Argobba language
Argobba is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken in two parts of Ethiopia by the Argobba people. It belongs to the South Ethiopic languages subgroup.
| Argobba | |
|---|---|
| Argoba | |
| ዓርጎባ | |
| Native to | Ethiopia |
| Ethnicity | Argobba |
Native speakers | 44,000 (2007 census) |
| Geʽez script (In developing use) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | agj |
| Glottolog | argo1244 |
| ELP | Argobba |
Argobba is spoken in two areas separated completely from each other. One is located in the periphery of the east Ethiopian city Harar. The other area, where the majority of speakers is located, is in the eastern corner of the Ethiopian Highlands and spans from the north to the south. Because of this geographical distinction it is often called North-Argobba and South-Argobba. The villages located in the northern Argobba are separated in small enclaves by other ethnic groups like the Amharic people and the Omoro people. The villages, where a distinct variation of Argobba is spoken, are located in the Ethiopian highlands and are called Shonke (1901 m above sea level, 10° 37‘ 101‘‘ N 39°58‘ 346‘‘ E) and T‘ohalla (1602 m above sea level, 10° 38‘ 68‘‘ N 39° 59‘ 75‘‘ E) and are difficult to access. Both of these villages have a combined 3000 people, while Shonke has about 2000 and T‘ohalla about 1000 inhabitants.
The name Argobba is used for the people group as well as the language spoken by parts of the people from these groups. The ethnic Argobba people greatly outnumber the speakers. Argobba is related to Amharic, and in some studies it is said that Argobba is only a regional dialect of the Amharic. But Argobba itself has four regional dialects, some resembling the Amharic more than others. The regional dialect of Aliyu Amba is structurally and lexically very similar to Amharic, which can be drawn back to frequent language contact since the late 17th century. Other variations like the Shonke and T‘ohalla are more similar to other ethiosemtic languages like Harari or Gurage.
Writing in the mid-1960s, Edward Ullendorff noted that it "is disappearing rapidly in favour of Amharic, and only a few hundred elderly people are still able to speak it." Today, many Argobba in the Harari Region are shifting to the Oromo language. Those in the Ankober district speak the Amharic language.