Oromo

Welcome to Oromo!

GALLERY
OVERVIEW
DATASETS

Oromo Gallery

Photo Credits

Oromo Language icon created by Kaye Ocampo
“Irreecha Festival.jpg” by Mohammed Kassahun is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
“Sycomore in Ethiopia.jpg” by Bernard Gagnon is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
“Oromo_Tribe.jpg” by Rod Waddington is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Oromo Linguistics word cloud created by Kaye Ocampo.
Oromo Sayings icon created by Lucy Meanwell.
Oromo dialects map created by Yi-Ting Deng.

Oromo Overview

Expand your understanding of the Oromo language and people by exploring the following modules.

Basics
Language
Context
Samples
Culture
Credits

- Basics

Language names, family, geography, speakers, ethnicities, and status

Oromo 

Pronounced [orómo:]

Also known as Afaan Oromoo (literally language/tongue of the Oromo)

[afa:n oromo:] 

Historically referred to as “Galla” in older materials on the language, but this term is pejorative.

    • Older linguistic materials on Oromo are under this name
    • The Oromo people never called themselves this
  • Afro-Asiatic
    •  Cushitic 
      • Lowland East Cushitic

Closely related to Somali

Spoken primarily within the Oromia region of Ethiopia as well as surrounding areas in Kenya and Somalia.

  • It is estimated that there are around 36-39 million speakers, primarily L1 speakers
  • Oromo speakers comprise about 33.8% of the Ethiopian population (~116 million)  
  • Used primarily by the Oromo ethnic group from the Oromia region 
  • Oromo people form the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia
  • Can be separated into further subgroups based on region
    • Multiple different dialects corresponding to subgroups 
  • Significant populations within the United States, particularly in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. 
  • Oromo diaspora also present in Canada, Australia (Victoria area), Norway, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden.

Oromo has multiple major dialect groups, divided by geographical location. Classification based on Banti and Mazengia (2023: 258)

Northern dialectsWallo [wallo], Rayya [ráːjja]
Eastern dialectsHarar [harár]
Southeastern dialectsArsii [arsiː]
Central dialectsTuulama [tuːláma]
Southern dialectsMec’a [métʃ’tʃ’a]
Northern dialectsBoran [boːrán], Gujii [gudʒíː], Garre [gárri:], Orma [ormá], Munyo [mú:ɲɲo]
Southernmost Kenya dialectsWaata [wa:tá]
  • EGIDS status: Level 2, Provincial
  • Functions as the working language for public life in the Oromia region (basic education, local government) 
  • Not considered an official national language 
    • Amharic remains the only national language and knowledge of Amharic is required to hold federal positions  

- Language

Writing system, linguistic typology, notable linguists

Oromo uses the Latin alphabet.

The writing system is phonemic.

The Oromo alphabet is known as Qubee.

Most sounds are written with the same symbol as in the IPA, except the following sounds (IPA on the left, Oromo orthography on the right):

    • tʃ = ch 
    • dʒ = j 
    • tʃ’ = c 
    • k’ = q 
    • t’ = x 
    • ɗ = dh 
    • p’ = ph 
    • ʃ = sh 
    • ɲ = ny 
    • j = y 

Prior to the 1970s, Oromo was primarily an oral language, and speakers used both the Latin alphabet and the Ge’ez script (used for Amharic).

The current writing system was standardized through literacy programs in the 1970s-1980s. 

  • Ejectives and one implosive 
  • Short/long vowel contrasts
  • Contrast between geminates and single consonants at most places of articulation
      • Exception: /tʃ/ is always geminate, /h/ is always a singleton
  • All consonant clusters are heterosyllabic
  • Diphthongs and VV sequences are not permitted
  • When the morphology requires a vowel to be added to a root ending in another vowel, [ɗ] is added
  • Laryngeal assimilation: affix /t/ assimilates in laryngeal quality (voicing and ejective) with preceding root stops
  • Local dissimilatory pattern st –> ft 
  • Vowel lengthening is often used morphologically (e.g., for case marking)
  • Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language 
  • Suffixing 
  • Nominative-accusative system 
  • Marked nominative (accusative is the citation form) 
  • Passives
  • Gender on nouns, adjectives, and demonstratives: masculine or feminine 
  • Postpositions 
  • Pro-drop possible for both subjects and objects 
  • Oromo verbs encode subject person, number, and gender (3sg only) 

These are some notable linguists who have worked on Oromo. This is not an exhaustive list!

