| Baiso | |
|---|---|
| Giddicho, Alkali | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Region | in region of Lake Abaya |
| Ethnicity | Bayso people (5,500 (2007 census)[1]), Haro people (L2) |
Native speakers | 4,600 (2007 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bsw |
| Glottolog | bais1246 |
| ELP | Bayso |
Baiso or Bayso is an Afro-Asiatic, more specifically a Lowland East Cushitic language belonging to the Omo-Tana subgroup, and is spoken in Ethiopia, in the region around Lake Abaya.[1]
Alternative names for Baiso are Giddicho, named after an island on Lake Abaya, and Alkali.[2]
According to the Baiso people, however, Giddicho is primarily the name given to the Baiso people by the Guji Oromo, a neighbor clan with close relationship to them. The Baiso term for Giddicho apparently is maman.[2]
As the Baiso people are a minority ethnic group in Ethiopia, their language is endangered. Today, there are between 3 500[3] and 5 000[2] mother tongue speakers of Baiso. This number, however, is decreasing. About 95% of the Baiso are multilingual in at least four languages, the most prominent Amharic, which is also the language most young Baiso speakers today primarily use throughout their day.[2]
Only recently, the writing system of the Latin alphabet was adapted to the Baiso language.[2] Hence, it does not yet have any literary tradition and is not sufficiently documented.
- ^ a b c Baiso at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Savà, Graziano (2012). ""A few notes on the documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): fieldwork organisation and data collection." Rassegna di Studi Etiopici, 2012, Nuova Serie, Vol. 4 (47) (2012), pp. 153-170".
