Wolayttattuwaa
Wolaytta
Afro-Asiatic (Omotic)
Wolaytta is one of the largest Omotic languages, spoken by ~2M in the Wolaita Zone of southern Ethiopia. Omotic is a divergent branch of Afro-Asiatic (some scholars argue it is a separate family). Wolaytta features a rich vowel-length contrast, complex case marking with focus particles, and SOV word order. Used in primary education and local broadcasting since the 1990s federal language policy. Written in Latin (Wolaytta New Alphabet, 1991) replacing earlier Ethiopic.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Wolaytta
Water
haatta
/haːtːa/
Fire
tama
/tama/
Sun
awa
/awa/
Moon
aginaa
/aɡinaː/
Star
xoolinttee
/tʼoːlintːeː/
Mother
aaya
/aːja/
Father
aawa
/aːwa/
I
taani
/taːni/
You
neeni
/neːni/
Name
sunttaa
/suntːaː/
Eye
ayfee
/ajfeː/
Hand
kushiyaa
/kuʃijaː/
Heart
wozanaa
/wozanaː/
Love
siiqaa
/siːqaː/
Tree
mittaa
/mitːaː/
House
keettaa
/keːtːaː/
Dog
kanaa
/kanaː/
Cat
gaaduwaa
/ɡaːduwaː/
Eat
miya
/miːja/
Drink
ushiya
/uʃija/
One
issino
/isːino/
Two
naaʼʼa
/naːʔːa/
Hello
saro
/saro/
Thank you
galatay
/ɡalataj/
Good
lo'o
/loʔo/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Omotic) languages
| Meaning | Wolaytta | Sidamo | Kurukh | Gedeo | Aari | Irula | Aramaic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | haatta /haːtːa/ | waayyo /waːjːo/ | अम्म /amm/ | woyye /wojːe/ | waki /waki/ | nīr /niːɾ/ | ܡܝܐ /majjaː/ |
| Fire | tama /tama/ | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | चिच /tʃitʃ/ | gira /ɡiɾa/ | mola /mola/ | tī /tiː/ | ܢܘܪܐ /nuːraː/ |
| Sun | awa /awa/ | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | बेरी /beɾiː/ | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | háy /haj/ | čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ |
| Moon | aginaa /aɡinaː/ | agana /aɡana/ | चांदो /tʃaːndoː/ | agina /aɡina/ | arfi /arfi/ | niLā /niɭaː/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ |
| Star | xoolinttee /tʼoːlintːeː/ | beeddakko /beːdːakko/ | बिनको /binkoː/ | urje /urdʒe/ | manka /ˈmanka/ | naTčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ | ܟܘܟܒܐ /koːχβaː/ |
| Mother | aaya /aːja/ | ama /ama/ | अयो /ajoː/ | aaki /aːki/ | inde /inde/ | ammā /amːaː/ | ܐܡܐ /ʔemmaː/ |
| Father | aawa /aːwa/ | anna /anːa/ | बाबा /baːbaː/ | eke /eke/ | baba /baba/ | ayyā /ajːaː/ | ܐܒܐ /ʔabbaː/ |
| I | taani /taːni/ | ani /ani/ | एन /eːn/ | ani /ani/ | ita /ʔiˈta/ | nānu /naːnu/ | ܐܢܐ /ʔanaː/ |
| You | neeni /neːni/ | ati /ati/ | नीन /niːn/ | ati /ati/ | ahna /ahˈna/ | nī /niː/ | ܐܢܬ /ʔatt/ |
| Name | sunttaa /suntːaː/ | suʼma /suʔma/ | नाम /naːm/ | su'ma /suʔma/ | naami /naːˈmi/ | pēru /peːɾu/ | ܫܡܐ /ʃmaː/ |
| Eye | ayfee /ajfeː/ | ille /ilːe/ | ख़न्न /xanː/ | ille /ilːe/ | aafi /aːfi/ | kaNN /kaɳː/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajnaː/ |
| Hand | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | anga /anɡa/ | खेखा /xekːʰaː/ | anga /aŋɡa/ | kushum /kuʃum/ | kayyu /kajːu/ | ܐܝܕܐ /ʔiːðaː/ |
| Heart | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | ठांगरा /tʰaːŋɡɾaː/ | wodana /wodana/ | lubba /lubːa/ | idayam /idajam/ | ܠܒܐ /lebbaː/ |
| Love | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | baxa /batʼa/ | मरटी /maɾʈiː/ | baxxa /baxːa/ | gaya /ɡaja/ | kāhal /kaːhal/ | ܚܘܒܐ /ħubbaː/ |
| Tree | mittaa /mitːaː/ | haqqe /haqːe/ | मन्ना /manːaː/ | haqqa /haqːa/ | miza /miza/ | maram /maɾam/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /ʔiːlaːnaː/ |
| House | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | mine /mine/ | एरपा /eɾpaː/ | mine /mine/ | kara /kara/ | vīDu /viːɖu/ | ܒܝܬܐ /bajtaː/ |
| Dog | kanaa /kanaː/ | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | अल्ला /alːaː/ | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | kana /kana/ | nāyi /naːji/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalbaː/ |
| Cat | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | adurree /adurːeː/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ | adurre /aduɾːe/ | shanɡo /ʃaŋɡo/ | pūne /puːne/ | ܫܘܢܪܐ /ʃunnaːraː/ |
| Eat | miya /miːja/ | itaa /itaː/ | ओनना /onːaː/ | ittu /itːu/ | itte /itːe/ | činnu /tʃinːu/ | ܐܟܠ /ʔaːχel/ |
| Drink | ushiya /uʃija/ | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | ओंकना /oŋkːnaː/ | agittu /aɡitːu/ | ushe /uʃe/ | kuDi /kuɖi/ | ܫܬܐ /ʃtaː/ |
| One | issino /isːino/ | mitto /mitːo/ | ओंटा /oːnʈaː/ | mitto /mitːo/ | kollo /kolːo/ | onnu /onːu/ | ܚܕ /ħað/ |
| Two | naaʼʼa /naːʔːa/ | lame /lame/ | एण्ड /eːɳɖ/ | lame /lame/ | qasken /qasˈken/ | reNDu /reɳɖu/ | ܬܪܝܢ /treːn/ |
| Hello | saro /saro/ | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | खद्दी /kʰadːiː/ | mooye /moːje/ | saro /saro/ | vannakkam /vanːakːam/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlaːmaː/ |
| Thank you | galatay /ɡalataj/ | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | धोन्नोबाद /dʱonːobaːd/ | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | galatoma /ɡalatoma/ | nanri /nanɾi/ | ܬܘܕܝ /tawdiː/ |
| Good | lo'o /loʔo/ | danchu /dantʃu/ | होय /hoːj/ | danee /daneː/ | goodi /ɡoːdi/ | nalla /nalːa/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaːβaː/ |
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