Africa

Ethiopia asks AU to add Amharic to list of official languages

A file picture of Ethiopian Foreign minister Taye Atske Selassie, . (Photo: X/ Taye Atske Selassie)

By Foreign Reporter | Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The official languages of the union and all its institutions are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Kiswahili.

Ethiopia has formally requested the African Union to endorse Amharic as one of its official languages.

Newly appointed Foreign minister Taye Atske Selassie emphasised the importance of strengthening the use of indigenous languages in Africa.

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While making the case for the inclusion of Amharic, Taye noted that it is one of the four languages in which the official text of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) charter was written in October 1963.

"Adopting Amharic as one of the official languages of the union will honour Africa's linguistic diversity and strengthen our collective identity as Africans," the diplomat told the ongoing 37th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Addis Ababa.

Amharic is one of Ethiopia's two main languages, alongside Oromo, and is principally spoken in the central highlands.

It has close to 22 million first-language speakers and four million second-language speakers globally, with slightly over 21.6 million of them living in Ethiopia.

The official languages of the union and all its institutions are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Kiswahili.