The Dullay languages belong to the Cushitic

Cushitic languages

The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt. They are named after the Biblical character Cush, who was identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as AD 947...

 subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic

Afro-Asiatic languages

The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...

 language family and are spoken in Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Dullay is a dialect continuum

Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...

 consisting of the Bussa

Bussa language

Bussa is an East Cushitic language spoken in the Dirashe special woreda of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region located in southern Ethiopia...

, Gawwada

Gawwada language

Gawwada is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in southern Ethiopia. Dialects include Dihina, Gergere, Gobeze, Gollango, Gorose, Harso.-External links:* Ethnologue information on...

 and Tsamai

Tsamai language

Tsamai is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Ethiopia. Tsamai is a member of the Dullay dialect continuum.- References :* Ethnologue information on...

 languages.

The name Dullay is derived from the name Dullay-speaking groups use for the Weito River

Weito River

The Weito River is a river in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia...

. Other terms that have been used for this language family in scientific literature are Werizoid (from the former administrative name of the area inhabited by Dullay speakers) and Qawko (from the word "man" in Dullay languages).

Further reading

• Gunter Minker, Herrmann Amborn, Hans-Jürgen Sasse: Das Dullay: Materialien zu einer ostkuschitischen Sprachgruppe, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1980, ISBN 9783496001058 (German)
• Mauro Tosco: Gawwada Morphology, in: Alan S. Kaye (ed.): Morphologies of Asia and Africa, 2007, ISBN 9781575061092