Ongota language
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| Ongota (iifa ʕongota) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Ethiopia |
| Region: | Southern Omo zone, Southern Region |
| Total speakers: | 12 |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Unclassified, probably Afro-Asiatic Ongota |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | afa |
| SIL | BXE |
| Linguasphere | 07-AAA-aa |
Ongota (also known as Birale/Birayle) is a moribund language of southwest Ethiopia. In 2000, it was said to be in a state of decline with only 8 elderly mother tongue speakers, most other speakers having adopted the Ts'amakko language instead. The grammar follows a Subject Object Verb word order. It is probably Afroasiatic, but has not been definitively classified. As of 2004, it is being studied by Aklilu Yilma of Addis Ababa University.
Bibliography
- Fleming, Harold 2002. "Ongota Lexicon: English-Ongota". Mother Tongue, VII, pp. 39-65.
- Mikesh, P. and Seelig, J.M. 1992. "Ongota or Birale: a moribund language of Gemu-Gofa (Ethiopia)". Journal of Afroasiatic Languages, 3,3:181-225.
- Savà, Graziano and Mauro Tosco 2000. A sketch of Ongota, a dying language of southwest Ethiopia. Studies in African Linguistics 29.2.59-136.
External links
- Ethnologue version 14 on Ongota (http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=BXE)
- Ethnologue version 15 (2005) on Ongota (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=bxe)
- A paper which includes a wordlist of Ongota (http://www.sil.org/silesr/2002/SILESR2002-066.pdf)