  • O = published in Oromo
  • E = published in English
  • G = published in German

Native-speaker linguist:  

  • Tilahun Gamta (O, E)

Non-Native linguists:

  • Jonathan Owens (E) 
  • Harry Stroomer (E) 
  • Bogumił Witalis Andrzejewski (1922-1994) (E) 
  • Maria-Rosa Lloret (E) 
  • Catherine Griefenow-Mewis (E, G) 
  • Oromo has many Arabic loanwords due to language contact (Bitima, 1990) 
  • Oromo and Somali share about 40% lexical similarity (Abdulle 1981:76) 
  • Semitic and Omotic influences in Northern and Western Oromo dialects 
    • These dialects have lost the gender system; only the masculine form is retained (Clamons, 1995; Feleke & Lohndal, 2023)

- Context

Historical and current context of the language

Emperor Menelik II (1870s ~ early 1900s) expanded the borders of the Ethiopian Empire by forcibly overtaking surrounding resource-rich lands, including those of the Oromo people 

    • As the ruling class, Amharic language and culture were given dominant status – this  put pressure on the newly incorporated populations to assimilate 
    • Menelik II attempted a mass conversion of the Oromo people to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the state religion of the Amhara people 

Ethiopia remained resistant to European colonization attempts  

    • The First Italo-Ethiopian War (1895-1896) ended under Menelik’s reign with an Ethiopian victory at the Battle of Adwa 

Emperor Haile Selassie (ruled from 1930-1974) pushed for modernization of Ethiopia and for homogenizing the population under Amharic language and culture

    • The Oromo language was suppressed in public life in favour of Amharic 
    • Use of Oromo became greatly restricted and stigmatized 
    • Oromo was reduced to a language spoken solely in the home 
    • Higher education, courts, literature, media, and government processes were limited to only Amharic  
    • The Italians won the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1937)  
    • A full takeover by Italy was thwarted by ongoing Ethiopian resistance and Italy’s declaration of war against Britain 
    • Possibly due to the short occupation period (1936-1941), there are currently no significant Italian speaking communities in Ethiopia

See more information from the International War Museum on how Italy was defeated in East Africa

A military coup in 1974 forced Selassie out of power  

    • He was replaced with a Soviet Communist-affiliated military government known as ‘The Derg’ 
    • From 1974 to 1991, Ethiopia was in a prolonged civil war against this new government 

While Oromo writing was still not permitted, literacy programs began to spread during this time as a form of resistance and language revival (Bulcha, 1997) 

      • The Oromo language was restored to public use in 1991 after the end of the civil war 

The Derg was defeated by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) 

Group dynamics are quite complex in Ethiopia and the Oromia region  

    • Long history of wealth and power imbalance since the formation of Ethiopia 

Three primary political factions:  

    • Group 1: Unitarists   
      • Aims to return to a unitary system in which a centralized government holds ultimate control   
      • Supports continuation of Amharic language and political dominance  
  •  
    • Group 2: Status Quo  
      • Aims to maintain the current system of a federal system combined with region-specific governments  
      • This view is promoted by the ruling Prosperity Party (formerly the EPRDF)  
      • Many regional government roles are still appointed by the federal government, resulting in limited autonomy  
  •  
    • Group 3: Secessionists  
      • Aims to decentralize the federal system and allow the formation of independent states based on region and ethnic identity  
      • For Oromo people, this view is promoted by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)  

Federal positions still require fluency in Amharic 

    • Limits representation of other ethnicities  

Conflict has continued to build in the country 

    • Oromo protests of 2014-2016  
    • War in Tigray from 2020-2022    

Ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia) is also a major current event affecting the Oromo population 

    • Majority survives through farming 
    • Over five consecutive years of poor rainfall combined with flooding 
    • Loss of crops and livestock 
    • Tremendous food insecurity for millions of people in Oromia (OCHA, May 26, 2023)  

- Samples

Samples of phrases and texts in the language

Here are some basic phrases in Oromo. Pronunciations in the recordings are Eastern Oromo, and spellings are orthography.

