Omotic, and Nilo-Saharan languages are written in Roman/Latin script. Languages According to data from the 2021 Ethnologue, the largest first languages are: Oromo speakers numbering more than 36 million speakers; Amharic speakers numbering 31,800,000; Somali speakers numbering 6,720,000; Tigrinya speakers numbering 6,390,000; Sidama speakers numbering 4,340,000; Wolaytta speakers numbering 2,380,000; Sebat Bet Gurage speakers numbering 2,170,000; Afar speakers numbering 1,840,000. Arabic, which also belongs to the Afroasiatic family, is spoken in some areas of Ethiopia. Many Muslim Ethiopians are also able to speak Arabic because of their religious background. English is the most widely spoken foreign language which is also taught in many schools. Special status of Amharic Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopian courts and its armed forces, trade and everyday communications since the late 12th century. Although now it is only one of the five official languages of Ethiopia, together with Oromo, Somali, Afar, and Tigrinya - until 2020 Amharic was the only Ethiopian working language of the federal government. Amharic is the most widely spoken and written language in Ethiopia. As of 2018, Amharic was spoken by 31.8 million native speakers in Ethiopia with over 25 million secondary speakers in the nation. Although additional languages are used, Amharic is still predominantly spoken by all ethnic groups in Addis Ababa. Additionally, three million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak Amharic. Most of the Ethiopian Jewish communities in Ethiopia and Israel speak it too. In Washington DC, Amharic became one of the six non-English languages in the Language Access Act of 2004, which allows government services and education in Amharic. Furthermore, Amharic is considered a holy language by the Rastafari religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide. Afroasiatic Afroasiatic Ethiopian Semitic North Ethiopic Tigrinya language (also in Eritrea) Ge'ez language (also in Eritrea:extinct, liturgical) South Ethiopic Transverse Amharic language Argobba language Harari language East Gurage languages Silt'e language (Ulbareg, Inneqor, Wolane) Zay language Outer South Ethiopic Gafat language (extinct) North Gurage languages Soddo language, incl. dialect Goggot (Dobi) West Gurage languages Chaha (Sebat Bet Gurage) Ezha language Gumer language Gura language Inor language Gyeto language Endegen language Mesmes language (extinct) Mesqan language Muher language Cushitic Agaw languages Awngi language, incl. dialect Kunfal Qimant language Xamtanga language East Cushitic Highland East Cushitic languages Burji language Sidaama-Hadiyya-Kambaata Alaba language Gedeo language Hadiyya language Kambaata language Libido language Sidamo language Lowland East Cushitic languages Somali language (also in