Gamo

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A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639-3
gmv
Alternate Names
Gammo, Gemu, Gereze
Autonym
Gamotso
User Population

1,654,400, all users. L1 users: 1,630,000 (2018), increasing. L2 users: 24,400. 600,000 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 1,630,000 (2018).

Location

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: Gamo-Gofa zone.

Language Maps
Language Status

4 (Educational).

Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, North, Gonga-Gimojan, Gimojan, Ometo-Gimira, Ometo, Central
Dialects

Dache. Lexical similarity: 79%–91% with Gofa [gof], 82%–87% with Dorze [doz], 73%–80% with Dawro [dwr], 79%–89% with Wolaytta [wal], 49% with Koorete [kqy], 44% with Male [mdy].

Typology

SOV; postpositions; case suffixes; derived nouns formed by suffixation of verbs; passives.

Language Use

Everyday rural life. Neutral attitudes. Also use Amharic [amh]. Used as L2 by Baiso [bsw], Ethiopian Sign Language [eth], Mositacha [dox].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 18%. Church-based literacy program started 2007. Taught in primary and secondary schools through grade 4 and as subject thereafter. Taught as a major at the university level. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. NT: 2011.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Gamo
Writing

Ethiopic script [Ethi], used in Church literature. Latin script [Latn], official usage.