Ongota

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A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639-3
bxe
Alternate Names
“Birale” , “Birelle” , Ifa, “Shanqilla”
Population

10 (2007 census). 3,400.

Location

Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), South Omo zone, west bank of Weyt’o river. 1 village.

Language Maps
Language Status

8b (Nearly extinct).

Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Unclassified
Typology

SOV; postpositions, genitives follow noun heads, suffixes indicate noun case, verb affixes mark subject, person, number, and gender; passive; causative

Language Use

Older adults. Negative attitudes. Shifting to Tsamai [tsb]. Some Ongota also speak Konso [kxc], Oromo [orm], or Hamar-Banna [amf] (Dimmendaal and Voeltz 2007).

Writing
Unwritten.