Agaw Languages - Classification

Classification

The Central Cushitic languages are classified as follows (after Appleyard):

• Awngi (South Agaw) spoken southwest of Lake Tana, much the largest, with over 350,000 speakers

(Kunfal, spoken west of Lake Tana, is poorly recorded but most likely a dialect of Awngi)

• Northern Agaw:

• Blin–Xamtanga:

• Blin (North) spoken in Eritrea around the town of Keren (70,000 speakers)
• Xamtanga (Central Agaw; also called Khamir, Khamta) 143,000 speakers in the North Amhara Region

• Qimant (Western Agaw) nearly extinct, spoken by the Qemant in Semien Gondar Zone

(dialects Qwara – nearly extinct, spoken by Beta Israel formerly living in Qwara, now in Israel; Kayla – extinct, formerly spoken by some Beta Israel, transitional between Qimant and Xamtanga)

There is a rich literature in Agaw but it is widely dispersed: from fascinating mediaeval texts in the Qimant language, now mostly in Israeli museums, to the modern, flourishing and topical in the Bilen language, with its own newspaper, based in Keren, Eritrea. Much historical material is also available in the Xamtanga language, and there is a deep tradition of folklore in the Awngi language.