The Opuo (Opuuo, Opo) language, or Tʼapo, is a Koman language spoken by the Opo people of

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

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. It has a lexical similarity of 24% with Komo. The language is also called Opo-Shita, Opo, Opuo, Cita, Ciita, Shita (along with Dana), Shiita, Ansita, Kina, and Kwina. The self-name for the language is Tʼapo. "Langa" is a derogatory term for its speakers used by the Anuak. however, of the 286 speakers the 1994 Ethiopian Census records, 183 are in 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 ...

(mostly in the Mirab Shewa Zone), 32 in the

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; ) was a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in southwestern Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of five ''kililoch'', called Regions 7 to 11, following the ...

, and less than ten in either of the Regions closest to South Sudan. An early record of this language is a list of 32 village names and a wordlist dated February 1883 by

Juan Maria Schuver Juan Maria Schuver (born Joannes Maria Schuver; 26 February 1852 – August 1883) was a Dutch explorer. The son of a wealthy merchant, as a young man Schuver travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa. At ...

, where he calls the language "Gambiel".Wendy James, ''et al.'', ''Juan Maria Schuver's Travels in North East Africa, 1880-1883'' (London: Hakluyt Society, 1996), pp. 335-340

References

Languages of Ethiopia Languages of South Sudan Koman languages {{ns-lang-stub