Konso | |
---|---|
አፈ ኾንሶ (äfä honəso) | |
Native to | Ethiopia |
Region | South of Lake Chamo in the bend of the Sagan River |
Native speakers | 240,000 (2007)[1][2] |
Dialects |
|
Ethiopic script | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | kxc |
Glottolog | kons1243 |
Konso (Komso, Khonso, also Af Kareti, Afa Karatti, Conso, Gato, Karate, Kareti) is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. Native speakers of Konso number about 200,000 (SIL 2005). Konso is closely related to Dirasha (also known as Gidole), and serves as a "trade language"—or lingua franca—beyond the area of the Konso people. Blench (2006) considers purported dialects Gato and Turo to be separate languages.[3]
The Grammar of Konso was first described by Hellenthal (2004), and later, in more detail, by Ongaye (2013). The New Testament was published in the Konso language in 2002.