| Aari | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Ethiopia |
| Region | north central Omo Region |
| Native speakers | 285,000 (2007 census)[1] 129,350 monolinguals[2] |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | aiw |
Aari (also spelled Ari, Ara, Aro, Aarai) is an Omotic language of Ethiopia. The speakers of this language have been known as Shankilla (or Shanqella), a name which is considered derogatory. According to the 2007 census, over 285,000 people speak Aari as a mother tongue.
There are ten dialects, corresponding to the ten tribes of the Aari people: Gozza, Bako, Biyo, Galila, Laydo, Seyki, Shangama, Sido, Wubahamer, and Zeddo. Literacy in Aari is about 10%. The first translation of the New Testament into Aari was published in 1997.