Gedeʼuffa
Gedeo
Afro-Asiatic
Gedeo (Gedeʼuffa, "Gedeo speech") is a Highland East Cushitic language of southern Ethiopia, sister to Sidamo (sid), Hadiyya, and Kembata. The Gedeo people are agricultural farmers in the highlands south of Lake Awasa, with a renowned coffee-and-enset (false banana) cultivation system that has been UNESCO-listed (2023) as the Gedeo Cultural Landscape — a sustainable agroforestry practice. Linguistically, Gedeo has typical Highland East Cushitic features: gender-based subject-verb agreement, focus markers, and complex verb conjugation. The 2007 Ethiopian census recorded ~986,000 ethnic Gedeo, with most also bilingual in Amharic.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Gedeo
Water
woyye
/wojːe/
Fire
gira
/ɡiɾa/
Sun
ayyaʼne
/ajːaʔne/
Moon
agina
/aɡina/
Mother
aaki
/aːki/
Father
eke
/eke/
Eat
ittu
/itːu/
Drink
agittu
/aɡitːu/
Love
baxxa
/baxːa/
Heart
mishi
/miʃi/
Tree
haqqa
/haqːa/
House
mine
/mine/
Dog
kaneessa
/kaneːsːa/
Cat
adurre
/aduɾːe/
Hand
anga
/aŋɡa/
Eye
ille
/ilːe/
Hello
mooye
/moːje/
Thank you
galaata
/ɡalaːta/
One
mitto
/mitːo/
Good
danee
/daneː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic languages
| Meaning | Gedeo | Sidamo | Oromo | Konso | Wolaytta | Slovenian | Irula |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | woyye /wojːe/ | waayyo /waːjːo/ | bishaan /biʃaːn/ | inanta /inanta/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | voda /voːda/ | nīr /niːɾ/ |
| Fire | gira /ɡiɾa/ | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | ibidda /ibidːa/ | iya /ija/ | tama /tama/ | ogenj /oːɡənj/ | tī /tiː/ |
| Sun | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | aduu /aduː/ | kawa /kawa/ | awa /awa/ | sonce /soːnt͡sɛ/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ |
| Moon | agina /aɡina/ | agana /aɡana/ | jiʼa /dʒiʔa/ | ayeena /ajeːna/ | ageena /aɡeːna/ | luna /luːna/ | niLā /niɭaː/ |
| Mother | aaki /aːki/ | ama /ama/ | haadha /haːɗa/ | eedda /eːdːa/ | aaya /aːja/ | mati /maːti/ | ammā /amːaː/ |
| Father | eke /eke/ | anna /anːa/ | abbaa /abːaː/ | abba /abːa/ | aawa /aːwa/ | oče /oːt͡ʃɛ/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ |
| Eat | ittu /itːu/ | itaa /itaː/ | nyaachuu /ɲaːtʃuː/ | ihaa /ihaː/ | miya /miːja/ | jesti /jɛːsti/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ |
| Drink | agittu /aɡitːu/ | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | dhuguu /ɗuɡuː/ | inakkaa /inakːaː/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | piti /piːti/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ |
| Love | baxxa /baxːa/ | baxa /baxa/ | jaalala /dʒaːlala/ | jaalla /dʒaːlːa/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | ljubezen /ljubeːzɛn/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ |
| Heart | mishi /miʃi/ | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | onnee /onːeː/ | onna /onːa/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | srce /sərt͡sɛ/ | idayam /idajam/ |
| Tree | haqqa /haqːa/ | haqqe /haqːe/ | muka /muka/ | ergaa /erɡaː/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | drevo /dɾeːʋo/ | maram /maɾam/ |
| House | mine /mine/ | mine /mine/ | mana /mana/ | mana /mana/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | hiša /xiːʃa/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ |
| Dog | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | saree /saɾeː/ | kareta /kaɾeta/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | pes /pɛːs/ | nāyi /naːji/ |
| Cat | adurre /aduɾːe/ | adurree /adurːeː/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | mačka /maːt͡ʃka/ | pūne /puːne/ |
| Hand | anga /aŋɡa/ | anga /anɡa/ | harka /haɾka/ | harka /haɾka/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | roka /ɾɔːka/ | kayyu /kajːu/ |
| Eye | ille /ilːe/ | ille /ilːe/ | ija /idʒa/ | ila /ila/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | oko /ɔːko/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ |
| Hello | mooye /moːje/ | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | akkam /akːam/ | akkam /akːam/ | saro /saro/ | živjo /ʒiːʋjo/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ |
| Thank you | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | galatoomi /ɡalatoːmi/ | galta /ɡalta/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | hvala /xʋaːla/ | nanri /nanɾi/ |
| One | mitto /mitːo/ | mitto /mitːo/ | tokko /tokːo/ | takka /takːa/ | issino /isːino/ | eden /ɛːdən/ | onnu /onːu/ |
| Good | danee /daneː/ | danchu /dantʃu/ | gaarii /ɡaːriː/ | fayye /fajːe/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | dober /doːbər/ | nalla /nalːa/ |
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