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The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia), as well as the Nile Valley (Sudan and Egypt), and parts of the African Great Lakes region (Tanzania and Kenya). The branch is named after the Biblical character Cush, who is identified as an ancestor of the speakers of these specific languages as early as 947 CE (in Al-Masudi's Arabic history ''Meadows of Gold''). The most populous Cushitic language is Oromo (including all its variations) with about 35 million speakers, followed by Somali with about 18 million speakers, and Sidamo with about 3 million speakers. Other Cushitic languages with more than one million speakers are Afar (1.5 million) and Beja (1.2 million). Somali, one of the official languages of Somalia, is the only Cushitic language accorded official status in any country. Along with Afar, it is also one of the recognized national languages of Djibouti. Additionally, the languages spoken in the ancient Kerma Culture in present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan and in the Savanna Pastoral Neolithic culture in the Great Lakes area are believed to have belonged to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. ==Composition== The Cushitic languages are usually considered to include the following branches: * Beja (North Cushitic) * Central Cushitic (Agaw) * Highland East Cushitic (Sidamic) * Lowland East Cushitic * Dullay * South Cushitic Lowland and Highland East Cushitic are commonly combined with Dullay into a single branch called ''East Cushitic''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cushitic languages」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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