Agaw languages

Agaw
Central Cushitic
Geographic distribution	Ethiopia and central Eritrea
Ethnicity	Agaw people
Linguistic classification	Afroasiatic Cushitic Agaw
Subdivisions	Awngi Bilen Qimant Xamtanga
Language codes
Glottolog	cent2193

The Agaw, or Central Cushitic, languages are a small branch of Cushitic languages. They are spoken mainly in Ethiopia.

Languages

• Awngi (South Agaw) spoken southwest of Lake Tana, the largest, with over 350,000 speakers

(Kunfal, spoken west of Lake Tana, is not well recorded but is probably a dialect of Awngi)

• Northern Agaw:
  • Bilen–Xamtanga:
    • Bilen (North) spoken (70,000 speakers) in Eritrea around the town of Keren and eastern Sudan around the town of Kassala
    • Xamtanga (Central Agaw; also called Khamir, Khamta) 143,000 speakers in the North Amhara Region
  • Qimant (Western Agaw) nearly extinct, spoken by the Qemant in Semien Gondar Zone

(dialects Qwara – nearly extinct, spoken by Beta Israel formerly living in Qwara, now in Israel; Kayla – extinct, formerly spoken by some Beta Israel, transitional between Qimant and Xamtanga)