Sidamo - Sidámo 'Afó
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Categories: Languages, Ethiopia
On this page... (hide)
- 1. Classification / Classification
- 2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
- 3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
- 4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
- 5. Usage / Utilisation
- 6. Orthography / Orthographe
- 7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
- 8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
- 9. Comments / Remarques
- 10. References / Références
1. Classification / Classification
Sidamo is a language of the Highland East Cushitic Group spoken by the Sadamain. (Webbook?)
Ethnologue? lists the classification as: Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Highland
2. Where Spoken / Localisation géographique
Southern highlands east and west of Lake Awasa, Ethiopia. (Webbook)
3. Number of Speakers / Nombre de locuteurs
According to Ethnologue:
- 1,876,329 (1998 census)
- 101,340 second-language speakers
4. Dialect Survey / Enquête de dialecte
No dialect survey is known to us; however, Hudson (in Bender 1976, p.233) says that Sidamo "is ... little differentiated into dialects" and that "the differences are minimal." (Webbook)
Concerning other related languages, Ethnologue says: Lexical similarity 64% with Allaaba, 62% with Kambaata, 53% with Hadiyya.
5. Usage / Utilisation
According to Ethnologue (accessed 2015): Taught in university as a major and used as a government working language. Taught in primary schools in grades 1–4 as the medium of instruction, in grades 5–10 as a subject. Radio programs.
Literacy rate (according to Ethnologue, accessed 2007):
- L1: 1% to 5%
- L2: 20.3% (Ethnologue in 2015 has 20% L2 literacy, but no indication for L1 literacy)
6. Orthography / Orthographe
6.1 Status / Statut
According to Ethnologue (accessed 2015): Ethiopic script, used until 1993. Latin script, used since 1993.
The Webbook (late 1980s, early 1990s) had this assessment: Very little is written in Sidamo. As far as we know, the only printed literature to date is the Bible, written in Amharic characters.
A very brief and probably dated discussion of the orthography in Italian is available on the Rosetta Project site at http://www.rosettaproject.org/archive/sid/ortho-1
6.2 Sample Alphabet / Alphabet exemple
7. Use in ICT / Utilisation dans les TIC
7.1 Fonts / Polices
7.2 Keyboard layouts / Dispositions de clavier
7.3 Content on computers & internet / Contenu en informatique et sur l'Internet
None known.
7.4 Localized software / Logiciels localisés
Not aware of any localisation efforts.
7.5 Language codes / Codes de langue
- ISO 639-1: -
- ISO 639-2: sid
- ISO 639-3: sid
7.6 Other / Autre
8. Localisation resources / Ressources pour localisation
8.1 Individuals (experts) / Individuelles (experts)
8.2 Institutions / Institutions
8.3 On the internet / Sur la toile
9. Comments / Remarques
10. References / Références
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html (page on "Sidamo," http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Sidamo_root.html )
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Sidamo," http://www.ethnologue.com/language/sid
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Sidamo language," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidamo_language
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