Phrase 

English translation 

Akkam 

‘hello’ 

Nagayatti 

‘goodbye’ 

Galatoomi (to thank one person)

Galatooma (to thank multiple people) 

‘thank you’ 

Ee / eeyyee 

‘yes’ 

lakkii 

‘no’ 

maqaan kee eenyuu? 

‘What’s your name?’ 

maqaan kiyya 

‘My name is …’ 

Akkam jirta (for one person) 

Akkam jirtan (for multiple people) 

‘How are you?’ 

Nagaya 

common response to ‘How are you?’ 

– Fayyaa dayaa – said when passing by others, ‘let you be rewarded by health’ 

– Aamin – typical response to ‘fayyaa dayaa’, similar to amen 

– Jiloo qocoo – said when passing a hyena to not frighten it in case it attacks 

– Darma sheek – to greet a hyena, display of friendship

Here is a traditional Oromo story, in Oromo orthography, IPA, and translation. The recording is done in the Eastern Oromo dialect.

Oromo orthography: 

Leenca qeerransa waraabeeysa bofa fi jeedalloo tu imala waliin deeme. Hundinuu amala ifii himate. Leenci ani gooha hin fedhu jedhe. Qeeransi ani karrisaa hin fedhu jedhe. Waraabeeysi ani tuqaa hin fedhu jedhe. Bofni ani narra ejjechchuuu hin fedhu jedhe. Jeedalloon dhiiftee ti biraa deemte. Amma warri hafe rafuu dhatti ka’e. Waraabeeysi karrisuu eegale. Qeeransi waraabeeysa kotteeyse. Waraabeeysi maalif na tuyxa jedhee lallabe. Leenci maalif natti gootan jedhee ka’ee jara gate. Hogguu tana (leenci) bofa matarra ejjatee bofni du’e. ilkeen bofaa leenca miila waraantee leenci niis du’e. Ganama jeedalloo qabanii ‘sii tu jara gatee?’ Jedhaniin. Jeedallooniis ‘anaa mitii amala isaanii tu isaan gate’ jatte. Dhumate.

IPA: 

Leːntʃ’a k’eːrransa waraːbeːjsa bofa fi d͡ʒeːdalloː tu imala waliːn deːme. Hundinuː amala ifiː himate. Leːntʃ’i ani goːha hin feɗu d͡ʒeɗe. K’eːransi ani karrisaː hin feɗu d͡ʒeɗe. Waraːbeːjsi ani tuk’aː hin feɗu d͡ʒeɗe. Bofni ani narra ed͡ʒd͡ʒechchuː hin feɗu d͡ʒeɗe. d͡ʒeːdalloːn ɗiːfteː ti biraː deːmte. Amma warri hafe rafuː ɗatti kaʔe. Waraːbeːjsi karrisuː eːgale. K’eːransi waraːbeːjsa kotteːjse. Waraːbeːjsi maːlif na tujt’a d͡ʒeɗeː lallabe. Leːntʃ’i maːlif natti goːtan d͡ʒeɗeː kaʔeː d͡ʒara gate. Hogguː tana (leːntʃ’i) bofa matarra ed͡ʒd͡ʒateː bofni duʔe. Ilkeːn bofaa leːntʃ’a miːla waraːnteː leːntʃ’i niːs duʔe. Ganama d͡ʒeːdalloː k’abaniː “siː tu d͡ʒara gateː?” d͡ʒeɗaniːn. d͡ʒeːdalloːniːs “anaː mitiː amala isaːniː tu isaːn gate” d͡ʒatte. Ɗumate. 

Translation: 

A lion, tiger, hyena, snake, and fox went on a trip. Everyone told his nature. Lion said, ‘I don’t like noise’. Cheetah said, ‘I hate snoring’. Hyena said, ‘I don’t like being touched’. Snake said, ‘I don’t like being stepped on’. The fox left them and went. Now the remaining group went to sleep. Then Hyena started snoring. Cheetah scratched Hyena (because Hyena started to snore). Hyena screamed, ‘why did you touch me!’. Lion said, ‘Why do you disturb me!’ and killed the hyena and the cheetah. He (Lion) at this time stepped on snake’s head and snake died. Snake fang went into lion’s foot, and he died. In the morning (implied: people of the area, maybe ‘they’?) caught the fox and accused her ‘you killed these guys?’. And then the fox said, ‘it’s not me but it is their nature that killed them’. The end.     

