Oromo language conference in Finfinne

www.norway.org.et

Obbo Debela Amante, a linguistics PhD student at the University of Oslo, is planning an academic conference on the Oromo language to take place in Addis Ababa later this year.

Debela Goshu Amante. Photo: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa

Escaping the Norwegian winter for a while, Debela Amante is back in his native Ethiopia doing fieldwork for his dissertation on “The Semantics of Omoro Adpositions”, as well as lecturing at the University of Addis Ababa and preparing an academic conference on the Oromo language. He takes time to share his vision with the Norwegian Embassy.

The Oromo language, spoken by about one third of Ethiopians as well as in parts of Kenya and Somalia, was introduced as formal language of instruction in Ethiopia in 1991. However, Mr. Amante notes that there is as of yet no standardised written form of the Oromo language and that Oromo researchers in Europe and North America are not well connected with researchers in Ethiopia. To remedy this he and his colleagues are planning an Oromo language conference to be organised in Addis Ababa in the second half of 2010. In the longer term, Debele Amante hopes to see an Oromo language academy established.

Mr. Amante encourages anyone interested in more information to contact him (click here for contact details).