The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Semitic. They are spoken in the Horn of Africa. The most prominent language is Oromo with about 24 million speakers, followed by Somali (in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya) with about 20 million speakers, Sidamo (in Ethiopia) with about 2 million speakers, and Afar (in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti) with about 1.5 million speakers. It is divided into the following subgroups, as per Joseph Greenberg, as modified by Harold Fleming: Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... Cush (כּוּשׁ Black, Standard Hebrew Kuš, Tiberian Hebrew Kûš) was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Canaan and the father of Nimrod, mentioned in the table of nations in the Book of Genesis (x. ... 14th century BC diplomatic letter in Akkadian, found in Tell Amarna. ... Nations of the Horn of Africa. ... The Oromo language, also known as Afaan Oromo or Oromifaa, is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic sub-phylum. ... The Sidamo languages are part of the Afro-Asiatic languages, belonging to the Cushitic sub-phylum. ... Afar is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. ... Joseph Harold Greenberg (May 28, 1915–May 7, 2001) was a prominent and controversial linguist, known for his work in both language classification and typology. ...

• Beja language (often placed outside Cushitic proper)
• Central Cushitic or Agaw languages
• East Cushitic languages (including Oromo, Somali, Sidamo, and Afar)
• South Cushitic or Rift languages (including Iraqw-Alagwa, Burunge, and arguably Dahalo)

Robert Hetzron has suggested that the South Cushitic languages are a subgroup of Lowland East Cushitic. Maarten Mous, in his 24 June 2005 oration at Leiden University, has suggested more specifically that South Cushitic be linked to the Southern Lowland East Cushitic branch, together with such languages as Oromo, the Omo-Tana languages (such as Somali), and Yaaku-Dullay. Beja (also called Bedawi, Bedauye, To Bedawie) is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads in parts of Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea. ... The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and Eritrea; they include Bilin. ... The Central Cushitic, or Agaw, languages are spoken by small groups in Ethiopia and Eritrea; they include Bilin, and Kaïliña. ... The East Cushitic languages comprise more than thirty languages belonging to the Cushitic family within the Afro-Asiatic phylum. ... The Cushitic languages are a subgroup of the Afro_Asiatic languages phylum, named after the Biblical figure Cush by analogy with Semitic. ... Dahalo is an endangered South Cushitic language spoken by about 400 people in Kenya. ... Robert Hetzron (1937 – 1997) was a linguist who specialized in Afroasiatic languages and whose work embraced comparative studies, semantic analysis and theoretical aspects of grammar. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Richard Hayward, on the other hand, breaks up East Cushitic into three well-supported families: Sidamic or Highlands, a diverse Lowlands family (with Afar, Somalic, and Oromic subgroups), and Dullay (he apparently leaves Yaaku unclassified), that he believes should be considered separately when attempting to work out the internal relationships of Cushitic. This makes for a tentative four to seven branches, depending on the status of Beja, Rift, and Yaaku. The Mukogodo-Maasai (formerly Yaaku) are a people living in the Mukogodo Division of the Laikipia District of Rift Valley Province, Kenya. ...

Cushitic was traditionally seen as also including the Omotic languages, then called West Cushitic, but this view has been largely abandoned; the Omotic languages are now considered an isolated branch of Afro-Asiatic. The Omotic languages are Afro-Asiatic languages spoken in northeast Africa. ... The Omotic languages are Afro-Asiatic languages spoken in northeast Africa. ...

Cushitic peoples

Cushitic also is used to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Horn of Africa. Ethiopid is an equivalent, though somewhat archaic, term.