Languages of Eritrea
Encyclopedia
Eritrea
is generally considered to have nine ethno-linguistic groups. Each of these has their own language: Afar
, Arabic
(spoken by the Rashaida
), Beja
(spoken by the Hedareb
), Blin
, Kunama
, Nara
, Saho
, Tigre
and Tigrinya
.
Eritrea does not have official languages as such, but Tigrinya and Arabic are the most used. English
and Italian
are understood by some segments of the population and also are spoken especially by residents of the capital, Asmara
. Tigrinya and Arabic were the official languages from 1952 to 1956 and continue to be the foremost languages, Tigrinya among the Christians and Arabic among the Muslims. The EPLF (Eritrean People's Liberation Front) published a large English-Tigrinya-Arabic dictionary in 1985, followed by Tigrinya-English in 1986.
As part of a gradual nullification of Eritrean autonomy under Ethiopia
n rule, Amharic
became the official language in 1956. Today it is spoken predominately by people of Eritrean descent who were forced from their homes in Ethiopia.
A policy that primary school instruction should be available in the mother tongue has met with variable success (Woldemikael, 2003).
Ge'ez
, also called Ethiopic, is the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
.
while Cushitic and Semitic languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family
.
Nilotic languages
:
Cushitic languages
:
Semitic languages
:
Indo-European languages
:
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
is generally considered to have nine ethno-linguistic groups. Each of these has their own language: Afar
Afar language
Afar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
(spoken by the Rashaida
Rashaida people
The Rashaida or Rashaayda are an ethnic group populating Eritrea and north-east Sudan. In 1846, many Rashaida migrated from Hejaz in present day Saudi Arabia into what is now Eritrea and north-east Sudan after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland...
), Beja
Beja language
Beja or North Cushitic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads, the Beja, in parts of Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea.-Classification:...
(spoken by the Hedareb
Hedareb people
The Hedareb people include the Beni-Amer people who have retained the use of the Beja language, the To-Bedawi . They also include the subtribes: Hashish, Labat, and Halenqua...
), Blin
Blin language
The Blin language , Bilin or Bilen has approximately 70,000 speakers in and around the city of Keren in Eritrea. It is the only Central Cushitic language which is spoken in Eritrea....
, Kunama
Kunama language
The Kunama language is a language isolate which has been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Kunama spoken by the Kunama people of western Eritrea and just across the Ethiopian border. The language has several dialects including: Barka. Marda, Aimara, Odasa, Tika, Lakatakura,...
, Nara
Nara language
The Nara or Barea language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken chiefly in western Eritrea. The language is often confused with Kunama, which is at best only distantly related. According to Tsige Hailemichael, the "...Nara language is in danger of quickly disappearing." The name Barea is considered...
, Saho
Saho language
The Saho language is a Cushitic language of Eritrea and Ethiopia.-Overview:It is spoken natively by the Saho people who traditionally inhabit territory in Eritrea bounded by the bay of Arafali in the east, the Laasi Ghedé valleys in the south, and the Eritrea highlands to the west .This speech area...
, Tigre
Tigre language
For other uses please see Tigre Tigre is a Semitic language, which, along with Tigrinya, is believed to be one of direct descendants of the extinct Ge'ez language...
and Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
.
Eritrea does not have official languages as such, but Tigrinya and Arabic are the most used. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
are understood by some segments of the population and also are spoken especially by residents of the capital, Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
. Tigrinya and Arabic were the official languages from 1952 to 1956 and continue to be the foremost languages, Tigrinya among the Christians and Arabic among the Muslims. The EPLF (Eritrean People's Liberation Front) published a large English-Tigrinya-Arabic dictionary in 1985, followed by Tigrinya-English in 1986.
As part of a gradual nullification of Eritrean autonomy under 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...
n rule, Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
became the official language in 1956. Today it is spoken predominately by people of Eritrean descent who were forced from their homes in Ethiopia.
A policy that primary school instruction should be available in the mother tongue has met with variable success (Woldemikael, 2003).
Ge'ez
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
, also called Ethiopic, is the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III after Eritrea gained its independence in 1993.-Origins:...
.
Language classification
Nilotic languages belong to the Nilo-Saharan language familyNilo-Saharan languages
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...
while Cushitic and Semitic languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family
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...
.
