Projektnummer

0054013

Zusammenfassung

Oyda is an endangered Omotic language in south-west Ethiopia. It is spoken by some 14,000 people and faces pressure from surrounding dominant languages and changes in the internal organization of the strongly hierarchical Oyda society with three distinctive social strata divided along ethnic and occupational lines: 1) the Mala, who constitute ruling families; 2) the Tsoma, who represent different clans and are occupationally farmers; 3) the Mana, consisting of potters and smiths only. The latter are marginalized. The social stratification has consequences in language use, threatening t...