Sidamo

Print

Primary tabs

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639-3
sid
Alternate Names
Sidaama, Sidaamu afii, Sidama, Sidaminya, Sidámo ’Afó
Autonym
Sidaamu Afoo
User Population

4,441,000, all users. L1 users: 4,340,000 (2018). L2 users: 101,000. 2,530,000 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 4,340,000 (2018).

Location

Oromia region: southeast of Lake Awasa; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ region: northeast of Lake Abaya.

Language Maps
Language Status

4 (Educational).

Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East, Highland
Dialects

None known. Lexical similarity: 64% with Alaba-Kabeena [alw], 62% with Kambaata [ktb], 53% with Hadiyya [hdy].

Typology

SOV.

Language Use

Also use Amharic [amh].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 20%. Taught in primary and secondary schools through grade 4 and as subject thereafter. Taught in university as a major. Literature. Radio. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 2015.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Sidamo
Writing

Ethiopic script [Ethi], used until 1993. Latin script [Latn], used since 1993.