The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the
Afro-Asiatic languages, named after the Biblical figure
Cush by analogy with
Semitic. They are spoken in the
Horn of Africa. The most prominent language is
Oromo with about 25 million speakers, followed by
Somali (in
Somalia,
Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and
Kenya) with about 15 million speakers,
Sidamo (in Ethiopia) with about 2 million speakers, Hadia about 1.6 million native speakers, Kambata about 1.4 million native speakers and
Afar (in
Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti) with about 1.5 million speakers. It is divided into the following subgroups, as per
Joseph Greenberg, as modified by Harold Fleming:
Beja language (often placed outside Cushitic proper)
Central Cushitic or
Agaw languages
East Cushitic languages (including Oromo, Somali, Sidamo, Saho, and Afar)
South Cushitic or Rift languages (including
Aasáx, Iraqw-Alagwa, Burunge, and arguably
Dahalo)
See more at Wikipedia.org...