Here is a traditional number riddle in Oromo orthography, IPA, and translation.

  • Used by local elders to teach children numbers
  • Structured in a repetition pattern
  • With each number from 1-9, the person has to repeat all the previous numbers before it
  • Goal of the game is to get through the entire recitation for numbers 1-9 without taking a single breath
  • Competition to see how can make it the furthest before taking a breath

Orthography version

Takkeen maali? Takkeen quba. //
Lama maali? Lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Sadii maali? Sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Afur maali? Afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Shan maali?   Shanan quba namaa,  afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Jaha maali? Jahan jabbilee qaraxaa, shanan quba namaa,  afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Torba maali? Torba tobanin buufnee [explanation], jahan jabbilee qaraxaa, shanan quba namaa,  afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba. //
Saddeet maali? Saddeet dhala leencaa, torba tobanin buufnee, jahan jabbilee qaraxaa, shanan quba namaa,  afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, [breath] lamaan mucha re’ee, takkeen quba [admits failure]. //
Sagal maali? Sagal lakkoysa ekeraa, saddeet dhala leencaa, torba tobanin buufnee, jahan jabbilee qaraxaa, shanan quba namaa,  afran mucha saayyaa, sadeen sunsummanii, lamaan mucha re’ee [breath], takkeen quba.

IPA version  

Takkeːn maːli? Takkeːn k’uba//
Lama maːli? Lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
Sadiː maːli? Sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
Afur maːli? Afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
ʃan maːli? ʃanan k’uba namaː, afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
dʒaha maːli? dʒahan dʒabbileː k’arat’aː, ʃanan k’uba namaː, afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
Torba maːli? Torba tobanin buːfneː, dʒahan dʒabbileː k’arat’aː, ʃanan k’uba namaː, afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
Saddeːt maːli? Saddeːt ɗala leːncaː, torba tobanin buːfneː, dʒahan dʒabbileː k’arat’aː, ʃanan k’uba namaː, afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//
Sagal maːli? Sagal lakkojsa ekeraː, saddeːt ɗala leːncaː, torba tobanin buːfneː, dʒahan dʒabbileː k’arat’aː, ʃanan k’uba namaː, afran mutʃtʃa saːjjaː, sadeːn sunsummaniː, lamaːn mutʃtʃa reʔeː, takkeːn k’uba//

#  Question   Gloss  Answer   Gloss   

1 = takka(F)

tokko(M)

Takkeen[1] maali What is one?Takkeen qubaA single finger
2 = lamaLama maali  What is two?Lameen mucha re’ee The two teats of a goat
3 = sadihSadii maali  What is three?Sadeen sunsummaniiThe three stones holding the fire pot
4  = afurAfur maali  What is four?Afran mucha saayyaa  The four teats of a cow
5  = shanShan maaliWhat is five?Shanan qubbeen namaaThe five human figures
6  = jahJaha maali  What is six?Jahan jabbii qaraxaa  The six calves given to a groom’s family
7 = torbaTorba maali  What is seven?Torba torbaanin boofne  The seven days of the week
8 = saddeetSadeet maali  What is eight?Saddeettan dhala leencaa The eight litters of a lion
9 = sagalSagal maali  What is nine?Sagal lakkooysa ekeraa  The number of the holy ghost
[1] Number+(ee)n → the two, the three …

  • Oromo has many English loanwords, especially for recent concepts
  • Loanwords are adapted to fit Oromo phonological constraints
  • Changes include adding vowels to match Oromo syllable structure, vowel changes, and changing English /p/ to /b/ or /f/
  • Further details are in the loanwords dataset section
  • Some example English loanwords into Oromo:
    • narsii [nar.siː] (nurse)
    • iimeelii [iː.meː.liː] (email)
    • fili.ma [fi.li.ma] (film)
    • telefiziina [te.le.fi.ziː.na] (television)
    • foolisii [foː.li.siː] (police)
    • biriinzibalii [bi.riːn.zi.ba.liː] (principal)
    • bilaaneetii [bi.laː.neː.tiː] (planet)

- Culture

Culture, food, literature, and more

Marqaa/Murqaa (porridge) 

    • One of the simplest and most common Ethiopian foods 
    • Made with barley or wheat flour
    • Usually shaped into a round form with a hole in the middle
    • Filled with dipping sauce, mixture of butter and red peppers, or sunflower seeds, nuts, or flax
    • Preparation

