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Ethnologue: Languages of the World
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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Africa > Ethiopia > Tigrigna

Tigrigna

A language of Ethiopia

ISO 639-3: tir

Population  3,220,000 in Ethiopia (1994 census). 2,819,755 monolinguals. Population total all countries: 5,791,710. Ethnic population: 3,284,568.
Region  Tigray Province. Also in Canada, Djibouti, Eritrea, Germany, Israel.
Language map  Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, reference number 78
Alternate names   Tigray, Tigrinya
Classification  Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South, Ethiopian, North
Language use  146,933 L2 speakers.
Language development  Literacy rate in L1: 1%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 27%. Radio programs. Grammar. Bible: 1956.
Writing system  Ethiopic script.
Comments  Are called ‘Tigrai’. Christian.

Also spoken in:

Eritrea

Language name   Tigrigna
Population  2,540,000 in Eritrea (2006).
Region  South and central.
Language map  Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, reference number 78
Alternate names  Tigray, Tigrinya
Language use  Official language.
Language development  Literacy rate in L1: 1%–10%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–25%.
Comments  Christian, Muslim.
 

Israel

Language name   Tigrigna
Population  10,000 in Israel (1994 H. Mutzafi).
Alternate names  “Falashas” , Tigrinya
Language use  Also use Amharic [amh] or Hebrew [heb].
Comments  The liturgy is written in Geez. Jewish.
 

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

Unseth, Peter. 2003. "Surveying bi-consonantal reduplication in Semitic."

Walter, Stephen L. and others. 2005. Eritrea national reading survey, September 2002.