Blin (ብሊን)

Blin is a Central Cushitic language with about 70,000 speakers in and around the city of Keren in the Anseba Region in northern Eritrea. Blin is also known as Bilin, Bilen, Bogo, Bogos, Bilayn, Balen, Beleni, Belen, Bilein, Bileno and North Agaw.

It is written with a version of the Ge'ez script developed by missionaries in the late 19th century. The first text in Blin was published in 1882. In 1985 the Eritrean People's Liberation Front decided to use the Latin alphabet for Blin and other minority languages in Eritrea. In 1993 the government set up a committee to standardize the Blin language and the Latin-based orthography.

Ge'ez script for Blin

Ge'ez script for Blin

Latin alphabet for Blin

Latin alphabet for Blin

Download alphabet charts for Blin (Excel)

Corrections and improvements provided by Michael Peter Füstumum

Sample videos

Links

Information about Blin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilen_language
http://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/byn/
http://www.daberi.org/
http://awkir.com/blin_orthography.htm
http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/36/paper1411.pdf

Online lessons in Blin
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~gasmerom/Eritrean_languages/blin/

Cushitic languages

Afaan-Oromo, Afar, Awngi, Beja, Blin, Daasanach, Gawwada, Hadiyya, Iraqw, Maay Maay, Sidama, Somali, Southern Oromo, Waata, Xamtanga

Languages written with the Ethiopic (Ge'ez) script

Aari, Amharic, Argobba, Awngi, Bench, Blin, Chaha, Dizin, Ge'ez, Gumuz, Hamer(-Banna), Harari, Inor, Sidama, Silt'e, Tigre, Tigrinya, Xamtanga

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 25.05.24

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