Murqaa 

C’ororsaa 

    • From Western Oromia (Wollega) 
    • Type of sweet pancake covered with toppings 
    • Served at weddings and festivities 
    • Preparation

Biddeena 

    • Spongy crepe-like flatbread made of teff flour 
    • Similar to (but slightly different from) the Amharic dish injera 
    • Preparation

Bachoo/bassoo [batʃtʃoː] 

    • Food for people travelling long distances 
    • Consists of ground barley, butter, and honey   

Hulbat marakh 

Amalele by Ali Birra 

Ganama Gaarii by Shantam Shubbisaa 

Prologue to African Conscience and Black Antigone by Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin  

Alchalkum by Tilahun Gessesse 

Sanyii Mootii by Hachalu Hundessa 

Maalan Jira by Hachalu Hundessa (central Oromo music) 

Wallaale Mala koo by Nasra Yusuf (southwestern Oromo music, in Jimma region) 

Shaggooyyee by Nasra Yusuf ft. Iskiyas Mezemir (Eastern Oromo music video, in Baha) 

Adaa Arsi by unknown (southeast Oromo music video, in Kebri Beyah region, in Arsi dialect) 

Baredu Girma by Jahan Lode (southeast Oromo music video, in Kebri Beyah region) 

Walagga by (western Oromo music video, Mecca dialect) 

Many of Ethiopia’s long-distance runners (and other athletes) come from the Oromo community 

    • Abebe Bikila –  marathon runner  
    • Derartu Tulu  – former long-distance runner   
    • Ejegayehu Dibaba Keneni – long-distance runner  
    • Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha – long-distance runner  
    • Degaga “Mamo” Wolde – long-distance runner  
    • Fatuma Roba – long-distance runner  
    • Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha – long-distance runner  
    • Abdusalam Abas Ibrahim – former professional footballer   

There are also many Oromo singers and writers 

    • Ali Birra – singer, composer, poet  
    • Shantam Shubissa – singer, composer, poet  
    • Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin – poet and novelist  
    • Tilahun Gessesse –  singer  
    • Hachalu Hundessa – singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist  
  • Among the Oromo, there are Christians, Muslims, and some who practice the traditional religion, Waaqeffanna (Ta’a, 2013).
    • Waaqefanna beliefs include a monotheistic creator (Waaqa), a spiritual connection with nature, and a duty to maintain natural balance
    • There are no holy texts, but spiritual leaders perform rites and rituals
    • Spiritual leaders are called qaalluu (male), qaalliitti (female)
  • The Gadaa system is closely connected to the traditional faith and acts as a democratic social structure for the local community
  • Gadaa involves age-groups of 8-year periods from birth to 80+ years old
  • Abbaa Gadaa (elders/leaders) lead for an 8-year span and are responsible for maintaining the community and passing knowledge and traditions on to younger generations
    • They carry the bokkuu (sceptre) as a symbol of authority
  • The sycamore tree (odaa) symbolizes the gathering place of the elders and acts as a community hub

  • The age groups are known by the following names:
 Orthography  IPA  
0-8 yearsjoolleedʒo:lle:
9-16 yearsdabballeedabballe:
17-24foolleefo:lle:
25-32qeerrook’e:rro:
33-40raabara:ba
41-48gadaagada:
49-56gadamoojiigadamo:dʒi:
57-64dooriido:ri:
65-72––
73-80––
>80manguddoomanguddo:

Rites and roles at different ages are explained in the UNESCO video:

Gada system, an indigenous democratic socio-political system of the Oromo

The Gadaa flag is used both as a religious symbol (of Waaqeffanna) and as an apolitical symbol of the Oromo people

 

The colours in the flag have the following meanings:

  • White represents ashes, the past, and those who have passed through life
  • Red represents fire, the present, and those who are currently active in society
  • Black represents God, the unknown future, and those who have not yet begun to be active

Irreecha /irreːtʃtʃa/ is a bi-annual festival in the spring and autumn in which the Oromo people give offerings of green leaves and grasses to the mountaintops and rivers 

