Native to Eritrea, Ethiopia ISO 639-3 ssy | Native speakers 220,000 (2015) Glottolog saho1246 | |
Region Akuliguzay, Samhar and Saray Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan Language family Afro-Asiatic
Cushitic
Lowland East
Saho–Afar
Saho | ||
The Saho language (Tigrinya: ሳሆኛ) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. It belongs to the family's Cushitic branch.
Overview
Saho is spoken natively by the Saho people. They traditionally inhabit territory in Eritrea bounded by the bay of Erafayle in the east, the Laasi Ghedé valleys in the south, and the Eritrean highlands to the west (Akele Guzai, Shimejana).
This speech area is bordered by other Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, with Tigre speakers on the west and Afar speakers on the east. In Ethiopia, Saho or Assawort is primarily spoken in the Tigray Region. It has about 200,000 speakers in total and four main dialects: Asawurta, Toroa Minifero, Eda, Tabota Hazu Hasabat-ara and Irob.
Saho is so closely related to the Cushitic Afar language, spoken as a mother tongue by the Afar people, that some linguists regard the two tongues as dialects of a single "Saho–Afar language".