Omo–Tana languages

Not to be confused with Omo language.

Omo–Tana
(disputed)
Geographic distribution	Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya
Linguistic classification	Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Lowland East Omo–Tana
Subdivisions	Eastern (Somaloid)? Western (Arboroid)
Language codes
Glottolog	omot1245

The Omo–Tana languages are a branch of the Cushitic family and are spoken in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. The largest member is Somali. There is some debate as to whether the Omo–Tana languages form a single group, or whether they are individual branches of Lowland East Cushitic. Blench (2006) restricts the name to the Western Omo–Tana languages, and calls the others Macro-Somali.^[1][2]

Internal classification

Mauro Tosco (2012)^[3] proposes the following internal classification of the Omo-Tana languages. Tosco considers Omo-Tama to consist of a Western branch and an Eastern ("Somaloid") branch, which is a dialect chain of various Somali languages and the Rendille–Boni languages (see also Macro-Somali languages).

• Omo-Tana
  • Western ("Galaboid" or "Arboroid") branch
    • Dhaasanac
    • Arbore
    • Elmolo
    • Yaaku
  • Eastern ("Somaloid") branch
    • Rendille
    • Karre–Boni
    • Tunni–Dabarre
    • Ashraf
    • Maay
    • Somali

References

1. Roger Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)
2. Vossen, Rainer; Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (2020-03-19). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages. Oxford University Press. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-19-100737-8.
3. Tosco, Mauro (2012). The Unity and Diversity of Somali Dialectal Variants. In: Nathan Oyori Ogechi, Jane A. Ngala Oduor and Peter Iribemwangi (eds.), The Harmonization and Standardization of Kenyan Languages. Orthography and other aspects. Cape Town: The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS): 2012: 263–280.