widely spoken in Somaliland, Djibouti, the Somali Region of Ethiopia, and north-eastern Kenya.

Sidamo

also: Sidaama Afoo

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language of southern Ethiopia, spoken by the Sidama people around Hawassa. Around three million speakers; written in a Latin-based orthography.

Tigrinya

An Ethiopic Semitic language and the most-spoken language of Eritrea, also widely used in northern Ethiopia (Tigray). Written in the Ge'ez script.

Nuer

also: Thok Naath

A Western Nilotic language and the second-largest language of South Sudan after Dinka. Around 1.7 million speakers across the Greater Upper Nile and Gambela.

Afar

also: Qafar

A Cushitic Afroasiatic language of the Afar people, spoken across the Afar Triangle of north-eastern Ethiopia, southern Eritrea, and Djibouti. Around 2 million speakers.

Wolaita

also: Wolaytta, Welayta

An Omotic Afroasiatic language of southern Ethiopia, spoken around Wolaita Sodo. Around 2 million speakers; one of the larger Omotic languages, a family found nowhere outside Ethiopia.