| Bussa | |
|---|---|
| Mossiya | |
| Mossittaata | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Region | Dirashe special woreda, Southern Ethiopia |
Native speakers | 18,000 (2007 census)[1][2] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | dox |
| Glottolog | buss1239 |
| ELP | Bussa |
Bussa, or Mossiya, is a Cushitic language spoken in the Dirashe special woreda of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region located in southern Ethiopia. The people themselves, numbering 18,000 according to the 2007 census, call their language Mossittaata.
Blench (2006) reclassified Bussa from the Dullay to Konsoid branch of Cushitic, but left the Mashole, Lohu, and Dobase (D'oopace, D'opaasunte) dialects in Dullay as the Dobase language. He considers Mashile (Mashelle) to be a distinct language within Konsoid.[3]
Bussa is highly influenced by surrounding Cushitic and Omotic languages and should be considered endangered according to Gurmu (2005). Speakers of the North Bussa variety are shifting to Oromo, Dirasha or Amharic, whereas speakers of the West Bussa variety are shifting to the Omotic languages Zargulla, Zayse and Gamo. Important factors for the ongoing language shift include intermarriage with other ethnic groups and heavy contact with neighbouring people.
- ^ Ethiopia 2007 Census
- ^ Mositacha at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)
