Zay | |
---|---|
ዛይኘ, የዛይ አፍ | |
Native to | Ethiopia |
Region | Lake Zway |
Ethnicity | Zay |
Native speakers | 14,000 (2005)[1] |
Geʽez script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | zwa |
Glottolog | zayy1238 |
ELP | Zay |
Zay is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |
Zay (Oromo: Lak'i, Laqi) is an Afroasiatic language of the Semitic branch spoken in Ethiopia. It is one of the Gurage languages in the Ethiopian Semitic group. The Zay language has around 5,000 speakers known as the Zay, who inhabit Gelila and the other five islands and shores of Lake Zway in the southern part of the country.