The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Semitic. The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa Beja (also called Bedawi Bedauye To Bedawie is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads the The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and in one case Eritrea. The South Cushitic or Rift languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Tanzania. ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa See also Kush Cush ( kuʃ) was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, mentioned The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, They are spoken in the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa The most prominent language is Oromo with about 25 million speakers, followed by Somali (spoken by ethnic Somalis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya) with about 15 million speakers, Sidamo (in Ethiopia) with about 2 million speakers, Hadia with about 1. Oromo, also known as Afaan borana Oromoo, Oromiffa(a ( Ethiopic: ኦሮሚኛ and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names Somali ( Af Soomaali, الصوماليه is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by ethnic Somalis Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Sidamo is an Afro-Asiatic language, belonging to the Cushitic branch part of the Highland East Cushitic group Hadiya (sometimes Hadiyigna or Adiya) is the Afro-Asiatic language of the Hadiya people of Ethiopia. 6 million native speakers, Kambata with about 1. Kambata is a Highland East Cushitic language part of the larger Afro-Asiatic family 4 million native speakers, and Afar (in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti) with about 1. Afar (aa ''Qafár af'' is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Eritrea () ( Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya) officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in 5 million speakers. It is divided into the following subgroups, as per Joseph Greenberg, as modified by Harold Fleming:

• Beja language (often placed outside Cushitic proper)
• Central Cushitic or Agaw languages
• East Cushitic languages (including Somali, Afar, Saho, Oromo, and Sidamo)
• South Cushitic or Rift languages (including Aasáx, Iraqw-Alagwa, Burunge, and arguably Dahalo)

Robert Hetzron has suggested that the South Cushitic languages are a subgroup of Lowland East Cushitic. Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28 1915 – May 7 2001 was a prominent and controversial linguist and Africanist anthropologist known for his work in both typology Beja (also called Bedawi Bedauye To Bedawie is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads the The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and in one case Eritrea. The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and in one case Eritrea. The South Cushitic or Rift languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Tanzania. Aasáx (also spelled Asax Asá Aasá Assa Asak is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by the Assa people in Tanzania. Iraqw is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Tanzania in the Arusha Region Alagwa is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Tanzania in the Dodoma region Burunge is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Tanzania in the Dodoma region Dahalo is an endangered South Cushitic Language spoken by at most 400 people on the Kenyan coast near the mouth of the Tana River Robert Hetzron, born Herzog ( 31 December 1937 &ndash 1997 was a Hungarian linguist who focused primarily on Afro-Asiatic languages, especially Maarten Mous, in his 24 June 2005 oration at Leiden University, has suggested more specifically that South Cushitic be linked to the Southern Lowland East Cushitic branch, together with such languages as Oromo, the Omo-Tana languages (such as Somali), and Yaaku-Dullay. Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Dark green: Cushitic languages

Richard Hayward, on the other hand, breaks up East Cushitic into three well-supported families: 1)Sidamic or Highlands, 2)a diverse Lowlands family (with Afar, Somalic, and Oromic subgroups), and 3)Dullay (he apparently leaves Yaaku unclassified), that he believes should be considered separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of Cushitic. Gawwada (also known as Gauwada Gawata Kawwad'a Kawwada is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Ethiopia. Yaaku (also known as Mukogodo Mogogodo Mukoquodo Siegu Yaakua Ndorobo is an endangered Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Kenya. This makes for a tentative four to seven branches, depending on the status of Beja, Rift, and Yaaku.

Cushitic was traditionally seen as also including the Omotic languages, then called West Cushitic, but this view has been abandoned by many, largely due to the work of Harold C. Fleming (1974) and M. The Omotic languages are spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. They are often regarded as belonging to the Afro-Asiatic languages. The Omotic languages are spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. They are often regarded as belonging to the Afro-Asiatic languages. Harold C Fleming is an anthropologist and historical linguist. Lionel Bender (1975). Lionel Bender may refer to Lionel Bender (linguist (1934–2008 American author and co-author of several books publications and essays regarding African These scholars consider Omotic an independent branch of Afro-Asiatic. The Omotic languages are spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. They are often regarded as belonging to the Afro-Asiatic languages. However, Zaborski (1986) and Lamberti (1991) have still kept the issue alive, showing possible evidence that Omotic can still be classified as part of Cushitic. Even Bender reconsidered the idea (1986).

References

• Ethnologue entry for Cushitic languages
• Bender, Marvin Lionel. Marvin Lionel Bender (1934&ndash2008 was an American author and co-author of several books publications and essays regarding African languages, particularly from 1975. Omotic: a new Afroasiatic language family. Southern Illinois University Museum series, number 3.
• Bender, M. Lionel. 1986. A possible Cushomotic isomorph. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 6:149-155.
• Fleming, Harold C. 1974. Omotic as an Afroasiatic family. In: Proceedings of the 5th annual conference on African linguistics (ed. by William Leben), p 81-94. African Studies Center & Department of Linguistics, UCLA.
• Lamberti, Marcello. 1991. Cushitic and its classification. Anthropos 86(4/6):552-561.
• Zaborski, Andrzej. 1986. Can Omotic be reclassified as West Cushitic? In Gideon Goldenberg, ed. , Ethiopian Studies: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference, pp. 525-530. Rotterdam: Balkema.

External links

• http://www.summerschools.leidenuniv.nl/content_docs/cushitic_bibliography_ss.doc
• http://www.msu.edu/~hudson/HECrefs.htm