    • Tradition comes from the indigenous Oromo religion of Waaqeffanna which emphasizes life in balance with nature 
    • Irreecha is about giving thanks to Waaqa (the creator) for the year’s blessings 
    • It is a traditional religious holiday, but also regarded as a celebration of Oromo culture and identity regardless of religious belief. All people are welcome to attend. 
    • There are regional variations within Oromia for the different types of dress, adornment, and dances for the celebration 
    • Example: “callee” (tʃ’alleː) beaded head crowns, primarily for women 
      • can serve as both a feminine religious symbol and a cultural symbol for specific regions 
    • DIY videos demonstrating the different cultural versions can be found in the YouTube links below 
    • Irreecha is also celebrated outside of Ethiopia by diaspora communities such as in the Twin Cities 

Oromo ways of using a coffee plant 

    • The leaves are half roasted, smashed and used like tea, drunk with salt and milk 
      • Called k’ut’t’ii 
    • The husk from the beans is half-roasted and used like tea and drunk the same way 
      • Called hashara 
    • The beans are either roasted and ground or crushed without roasting and drunk like an ordinary coffee drink 
    • The other use is roasting full green beans, without removing the husk, in butter, cooling it down and eating like cake.  
    • This is for a ritual ceremony called buna-qalaa, literally slaughter of coffee. 

Coffee Ceremony 

    • Coffee plants are native to Ethiopia and have been historically integrated into cultural practices 
    • facilitates family and community connections in the home 
    • Jebena buna (coffee ceremony) 
    • Jebena (earthen coffee pot) 
    • Buna (coffee) 
    • Ceremony is typically conducted by women  
    • Steps are as follows: 
      • 1) Scrub and rinse the coffee beans 
      • 2) Put the beans in a flat pan and roast them over a fire, stirring repeatedly 
      • 3) When the beans turn reddish black and shiny, let them cool, then grind them with a mortar and pestle 
      • 4) Boil water in the jebena pot over the fire and add the ground coffee powder 
      • 5) Remove the jebena from the fire and give it time to steep 
      • 6) Serve coffee to guests in siinii (small handleless coffee cups) 
    • Butter, sugar, and salt can be added to coffee as well 
    • May be served with ambasha (homemade pastry) or other snacks like popcorn or peanuts 

Voice of Oromiya weekly radio broadcast (Twin Cities)

BBC Oromo

Voice of America Oromo

Oromia Broadcasting Network

Oromia Broadcasting Service

Wikipedia in Oromo

- Credits and References

References, image credits, and how to cite this profile

Accordion Content
Accordion Content

Oromo datasets

Find Oromo datasets for use in Linguistics courses

Notice for Screen Reader Users: We invite and encourage you to use the downloadable datasets for an optimal experience. Please find download links at the top of each dataset section.

    • Locative cases
    • Other case markings 
    • Postposition in topicalization 

Suffixation is exclusively in Oromo. The locatives are reflected on nouns. Vowel lengthening is used to derive from one case to another case. See the dataset below.

Supersessive case (on + static)

1 boorsaa intala-rra kayy-i
bag[ACC] girl-on put-IMP.SG
‘Put the bag on the girl (put on her shoulder).’
2 kursii muc’aa-rra kaay-i
chair boy-on put-IMP
‘Put the chair on the boy.’
3 tuffaaha na-rra kaay-i
apple me-on put-IMP.SG
‘Put the apple on me’

Ablative case (on + away-from)

1 tuffaaha na-rra-a fuudh-i
apple me-on-ABL put-IMP.SG
‘Take the apple that is on me, and away from me’ (lit. take the apple from on me).
2 intala farda-rra-a fuudh-i
girl horse-on-ABL take-IMP
‘Take the girl away from the horse.’
3 Nyaan-ni intala-rra-a fuudh-am-e
food-nom girl-on-ABL take-pass-PST.1SG/3SG.M
‘The food was taken away from the girl.’

