Introduction to the Language
An overview of the language, its history, and its writing system.
Introduction to Afaan Oromoo
An overview of the language, its history, and its writing system.
About Afaan Oromoo
Afaan Oromoo (the Oromo language), together with Saho-Afar, Somali, Konso, Hadiyya, Agaw, Beja and more than thirty five other languages, belongs to the Cushitic language family of the Afro-Asian (Hamito-Semitic) language phylum. It is spoken in three Northeast African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In Ethiopia alone it is the mother tongue of some 30 million people. Moreover, it is a lingua franca for many non-Oromo people, both in Ethiopia and in Kenya. Maybe eight million people speak afaan Oromoo as their second or third language.
In its geographic extension and its number of speakers, it is the fourth largest language in Africa, after Arabic, Swahili and Hausa. Though afaan Oromoo is one of the important languages in Africa and the language which was used in the royal courts of the Oromo Gibe-states and other Oromo regions of the Horn of Africa, the status of the language has changed dramatically, after Abyssinia, then a small country in the northern part of Ethiopia, colonised Oromoland in the last quarter of the 19th century.
Qubee: The Oromo Alphabet
Qubee afaan Oromoo (the Oromo alphabet), which is based on Latin alphabet has 31 letters.
Vowels (Dubbachiiftuu)
There are five short and five long vowels in Oromo. Doubling of vowels is a very important feature; it not only changes pronunciation but also meaning.
Short Vowels: a, e, i, o, u
Long Vowels: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu
Pronunciation of Oromo Vowels
| Symbol | Oromo Example | English Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| a | adda (forehead) | "as u in but" |
| aa | gaangee (mule) | "as a in yard" |
| i | biyya (country) | "as i in bit" |
| ii | diina (enemy) | "as ea in beat" |
| e | elmuu (to milk) | "as e in egg" |
| ee | eebba (blessing) | "similar to a in late" |
| o | boru (tomorrow) | "as o in on" |
| oo | hoolaa (sheep) | "as o in pope" |
| u | buna (coffee) | "as u in put" |
| uu | uumuu (to create) | "as oo in fool" |
Consonants (Dubbifamaa)
b, c, ch, d, dh, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ny, p, ph, q, r, s, sh, t, w, x, y, z
In addition to the consonants common with English, Oromo has five more which need more remarks.
| Symbol | Remarks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| C | glottalized palatal | cabbii - snow |
| dh | implosive alveolar dental | dhagaa -stone |
| ny | nasal palatal - is like English ni in onion | nyaata - food |
| ph | glottalized labial | kophee - shoe |
| q | glottalized velar - as in Arabic qamar (moon) | quba - finger |
| x | glottalized alveolar | xannacha - gland |
Hudhaa ('): The Glottal Stop
The glottal stop is an important sound in Afaan Oromo, represented by an apostrophe.
- re'ee (goat)
- hoo'ina (heat)
- baay'isuu (to multiply)
- har'a (today)
Oromo Nouns (Maqaa)
A noun is a word used to describe a person, animal, place and thing. In Oromo all nouns including personal nouns are either feminine or masculine. There is no word for the English “it” in Oromo language.
Examples of people and animals
| Feminine | Masculine | English |
|---|---|---|
| niitii | dhiira/dhiirsa | man |
| obbeleetti | obboleessa | brother | sister |
| intala | ilma | son | daughter |
| haadha | abbaa | father | mother |
| jaartii | jaarsa | husband | wife |
| adaadaa | adeera | uncle | aunt |
| haboo | eessuma | uncle |
| dureettii | dureessa | rich man | rich woman |
| dargaggeeytii | dargaggeessa | young man (youth) | young woman |
| leencicha | leenca | lion |
| jawwee | jawwee | snake |
| qeeransa | qeeransa | tiger |
| Waraabeeytii | Waraabeysa | hyena |
| harree diidoo | harree diidoo | zebra |
Examples of an inanimate and other objects
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| laga | baatii |
| muka | dachii |
| mana | ooyruu |