| Beja | |
|---|---|
| Bidhaawyeet, Tubdhaawi, تُبڈاوِ | |
| Native to | Sudan, Eritrea, Egypt |
| Region | Red Sea |
| Ethnicity | Beja |
Native speakers | 2.76 million (2022–2023)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Dialects | Hadendoa Hadareb Amarar Bisharin Beni-Amer |
| Latin alphabet (limited use) Arabic alphabet (limited use) | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | bej |
| ISO 639-3 | bej |
| Glottolog | beja1238 |
Beja (Bidhaawyeet or Tubdhaawi) is an Afroasiatic language of the Cushitic branch spoken on the western coast of the Red Sea by the Beja people. Its speakers inhabit parts of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea. In 2022 there were 2,550,000 Beja speakers in Sudan, and 121,000 Beja speakers in Eritrea according to Ethnologue. As of 2023 there are an estimated 88,000 Beja speakers in Egypt. The total number of speakers in all three countries is 2,759,000.[2]
- ^ Beja at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ "Beja". Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
