The Beja language, named beɖawije=t by the Beja people, is the sole member of the North-Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic phylum. It is mainly spoken in Eastern Sudan, and also in the most southern part of Egypt and in Northern Eritrea. In Sudan, where the data collection took place, the number of speakers amounts to approximately 1,100,000. Lexico-statistic studies (Cohen 1988) show that only 20% of the “basic” vocabulary is shared with the two closest East-Cushitic languages, Afar and Saho, and with Agaw, a central Cushitic language. It’s hardly half of that ratio for the geographically more distant East-Cushitic languages, Sidamo and Oromo.