The Omo–Tana languages are a branch of the Cushitic family and are spoken in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The largest member is Somali. There is some debate as to whether the Omo–Tana languages form a single group, or whether they are individual branches of Lowland East Cushitic. Blench (2006) restricts the name to the

Western Omo–Tana languages The (Western) Omo–Tana or Arboroid languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Ethiopia and Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_m ...

, and calls the others Macro-Somali.

Internal classification

Mauro Tosco (2012)Tosco, Mauro (2012). The Unity and Diversity of Somali Dialectal Variants. In: Nathan Oyori Ogechi, Jane A. Ngala Oduor and Peter Iribemwangi (eds.), The Harmonization and Standardization of Kenyan Languages. Orthography and other aspects. Cape Town: The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS): 2012: 263-280. proposes the following internal classification of the Omo-Tana languages. Tosco considers Omo-Tama to consist of a ''Western'' branch and an ''Eastern'' ("Somaloid") branch, which is a

dialect chain A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...

of various

Somali languages The Somali languages form a group that are part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. They are spoken as a mother tongue by ethnic Somalis in Horn of Africa and the Somali diaspora. Even with linguistic differences, Somalis collectively view the ...

and the

Rendille–Boni languages The Rendille–Boni languages is a proposed subgroup of the Macro-Somali languages, belonging to the Cushitic family. The languages are spoken in Kenya.Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed. 2005. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World''. 15th edition. Dal ...

(''see also

Macro-Somali languages The Macro-Somali or Somaloid languages, or (in the conception of Bernd Heine, who does not include Baiso language, Baiso), Sam languages, are a branch of the Lowland East Cushitic languages in the classification of those who do not accept the unit ...

''). ;Omo-Tana *Western ("Galaboid" or "Arboroid") branch ** Dhaasanac **

Arbore Arbore is a commune located in Suceava County, Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of three villages: namely Arbore, Bodnăreni, and Clit. Church of Arbore Arbore is best known for its church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist ...

** Elmolo ** Yaaku *Eastern ("Somaloid") branch ** Rendille **

Karre Karre is a Dutch surname, derived from the Gaulish word ''carrum'' meaning 'cart' or 'wagon', most likely left over from Gallia Belgica. Found in France as ''Carron'' or ''Carrier,'' which both have the same meaning.Kärre is a given name and surnam ...

– Boni **

Tunni The Tunni (Somali language, Somali: Tunni) are a Somali clan that make up part of the wider Digil-Rahanweyn branch. It is one of the major clans that inhabit in the South West State of Somalia, South West State of Somalia and can also be found in ...

– Dabarre **

Ashraaf Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...

Maay Mai-Mai, commonly spelled Maay Maay (also known as ''Af-Maay'', ''Af-Maymay'', or simply ''Maay''; the ''Mai-Mai'' spelling is rarely used but it is most often spoken), is a dialect of the Somali language of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiat ...

** Somali

References

{{AfroAsiatic-lang-stub