Omotic languages

The Omotic languages are a traditionally recognized but disputed grouping of languages spoken mainly in southwestern Ethiopia, around the Omo River region, and in parts of southeastern Sudan (Blue Nile State). This classification conventionally includes the Damotic (North Omotic), Dizoid (Majoid), Mao and Aroid (South Omotic) languages. Some of these languages are written in the Geʽez script, while others use the Latin alphabet. They are generally agglutinative and exhibit complex tonal systems, as in the Bench language. The group comprises about 7.9 million speakers. They are generally classified within the Afroasiatic family, though the internal coherence of Omotic as a linguistic unit is questioned by some linguists. For example, Güldemann treats Damotic and Dizoid as Afroasiatic, but considers Mao and Aroid to be separate language groups outside Afroasiatic, influenced by contact with North Omotic.