Awngi language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Awngi
ˈawŋi
Spoken in: Ethiopia 
Region: Agew Awi Zone Amhara Region
Total speakers: 356,980
Language family: Afro-Asiatic
 Cushitic
  Central
   Southern
    Awngi
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: cus
ISO 639-3: awn

The Awngi language is a Central Cushitic language spoken by the Awi people, living in Central Gojjam in northwestern Ethiopia. The language is classified as Southern Central Cushitic or Southern Agaw in the literature, and as such belongs to the Cushitic phylum of the Afro-Asiatic language family.

Most speakers of the language live in the Agew Awi Zone of the Amhara Region, but there are also communities speaking the language in various areas of Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumaz Region. The status of Kunfäl, another Southern Agaw language spoken in the area west of Lake Tana, is still not entirely clarified. It is very close to Awngi and could be a dialect of that language.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Appleyard, David L. (2006) A Comparative Dictionary of the Agaw Languages (Kuschitische Sprachstudien — Cushitic Language Studies Band 24). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  • Hetzron, Robert. (1969) The Verbal System of Southern Agaw. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press.
  • Ethnologue information: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=awn