Aari is an Omotic language of a tribe of Ethiopia. Most speakers of Aari are illiterate, and the language does not have its own writing system. Dialects are Bako, Biyo, Laydo, Seyki, Shangama, Sido, Wubahamer, Zeddo. Literacy in Aari is about 10%. The first translation of the New Testament into Aari was published in 1997.
History
In the late 1800s, Amhara rulers were sent to the Omo River region by Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. By the early 1900s, the Amhara rulers had become owners of the region and the Aari became serfs. In addition, a strong alcoholic beverage known as 'araqe was introduced to the area and the Aari culture began to decline. The decline was reverted in 1974 when the monarchy was overthrown and the Aari were able to reclaim their traditional lands. Since then, social and economic situations have improved dramatically and interest in education has flourished; most Aari towns today have at least one school. Faith is also a way of life in all Aari communities and most towns have an Orthodox church; there is a significant population of Aari who practice their traditional beliefs as well.
Current status
Aari had a population of 235,000 first language speakers in 2007, of whom 129,350 were monolingual. 13,319 second language users were also recorded in 2007. The ethnic population was 155,002 as of 1989. Aari is used at home and at local markets. The size of the Aari tribe is growing, and thus the Aari language has seen an increase in language use and development in recent years. The language is learned by all of the Aari people and some members of neighboring tribes as well. Many Aari speakers also use Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, or Wolaytta, the language of a neighboring Omotic people.
Dialects
There are nine dialects of the Aari language, each dialect being associated with a former chiefdom. While these dialects are mutually intelligible with one another, some also have distinct features. The following are dialects of Aari. Alternate names are given in parenthesis.
Verb stem buruk, meaning "boil." The causative stem of buruk- is burukš-, making this verb irregular. "To boil" is burukinti. This consists of the stem buruk with the infinitive-inti. The causative third-person singular perfect of burukinti is búrukse. The present tense is búrukše, "he boils ." A sentence can be formed with the verb buruk by adding a noun as an object. Búrukše... means "he boiled...", so "he boiled water" would be noqá búrukše. Note that in Aari the object comes before the verb; búrukše noqá is not correct.
Orthography
Aari uses a Latin script and an Ethiopic script, but below 10% of Aari speakers can read. Schooling is not well developed in this region of the world, so Aari is mostly spoken rather than written down and most speakers have no use for the language's two writing systems. However, despite this, there are schools in numerous villages and there are efforts to promote education and literacy. At present, 8% of second language users are literate in Aari. The New Testament was translated into Aari in 1997. Additionally, some other books have been translated into Aari to help promote literacy; Genesis Exodus, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, Esther, Ruth, Psalms, Leviticus, Joshua and Judges have all been translated into Aari, but at present only Genesis has been published. Some external organizations are working with Aari churches to write a complete Aari Bible and increase the literacy rate.
