Sidaamu Afoo
Sidamo
Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Highland East)
Sidamo (Sidaama) is the largest Highland East Cushitic language, spoken by ~3M in Ethiopia's newly formed Sidama Region (split from SNNPR in 2020). Closely related to Hadiyya, Kambaata, and Gedeo. Features ejective consonants, glottalised stops, complex case marking, and SOV word order. The Sidama people are renowned coffee cultivators of southern Ethiopia. Uses Latin orthography developed in the 1990s for primary education and the regional Sidaamu Afoo broadcasting system.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Sidamo
Water
waayyo
/waːjːo/
Fire
giiraa
/ɡiːraː/
Sun
arrishshe
/arːiʃːe/
Moon
agana
/aɡana/
Mother
ama
/ama/
Father
anna
/anːa/
Eat
itaa
/itaː/
Drink
aguraa
/aɡuraː/
Love
baxa
/baxa/
Heart
wodanaa
/wodanaː/
Tree
haqqe
/haqːe/
House
mine
/mine/
Dog
minceeti
/mintʃeːti/
Cat
adurree
/adurːeː/
Hand
anga
/anɡa/
Eye
ille
/ilːe/
Hello
nagaa yi'ne
/naɡaː jiʔne/
Thank you
gali'ne
/ɡaliʔne/
One
mitto
/mitːo/
Good
danchu
/dantʃu/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Highland East) languages
| Meaning | Sidamo | Gedeo | Konso | Oromo | Wolaytta | Daasanach | Irula |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | waayyo /waːjːo/ | woyye /wojːe/ | inanta /inanta/ | bishaan /biʃaːn/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | no /no/ | nīr /niːɾ/ |
| Fire | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | gira /ɡiɾa/ | iya /ija/ | ibidda /ibidːa/ | tama /tama/ | mes /mes/ | tī /tiː/ |
| Sun | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | kawa /kawa/ | aduu /aduː/ | awa /awa/ | sicho /sitʃo/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ |
| Moon | agana /aɡana/ | agina /aɡina/ | ayeena /ajeːna/ | jiʼa /dʒiʔa/ | ageena /aɡeːna/ | mar /mar/ | niLā /niɭaː/ |
| Mother | ama /ama/ | aaki /aːki/ | eedda /eːdːa/ | haadha /haːɗa/ | aaya /aːja/ | waana /waːna/ | ammā /amːaː/ |
| Father | anna /anːa/ | eke /eke/ | abba /abːa/ | abbaa /abːaː/ | aawa /aːwa/ | kaaba /kaːba/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ |
| Eat | itaa /itaː/ | ittu /itːu/ | ihaa /ihaː/ | nyaachuu /ɲaːtʃuː/ | miya /miːja/ | icho /itʃo/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ |
| Drink | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | agittu /aɡitːu/ | inakkaa /inakːaː/ | dhuguu /ɗuɡuː/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | ʔurro /ʔuro/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ |
| Love | baxa /baxa/ | baxxa /baxːa/ | jaalla /dʒaːlːa/ | jaalala /dʒaːlala/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | kashed /kaʃed/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ |
| Heart | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | mishi /miʃi/ | onna /onːa/ | onnee /onːeː/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | lubeen /lubeːn/ | idayam /idajam/ |
| Tree | haqqe /haqːe/ | haqqa /haqːa/ | ergaa /erɡaː/ | muka /muka/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | hecho /hetʃo/ | maram /maɾam/ |
| House | mine /mine/ | mine /mine/ | mana /mana/ | mana /mana/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | mar /maɾ/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ |
| Dog | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | kareta /kaɾeta/ | saree /saɾeː/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | kashe /kaʃe/ | nāyi /naːji/ |
| Cat | adurree /adurːeː/ | adurre /aduɾːe/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | paka /paka/ | pūne /puːne/ |
| Hand | anga /anɡa/ | anga /aŋɡa/ | harka /haɾka/ | harka /haɾka/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | hark /haɾk/ | kayyu /kajːu/ |
| Eye | ille /ilːe/ | ille /ilːe/ | ila /ila/ | ija /idʒa/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | ill /ilː/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ |
| Hello | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | mooye /moːje/ | akkam /akːam/ | akkam /akːam/ | saro /saro/ | nagaya /naɡaja/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ |
| Thank you | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | galta /ɡalta/ | galatoomi /ɡalatoːmi/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | galche /ɡaltʃe/ | nanri /nanɾi/ |
| One | mitto /mitːo/ | mitto /mitːo/ | takka /takːa/ | tokko /tokːo/ | issino /isːino/ | takka /takːa/ | onnu /onːu/ |
| Good | danchu /dantʃu/ | danee /daneː/ | fayye /fajːe/ | gaarii /ɡaːriː/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | ash /aʃ/ | nalla /nalːa/ |
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