The Wolaytta languageby Marcello Lamberti and Roberto Sottile: some reactions and reflections

Abstract

In terms of numbers of speakers, Wolaytta (hereafter to be referred to by the abbreviation ‘W’) is by far and away the most important variety of the Ometo linguistic cluster. According toEthnologue: languages of the world(Grimes (ed.), 1996), there are two million mother-tongue speakers of the variety, and this number would have to be augmented by large numbers of speakers of other Ometo tongues who have some degree of second language command ofW. It is surprising, therefore, how little scholarly attention has been focused on it. The present work goes some way towards rectifying the situation. The earlier literature (Cerulli, 1929; Chiomio, 1938; Padri Missionari, 1969; Ohmanet al., 1976) represents a decidedly scanty resource for solid information onWgrammar, and in their introductory review (13–14) Lamberti and Sottile (hereafter abbreviated to ‘L&S’) dispose of it in summary fashion, though it does appear that they draw rather more heavily on these sources for their account of cultural matters (15–19). One other work that L&S refer to in their introduction is the doctoral dissertation by Adams (1983), but one must assume that they had no access to it since, subsequently, it is never cited, and this is very unfortunate as in the present reviewer's opinion Adams's description ofWis still the best available—but of this more will be discussed later.