(Dr. Birhanemeskel Abebe Segni) According to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is responsible for developing and promoting tourism in Ethiopia, Afaan Oromo, the third largest most widely spoken African language, and the single most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, is just one of the local indigenous languages one may find in rural Ethiopia among some eighty-three others indigenous languages with some 200 dialects. The website of the Ministry states the Ethiopian languages as follows: “Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia, although English, Italian, French, and Arabic are fairly spoken. In areas outside of the larger cities and towns, indigenous languages are likely to be spoken – of which there are eighty-three, with some 200 dialects. The most common of these are Oromifa and Tigrigna.” See the attached screenshot and chart on the size of Afaan Oromo and Amharic speakers in Africa and Ethiopia. Chart – Top ten African languages The Ministry of Culture and Tourism information is totally false. The Ministry that is mandated to inform tourists and visitors about Ethiopia and Ethiopians are totally misinforming and deceiving tourists and visitors to Ethiopia. First, the statement violates the federal constitution of the country. Amharic is not an [...]
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