Editing Cushitic languages (section)

==Official status==
The Cushitic languages with the greatest number of total speakers are [[Oromo language|Oromo]] (37 million),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/orm|chapter=Oromo|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|editor-last=Eberhard|editor-first=David M.|editor-last2= Simons|editor-first2=Gary F.|editor-last3=Fennig|editor-first3=Charles D.|date=2021|publisher=SIL International|location= Dallas, Texas|edition=Twenty-fourth|access-date=2 March 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Somali language|Somali]] (22 million),<ref>{{cite web|title=Somali|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/som|website=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|editor-last=Eberhard|editor-first=David M.|editor-last2= Simons|editor-first2=Gary F.|editor-last3=Fennig|editor-first3=Charles D.|date=2021|publisher=SIL International|location= Dallas, Texas|access-date=20 April 2021|edition=Twenty-fourth|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Beja language|Beja]] (3.2 million),<ref>{{cite web|title=Bedawiyet|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bej|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> [[Sidamo language|Sidamo]] (3 million),<ref>{{cite web|title=Sidamo|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sid|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> and [[Afar language|Afar]] (2 million).<ref>{{cite web|title=Afar|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/aar|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref>

Oromo serves as one of the official working languages of [[Ethiopia]]<ref name="africanews.com">{{cite news |last1=Shaban |first1=Abdurahman |title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |agency=Africa News |access-date=12 April 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231030/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// }}</ref> and is also the working language of several of the states within the Ethiopian federal system including [[Oromia]],<ref name="The world factbook">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Ethiopia| date=6 June 2022 }}</ref> [[Harari Region|Harari]] and [[Dire Dawa]] regional states and of the [[Oromia Zone]] in the [[Amhara Region]].<ref name="Ethioct">{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia|pages=2 & 16|url=http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/et/et007en.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615203703/http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/et/et007en.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-15 |url-status=live|publisher=Government of Ethiopia|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref>

Somali is the first of two official languages of [[Somalia]] and three official languages of [[Somaliland]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-12-14|title=Somaliland profile|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14115069|access-date=2021-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of the Somali Republic (as amended up to October 12, 1990)|page=2|url=http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/so/so002en.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035727/http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/so/so002en.pdf |archive-date=2017-12-01 |url-status=live|publisher=Government of Somalia|access-date=23 November 2017}} {{cite web|title=The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic|page=5|url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/72421/90484/F1341539793/SOM72421.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040420/http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/72421/90484/F1341539793/SOM72421.pdf |archive-date=2017-12-01 |url-status=live|publisher=Government of Somalia|access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> It also serves as a language of instruction in [[Djibouti]],<ref name="Djiloi96">{{cite web|title=Journal Officiel de la République de Djibouti – Loi n°96/AN/00/4èmeL portant Orientation du Système Educatif Djiboutien|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/66970/63444/F2041984911/DJI-66970.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034056/https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/66970/63444/F2041984911/DJI-66970.pdf |archive-date=2017-12-01 |url-status=live|publisher=Government of Djibouti|access-date=22 November 2017}}</ref> and as the working language of the [[Somali Region]] in Ethiopia.<ref name="Ethioct"/>

Beja, Afar, [[Bilen language|Blin]] and [[Saho language|Saho]], the languages of the Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic that are spoken in [[Eritrea]], are languages of instruction in the Eritrean elementary school curriculum.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Graziano Savà |author2=Mauro Tosco|title="Ex Uno Plura": the uneasy road of Ethiopian languages toward standardization|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language|date=January 2008|volume=2008|issue=191|page=117|url=http://docdro.id/Nr4Q9ir|access-date=23 November 2017|doi=10.1515/ijsl.2008.026|s2cid=145500609}}</ref> The constitution of Eritrea also recognizes the equality of all natively spoken languages.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Eritrea|url=http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Eritrea1997English.pdf|page=524|publisher=Government of Eritrea|access-date=22 November 2017|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215061657/http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Eritrea1997English.pdf}}</ref> Additionally, Afar is a language of instruction in Djibouti,<ref name="Djiloi96"/> as well as the working language of the [[Afar Region]] in Ethiopia.<ref name="Ethioct"/>