| Argobba | |
|---|---|
| ዓርጎባ (Argoba) | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | 140,000 Argobba (2007 census)[1] |
Native speakers | 44,000 (2007 census)[1] |
| Geʽez script (In developing use)[1] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | agj |
| Glottolog | argo1244 |
| ELP | Argobba |
Argobba is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken in several districts of Afar, Amhara, and Oromia regions of Ethiopia by the Argobba people. It belongs to the South Ethiopic languages subgroup, and is closely related to Amharic.[1]
Writing in the mid-1960s, Edward Ullendorff noted that it "is disappearing rapidly in favour of Amharic, and only a few hundred elderly people are still able to speak it."[2] Today, many Argobba in the Harari Region are shifting to the Oromo language.[3] Those in the Ankober district speak the Amharic language.[4]
- ^ a b c d Argobba at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Ullendorff, Edward, (1965) The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People, second edition (London: Oxford University Press), pp. 131f. ISBN 0-19-285061-X.
- ^ Kifleyesus, Abbebe. 2006. The Argobba of Ethiopia are not the Language They Speak. Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies 9:7-22.
- ^ "Argobba". Ethnologue. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
