Afar language
| Afar | |
|---|---|
| Qafaraf | |
| Native to | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti |
| Region | Horn of Africa |
|
Native speakers
|
1990800 (2017)https://www.ethnologue.com/language/aar |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
|
Recognised minority
language in |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | aa |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | afar1241 |
The Afar language (Afar: Qafaraf) (also known as ’Afar Af, Afaraf, Qafar af) is an Afroasiatic language, belonging to the family's Cushitic branch. It is spoken by the Afar people in Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Afar is classified within the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is further categorized in the Lowland East Cushitic sub-group, along with Saho and Somali. Its closest relative is the Saho language.
The Afar language is spoken as a mother tongue by the Afar people in Djibouti, Eritrea, and the Afar Region of Ethiopia.
According to Ethnologue, there are 1,379,200 total Afar speakers. Of these, 1,280,000 were recorded in the 2007 Ethiopian census, with 906,000 monolinguals registered in the 1994 census.
In Djibouti, Afar is a recognized national language. It is also one of the broadcasting languages of the Radio Television of Djibouti public network.
In Eritrea, Afar is recognized as one of nine national languages which formally enjoy equal status (although Tigrinya and Arabic are by far of greatest significance in official usage). There are daily broadcasts on the national radio and a translated version of the Eritrean constitution. In education, however, Afar speakers prefer Arabic – which many of them speak as a second language – as the language of instruction.
In the Afar Region of Ethiopia, Afar is also recognized as an official working language.
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Wikipedia