Inessive case (in + static) 

kitaaba sanduuk’a keessa kaay-i
book box in put-IMP.SG
‘Put the book in the box’

Ellative case (in + away-from) 

kitaaba sanduuk’a keessa-a baas-i
book box in-from take-IMP.SG
‘take the book away from inside of the box’

Other locatives  

1 tuffaaha na bira kaayi
apple me near take-IMP.SG
‘Put the apple near me’
2 tuffaaha na bira-a fuudh-i
apple me near-from take-IMP.SG
‘Take the apple away from me (lit. take the apple from-near me).’
3 lafa jala
land under
‘under the ground’
4 kitaaba gabatee jala-a
book table under-from
‘the book (from) under the table’

Auto-benefactive case: -f/-adh/-at 

1bishaankubbaayyaadhaanaa-ffid-i
 watercup??me-BENbring-IMP.SG
 ‘bring me [the water in the cup]’
2aniisaa-fdeem-e
 1SG-NOM3SG.ACC-BENgo-PST.1SG
 ‘I went for him.’
3baaf-adh-e
 take.out-BEN-PST.1SG
 ‘I took out for myself’
4an-iafaanhak’-adh-e
 1SG-NOMmouth[ACC]wipe-BEN-PST.1SG
 ‘I wiped mouth for myself’
5baaf-at-te
 take.out-BEN-PST.2SG
 ‘You took out for yourself’
6isii-nafaanhak’-at-te
 3SG.F-NOMmouth[ACC]wipe-BEN-PST.3SG.F
 She wiped mouth for herself.’
7isii-nnaannoonidhaw-at-ti
 3SG.F-NOMhairPRSmake-BEN-PRS.3SG.F
 ‘She makes hair for herself.’
8si-ttikann-e   
 you-togive-PST.1SG/3SG.M   
 ‘Gave to you’
 NB the suffix -tti doesn’t carry dative case, it refers to hold something to the recipient, temporarily in possession
9nyaatagurbaadha-ttikann-e
 foodboy??-togive-PST.3SG.M
 ‘He gave the food to the boy.’
10gurbaabarsiisaaisaa-ttikann-i
 boyteacherhis-togive-IMP.SG
 Give the boy to his teacher.
11haadamuka-ttihidh-i
 stringtree-totie-IMP.SG
 ‘tie a string to the tree.’ -> talks about the string
12sheekkoointala-ttihim-i
 storygirl-totell-IMP.SG
 ‘tell the story to the girl’ -> refers to the story

Dative case 

1sii-fkann-e
 you-DATgive-PST.1SG/3SG.M
 ‘gave (it) to you’ -> to own something, possession
2nyaatagurbaadhaa-fkann-e
 foodboy??-DATgive-PST.3SG.M
 ‘He gave the food to the boy.’

Instrumental case 

1an-imiila-andeem-e
 1SG-NOMleg-INSgo-PST.1SG
 ‘I went using my legs’

Some postpositions in Oromo are used in situations where the attached argument could be either emphasized or dropped. They don’t carry any cases rather as indicator of the topicalized argument. They cannot be elided in such situation, otherwise, causing ambiguity.

irra 

1farda,intalairrakaay-i
 horsegirlonput-IMP.SG
 ‘put the girl on the horse.’ (lit. As for the horse, put the girl on)
2kursii,muc’aairrakaay-i
 chairboyonput-IMP
 ‘Put the boy on the chair.’ (lit. As for the chair, put the boy on)

irraa 

1Intala,fardairra-afuudh-i
 girlhorseon-ABLtake-IMP.SG
 ‘Take the horse from the girl (lit. as for the girl, take the horse from on).’
2farda,intalairra-afuudh-i
 horsegirlon-ABLtake-IMP
 ‘Take the girl from the horse. lit. as for the horse, take the girl from)

itti 

1kubbaayyaamaalittigoo-te
 cupwhatatdo-PST.3SG.F
 What did she do at the cup?
2kubbaayyaa,bunaittinay-t’e
 cupcoffeeatpour-PST.3SG.F
 She poured the coffee at the cup. (lit. As for the cup, she poured the coffee at)
3daakuubunaa,ittinay-t’i
 powdercoffeetopour-PRS.3SG.F
 She pours the coffee powder. (lit. As for the coffee powder, she pours to)
4gurbaa,barsiisaaittikann-i
 boyteachertogive-IMP.SG
 Give the teacher to the boy. (lit. As for the boy, give the teacher to)
5muka,haadaittihidh-i
 treestringtotie-IMP.SG
 ‘tie a string to the tree (lit. As for the tree, tie the string to)’ -> emphasizing the ‘tree’
6intala,sheekkooittihim-i
 girlstorytotell-IMP.SG
 ‘tell the story to the girl (lit. As for the girl, tell the story to)’ -> emphasizing the ‘girl
Verified by MonsterInsights