The Weyto Language of Ethiopia: State of the Art

Abstract

Weyto 1 is an unclassified and now probably extinct language formerly spoken in the Lake Tana area of Northern Ethiopia. Except for a word-list collected in 1928 by Griaule and later published and analyzed by Cohen (1939: 358-371), there is no linguistic data available on Weyto. As an ethnic group, the Weyto still exist. They were 1677 according to the 1994 national census of Ethiopia but they are not mentioned in the preliminary report of the 2007 census. Based on the existing literature and on a fieldwork carried out in 2010, this paper intends to give an overview of available information on Weyto people and their language. 1. Weyto People The Weyto live on the shore of Lake Tana which is located in the Amhara region of the country. It is generally assumed that Weyto settlements are specifically found in the Goǧǧam zone of the region (around the city of Bahɨr Dar), however Woldeselassie (2001a: 13) also reports the presence of Weyto further North in the Gondar zone, a statement that was confirmed by our informants.

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