Mao languages
Encyclopedia
The Mao languages are a branch of the Omotic languages
spoken in Ethiopia
. This group comprises Bambasi
spoken in the Bambasi
woreda
of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Hozo
and Seze
(often described together as 'Begi Mao') spoken around Begi
in the Mirab (West) Welega Zone
of the Oromia Region
, and Ganza
, which is spoken south of Bambasi
in the Asosa Zone
of Benishangul-Gumuz, and west of the Hozo and Seze languages.
It is estimated there are 5,000 speakers of Bambasi, 3,000 speakers each of Hozo and Seze and a few hundred Ganza speakers (Bender, 2000). During recent political upheavals, a few thousand Bambassi speakers established themselves in the valley of the Didessa River
and Belo Jegonfoy
woreda
. Much of the Mirab Welega Zone was once the home of Mao languages, but these languages have lost speakers to the increasing influence of Oromo
.
Omotic languages
The Omotic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic family spoken in southwestern Ethiopia. The Ge'ez alphabet is used to write some Omotic languages, the Roman alphabet for some others. They are fairly agglutinative, and have complex tonal systems .-Language list:The North and South Omotic...
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...
. This group comprises Bambasi
Bambassi language
Bambassi is an Omotic Afroasiatic language spoken in Ethiopia around the town of Bambasi in the area east of Asosa in Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The parent language group is the East Mao group...
spoken in the Bambasi
Bambasi
Bambasi is a town in western Ethiopia. The town is named after the highest point in the Asosa Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Mount Bambasi. Bambasi has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation of 1668 meters above sea level...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Hozo
Hozo language
Hozo is an Afroasiatic language spoken in Ethiopia near Begi in the area south of Asosa of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region. The language is also called Begi-Mao.- Further reading :...
and Seze
Seze language
Seze is an Afro-Asiatic Omotic language, spoken in the western part of Ethiopia, near the town of Begi and just north of the Hozo-speaking community....
(often described together as 'Begi Mao') spoken around Begi
Beica
Beica is a town in southwestern Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, the town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1673 meters above sea level. Beica is the administrative center of Begi woreda.Beica has enjoyed telephone service since the 1930s...
in the Mirab (West) Welega Zone
Mirab Welega Zone
Mirab Welega is one of the 12 Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone is named after the former province of Welega, whose western part lay in the area Mirab Misraq now occupies....
of the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
, and Ganza
Ganza language
Ganza is an Afro-Asiatic language , spoken in the western Oromo region of Ethiopia, near the border of Sudan. The Ganza people may originally have been from Sudan....
, which is spoken south of Bambasi
Bambasi
Bambasi is a town in western Ethiopia. The town is named after the highest point in the Asosa Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Mount Bambasi. Bambasi has a longitude and latitude of with an elevation of 1668 meters above sea level...
in the Asosa Zone
Asosa Zone
Asosa is one of the three Zones in Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. This Zone was named after the Asosa Sultanate, which had approximately the same boundaries. Asosa is bordered on the south by the Mao-Komo special woreda, on the west by Sudan, on the northeast by the Abay River which...
of Benishangul-Gumuz, and west of the Hozo and Seze languages.
It is estimated there are 5,000 speakers of Bambasi, 3,000 speakers each of Hozo and Seze and a few hundred Ganza speakers (Bender, 2000). During recent political upheavals, a few thousand Bambassi speakers established themselves in the valley of the Didessa River
Didessa River
The Didessa River is a river in western Ethiopia. A tributary of the Abay River, it rises in the mountains of Gomma, flowing in a northwestern direction to its confluence where the course of the Abay has curved to its southernmost point before turning northwards at about...
and Belo Jegonfoy
Belo Jegonfoy
Belo Jegonfoy is one of the 21 woredas in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Kamashi Zone, it is bordered on the west by the Didessa River, which separates it from Kamashi, on the north by the Hanger River which separates it form Yaso, and by Oromia Region in the south; parts of...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
. Much of the Mirab Welega Zone was once the home of Mao languages, but these languages have lost speakers to the increasing influence of Oromo
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
.