The Mao languages are a branch of the
Omotic languages
The Omotic languages are a group of languages spoken in southwestern Ethiopia, in the Omo River region and southeastern Sudan in Blue Nile State. The Geʽez script is used to write some of the Omotic languages, the Latin script for some others ...
spoken in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
and parts of
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. The group had the following categories:
*
Bambasi, spoken in the
Bambasi woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''.
These districts are f ...
of
Benishangul-Gumuz Region
Benishangul-Gumuz () is a regional state in northwestern Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Er ...
,
*
Hozo and
Seze (often described together as 'Begi Mao'), spoken around
Begi in the
Mirab (West) Welega Zone of the
Oromia Region
Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...
, and
*
Ganza, which is spoken south of
Bambasi in the
Asosa Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, west of the Hozo and Seze languages and in
Blue Nile State
Blue Nile State ( ') is one of the eighteen states of the Republic of the Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 in 1992 and it is named after the Blue Nile River.
The region is host to around forty different ethnic groups. Its e ...
in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
.
It is estimated that there are 5,000 speakers of Bambasi, 3,000 speakers each of Hozo and Seze and a few hundred Ganza speakers (Bender, 2000). During recent political upheavals, a few thousand Bambassi speakers established themselves in the valley of the
Didessa River and
Belo Jegonfoy woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''.
These districts are f ...
. Much of the Mirab Welega Zone was once the home of Mao languages, but they have lost speakers because of the increasing influence of
Oromo.
Contact
Mao languages are in close contact with
Koman languages. Some Koman-speaking groups in Ethiopia consider themselves to be ethnically Mao.
Numerals
Comparison of numerals in individual languages:
See also
*
Mao word lists (Wiktionary)
Further reading
*
References
{{Omotic languages
Languages of Ethiopia
Language families
Omotic languages