The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: JNJ
ISO 639-2: afa
| Population | 81,613 mother tongue speakers, 4,356 second language speakers, 165,184 in the ethnic group, 114,701 monolinguals (1998 census). |
| Region | Oromo Region, recognized as separate district, northeast of Jimma, southwestern Ethiopia, Fofa, and mixed with the Oromo in their villages; Sokoru, Saja, Deedoo, Sak'a, Jimma. |
| Alternate names | YEM, YEMMA, 'JANJERO', 'JANJERINYA', 'JANJOR', 'YANGARO', 'ZINJERO' |
| Dialects | FUGA OF JIMMA, TOBA. |
| Classification | Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, North, Gonga-Gimojan, Gimojan, Janjero. |
| Comments | Fuga of Jimma may be a separate language. 24% lexical similarity with Mocha. Young people are bilingual in Amharic, older people in Oromo. The primary language of the ethnic group. Some negative attitudes toward Oromo. Speakers want literature in their language. 'Yemma' is the name for the ethnic group, 'Yemsa' for the language. 'Janjero' is derogatory. SOV, tonal. Literacy rate in second language: 24.2%. Traditional religion, Christian. |