Nilotic languages
Nilotic languages
The Nilotic languages are a group of Eastern Sudanic languages spoken across a wide area between southern Sudan and Tanzania by the Nilotic peoples, particularly associated with cattle-herding...
:
- KunamaKunama languageThe Kunama language is a language isolate which has been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Kunama spoken by the Kunama people of western Eritrea and just across the Ethiopian border. The language has several dialects including: Barka. Marda, Aimara, Odasa, Tika, Lakatakura,...
- NaraNara languageThe Nara or Barea language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken chiefly in western Eritrea. The language is often confused with Kunama, which is at best only distantly related. According to Tsige Hailemichael, the "...Nara language is in danger of quickly disappearing." The name Barea is considered...
Cushitic languages
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...
:
- BejaBeja languageBeja or North Cushitic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads, the Beja, in parts of Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea.-Classification:...
, spoken by the HedarebHedareb peopleThe Hedareb people include the Beni-Amer people who have retained the use of the Beja language, the To-Bedawi . They also include the subtribes: Hashish, Labat, and Halenqua...
(sometimes classified as an independent branch of the Afro-Asiatic familyAfro-Asiatic languagesThe Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
) - East Cushitic languagesEast Cushitic languagesThe Lowland East Cushitic languages comprise two dozen languages of the Cushitic family within Afro-Asiatic. They are spoken mainly in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and by Cushitic groups in northern Kenya....
:- AfarAfar languageAfar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent...
- SahoSaho languageThe Saho language is a Cushitic language of Eritrea and Ethiopia.-Overview:It is spoken natively by the Saho people who traditionally inhabit territory in Eritrea bounded by the bay of Arafali in the east, the Laasi Ghedé valleys in the south, and the Eritrea highlands to the west .This speech area...
- Afar
- Central Cushitic languagesCentral Cushitic languagesThe Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and, in one case, Eritrea. They form the main substratum influence on Amharic and other Ethiopian Semitic languages.-Classification:...
:- BlinBlin languageThe Blin language , Bilin or Bilen has approximately 70,000 speakers in and around the city of Keren in Eritrea. It is the only Central Cushitic language which is spoken in Eritrea....
- Blin
Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
:
- North Ethiopic languages (South SemiticSouth SemiticSouth Semitic is a commonly accepted branch of the Semitic languages. Semitic itself is a branch of the larger Afro-Asiatic language family found in Africa and Asia....
):- TigreTigre languageFor other uses please see Tigre Tigre is a Semitic language, which, along with Tigrinya, is believed to be one of direct descendants of the extinct Ge'ez language...
- TigrinyaTigrinya languageTigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
- DahlikDahlik languageDahalik is a language spoken exclusively in Eritrea off the coast of Massawa, on three islands in the Dahlak Archipelago: Dahlak Kebir, Nora and Dehil...
, a newly discovered language spoken on the Dahlak ArchipelagoDahlak ArchipelagoThe Dahlak Archipelago is an island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. It consists of two large and 124 small islands. The pearl fisheries of the archipelago have been famous since Roman times and still produce a substantial number of pearls. Only four of the islands are...
- Tigre
- Central Semitic languagesCentral Semitic languagesThe Central Semitic languages are a proposed intermediate group of Semitic languages, comprising Arabic and the Northwest Semitic languages ....
:- ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, mother tongue of the RashaidaRashaida peopleThe Rashaida or Rashaayda are an ethnic group populating Eritrea and north-east Sudan. In 1846, many Rashaida migrated from Hejaz in present day Saudi Arabia into what is now Eritrea and north-east Sudan after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland...
- Arabic
Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
:
- Italic languagesItalic languagesThe Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family. It includes the Romance languages derived from Latin , and a number of extinct languages of the Italian Peninsula, including Umbrian, Oscan, Faliscan, and Latin.In the past various definitions of "Italic" have prevailed...
:- Romance languagesRomance languagesThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
:- Western Romance languagesWestern Romance languagesThe Western Romance languages are one of the primary subdivisions of the Romance languages. They include at least the following:* The Pyrenean–Mozarabic group consists of two languages in two separate branches:**Aragonese**Mozarabic...
:- ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, mother tongue of Italian EritreansItalian EritreansItalian Eritreans are Eritrean-born descendants of Italian settlers as well as Italian long-term residents in Eritrea.-History:...
- Italian
- Western Romance languages
- Romance languages