Talk:Ongota language

Description of Ongota

According to Mauro Tosco in his entry in the Encyclopedia Aethiopica ,

"The classification of Ongota is uncertain. It is probably affiliated to the Afroasiatic phylum (either Cushitic or Omotic); at the same time, its lexicon shows elements of Nilo-Saharan origin, and certain features of the grammar suggest origin from a creolized pidgin (as suggested by Aklilu Yilma)." A.Tamar Chabadi (talk) 23:57, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

With the above being said...Aklilu Yilma has long ago finished his studies. The article is in severe need of updating. From Graziano Sava :

"The uniqueness of Ongota shown in these morphological features is not confirmed at the phonological and lexical levels, which present evident parallels with other languages and language groups. The presence of Ts'amakko-like features is the most relevant fact: the phonological system clearly Ts'amakko and half of the lexicon can be connected to Ts'amakko roots With its SOV distribution the syntax is not so unique and reflects the languages of the area. However, like Lowland East Cushitic languages such as Somali, Oromo and the members of the Dullay cluster, the modifier does not consistently precede but it follows the head. But this could be also the result of the pressure of Ts'amakko...For some scholars Ongota represents alone a new branch of an already established group such as Nilo-Saharan (Blazek 1991 and 2001); Afroasiatic (Fleming p.c.); South Omotic ([Hamer-Banna] Ehret p.c.). The puzzling situation of Ongota and its poor morphology lead Aklilu Yilma (p.c.) to propose a process of creolisation behind the origin of Ongota. Its conclusion is strengthened by a local legend stating that Ongota originated from a multiethnic melting pot." A.Tamar Chabadi (talk) 22:39, 4 June 2013 (UTC)

Updates to the article

I removed the outdated, "As of 2004, it is being studied by Aklilu Yilma of Addis Ababa University."

In the Classification Section...changed from:

"Ongota has features of both Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages that confuse its classification. Fleming (2006) considers it to be an independent branch of Afroasiatic. Savà and Tosco (2003) believe it to be an East Cushitic language with a Nilo-Saharan substratum—that is, that Ongota speakers shifted to East Cushitic from an earlier Nilo-Saharan language, traces of which still remain. Bonny Sands (2009) believes this to be the most convincing proposal."

To:

"Ongota has features of both Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages that confuse its classification. Savà and Tosco (2007), says that Ongota's morphology is Ts'amakko or unique. Ongota's phonology is Ts'amakko and ~50% of the lexicon can be connected to Ts'amakko roots. They also report that Aklilu Yilma of Addis Ababa University considers Ongota to be a pidginised creole. They say, "Its conclusion is strengthened by a local legend stating that Ongota originated from a multiethnic melting pot." They further report that Christopher Ehret considers Ongota to be South Omotic, Marvin Lionel Bender, Cushitic, Vaclav Blaz̆ek (1991, 2001, and forth.), Nilo-Saharan, and Cushiticist Maarten Mous (2003), a language isolate. Savà and Tosco (2003, 2007), themselves, believe it to be an East Cushitic language with a Nilo-Saharan substratum—that is, that Ongota speakers shifted to East Cushitic from an earlier Nilo-Saharan language, traces of which still remain. Fleming (2006) considers it to be an independent branch of Afroasiatic. Bonny Sands (2009) believes Savà and Tosco's proposal to be the most convincing proposal."

And added the two links in the prior section of this Talk page to the article. I couldn't get anyone else to do it. A.Tamar Chabadi (talk) 22:26, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

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Doubtful there are any speakers still alive

When a team of linguists (Harold Fleming, Aklilu Yilma, P. Mikeshm etc.) first contacted the 'Ongota and gathered data in the early 1990's, they reported there were 32 speakers who were all old. Now, over 30 years later it is highly unlikely there are any speakers left. The reports that are cited, such as UN, are all quoting statistics from previous researchers. Not asking that we state number of speakers is now zero, just a reminder about how we should view these statistics. Pete unseth (talk) 20:54, 5 June 2025 (UTC)

Not quite - the paper by Savà and Tosco (2015) listed in the references gives a slightly fresher account, and it is based on new research done by Graziano Savà around or before 2010. He mentions about 10 remaining active speakers, so the endangerment is even more critical than in the 1990s, but in 2025 it is conceivable that there are still two speakers left - the minimum number to count a language as "alive". LandLing 19:48, 7 June 2025 (UTC)