| Dirasha | |
|---|---|
| Ghidole, Diraasha, Dirayta, Gidole, Gardulla, Dhirasha | |
| Spoken in | Ethiopia |
| Region | Omo Region, in the hills west of Lake Chamo, around Gidole town. |
| Native speakers | 15,300 Dirasha dialect, 49,900 Gidole (2007)[1] |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gdl |
Dirasha (also known as Ghidole, Diraasha, Dirayta, Gidole, Gardulla, Dhirasha) is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is spoken in Ethiopia in the Omo Region, in the hills west of Lake Chamo, around Gidole town. A number of speakers also use Oromo or Komso. According to Wondwosen, the "Dirasha" is the name of the people, and the name of the language is given variously as "Dirashitata, Dirayta and Diraytata" (2006:3,4).
The language has a three ejective consonant phonemes and two implosive consonant phonemes, fitting the pattern of the Ethiopian Language Area. It has two tones and five vowels. Duration (or gemination) is distinctive for both consonants and vowels (Wondwosen 2006:9,10).