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It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005).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: QIM
ISO 639-2: cus
| Population | 1,650 mother tongue speakers, 3,181 second language users, out of 172,327 in the ethnic group, 170,747 ethnic Western Agaw are monolingual in Amharic in Ethiopia (1998 census). Population total both countries 1,650 or more. |
| Region | Northwest Amhara Region, north of Lake Tana. Communities of Qwara or Kayla are near Addis Ababa and in Eritrea. None in Sudan. Also spoken in Eritrea. |
| Dialects | QIMANT (KEMANT, KIMANT, KEMANAT, KAMANT, CHEMANT, QEMANT), DEMBIYA (DEMBYA, DAMBYA), HWARASA (QWARA, QWARINA, 'KARA'), KAYLA, SEMYEN, ACHPAR, KWOLASA (KWOLACHA). |
| Classification | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, Central, Western. |
| Comments | A separate language from Awngi, Bilen, and Xamtanga. It is reported that all Qimant are bilingual in Amharic. Ge'ez is used as liturgical language, but many use a few Hebrew words in prayer. Qwara is extinct. Kayla or Qwara people are called 'Falashi', the so-called 'Black Jews'. No evidence of a distinct Jewish language. The remaining 'Falasha' went to Israel in 1999. 'Kara' is an incorrect spelling. SOV. Literacy rate in second language: 14.7%. Christian (Qimant), Jewish (Kayla). Bible portions 1885. |
