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
20 core words in Wolaytta
Water
haatta
/haːtːa/
Fire
tama
/tama/
Sun
awa
/awa/
Moon
ageena
/aɡeːna/
Mother
aaya
/aːja/
Father
aawa
/aːwa/
Eat
miya
/miːja/
Drink
ushiya
/uʃija/
Love
siiqaa
/siːqaː/
Heart
wozanaa
/wozanaː/
Tree
mittaa
/mitːaː/
House
keettaa
/keːtːaː/
Dog
kanaa
/kanaː/
Cat
gaaduwaa
/ɡaːduwaː/
Hand
kushiyaa
/kuʃijaː/
Eye
ayfee
/ajfeː/
Hello
saro
/saro/
Thank you
galatay
/ɡalataj/
One
issino
/isːino/
Good
lo'o
/loʔo/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Omotic) languages
| Meaning | Wolaytta | Aari | Konso | Sidamo | Aramaic | Gedeo | Classical Syriac |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | haatta /haːtːa/ | waki /waki/ | inanta /inanta/ | waayyo /waːjːo/ | ܡܝܐ /majjaː/ | woyye /wojːe/ | ܡܝܐ /majjaː/ |
| Fire | tama /tama/ | mola /mola/ | iya /ija/ | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | ܢܘܪܐ /nuːraː/ | gira /ɡiɾa/ | ܢܘܪܐ /nuːraː/ |
| Sun | awa /awa/ | saba /saba/ | kawa /kawa/ | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | ܫܡܫܐ /ʃemʃaː/ |
| Moon | ageena /aɡeːna/ | ama /ama/ | ayeena /ajeːna/ | agana /aɡana/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ | agina /aɡina/ | ܣܗܪܐ /sahraː/ |
| Mother | aaya /aːja/ | inde /inde/ | eedda /eːdːa/ | ama /ama/ | ܐܡܐ /ʔemmaː/ | aaki /aːki/ | ܐܡܐ /ʔemmaː/ |
| Father | aawa /aːwa/ | baba /baba/ | abba /abːa/ | anna /anːa/ | ܐܒܐ /ʔabbaː/ | eke /eke/ | ܐܒܐ /ʔabbaː/ |
| Eat | miya /miːja/ | itte /itːe/ | ihaa /ihaː/ | itaa /itaː/ | ܐܟܠ /ʔaːχel/ | ittu /itːu/ | ܐܟܠ /ʔeχal/ |
| Drink | ushiya /uʃija/ | ushe /uʃe/ | inakkaa /inakːaː/ | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | ܫܬܐ /ʃtaː/ | agittu /aɡitːu/ | ܐܫܬܝ /ʔeʃtiː/ |
| Love | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | gaya /ɡaja/ | jaalla /dʒaːlːa/ | baxa /baxa/ | ܚܘܒܐ /ħubbaː/ | baxxa /baxːa/ | ܚܘܒܐ /ħubbaː/ |
| Heart | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | lubba /lubːa/ | onna /onːa/ | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | ܠܒܐ /lebbaː/ | mishi /miʃi/ | ܠܒܐ /lebbaː/ |
| Tree | mittaa /mitːaː/ | miza /miza/ | ergaa /erɡaː/ | haqqe /haqːe/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /ʔiːlaːnaː/ | haqqa /haqːa/ | ܐܝܠܢܐ /ʔiːlaːnaː/ |
| House | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | kara /kara/ | mana /mana/ | mine /mine/ | ܒܝܬܐ /bajtaː/ | mine /mine/ | ܒܝܬܐ /bajθaː/ |
| Dog | kanaa /kanaː/ | kana /kana/ | kareta /kaɾeta/ | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalbaː/ | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | ܟܠܒܐ /kalbaː/ |
| Cat | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | shanɡo /ʃaŋɡo/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | adurree /adurːeː/ | ܫܘܢܪܐ /ʃunnaːraː/ | adurre /aduɾːe/ | ܫܘܢܪܐ /ʃunnaːraː/ |
| Hand | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | kushum /kuʃum/ | harka /haɾka/ | anga /anɡa/ | ܐܝܕܐ /ʔiːðaː/ | anga /aŋɡa/ | ܐܝܕܐ /ʔiːðaː/ |
| Eye | ayfee /ajfeː/ | aafo /aːfo/ | ila /ila/ | ille /ilːe/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajnaː/ | ille /ilːe/ | ܥܝܢܐ /ʕajnaː/ |
| Hello | saro /saro/ | saro /saro/ | akkam /akːam/ | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlaːmaː/ | mooye /moːje/ | ܫܠܡܐ /ʃlaːmaː/ |
| Thank you | galatay /ɡalataj/ | galatoma /ɡalatoma/ | galta /ɡalta/ | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | ܬܘܕܝ /tawdiː/ | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | ܫܘܒܚܐ /ʃubħaː/ |
| One | issino /isːino/ | kollo /kolːo/ | takka /takːa/ | mitto /mitːo/ | ܚܕ /ħað/ | mitto /mitːo/ | ܚܕ /ħað/ |
| Good | lo'o /loʔo/ | goodi /ɡoːdi/ | fayye /fajːe/ | danchu /dantʃu/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaːβaː/ | danee /daneː/ | ܛܒܐ /tˤaːβaː/ |
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