Tigrinya | |
---|---|
ትግርኛ tigriññā | |
Pronunciation | [tɨɡrɨɲa] |
Native to | Eritrea, Ethiopia |
Region | Eritrea, Tigray Region |
Native speakers | 6.9 million (2006 – 2007 census)[1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Tigrinya alphabet (Ge'ez script) | |
Official status | |
Official language in | Eritrea, Ethiopia |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | ti |
ISO 639-2 | tir |
ISO 639-3 | tir |
Glottolog | tigr1271 |
Tigrinya (sometimes written asTigrigna; /tɪˈɡriːnjə/;[2] ትግርኛ təgrəñña) is an Afroasiatic language of the Ethiopian Semitic branch. It is mostly spoken in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. There are approximately 6,915,000 total speakers of this language. There are approximately 4,320,000 in Ethiopia and approximately 2,540,000 in Eritrea. Tigrinya is also spoken by emigrants from these regions, including some Ethiopian Jews.[3][3]