| Population |
155,000 (1994 census). 129,350 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 155,002 (1989 census). |
| Region |
North central Omo region, south tip of Ethiopia plateau, near the Hamer-Banna [amf]. |
| Language map |
Southwestern Ethiopia, reference number 1
|
| Alternate names |
Aarai, Ara, Ari, Aro, “Shankilla” , “Shankilligna” , “Shankillinya” |
| Dialects |
Bako (Baco), Biyo (Bio), Laydo, Seyki, Shangama, Sido, Wubahamer (Ubamer), Zeddo. Most similar to Gayil [gyl]. |
| Classification |
Afro-Asiatic, Omotic, South |
| Language use |
13,319 L2 users. Home, market. Also use Amharic [amh] or Gofa (Wolaytta [wal]). |
| Language development |
Literacy rate in L1: 10%. Literacy rate in L2: 8.3%. NT: 1997. |
| Writing system |
Arabic script. Ethiopic script. Latin script. |
| Comments |
Patrilineal. SOV. Agriculturalists; traders; cottage industries. Traditional religion, Christian. |