The Kunama language is spoken by the Kunama people of the Gash-Barka Region in western Eritrea and just across the Ethiopian border. It has been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family, though it is distantly related to the other languages, if at all. The language has several dialects including: Barka, Marda, Aimara, Odasa, Tika, Lakatakura, Sokodasa, Takazze-Setit and Tigray. Ilit and Bitama are not mutually intelligible and so may be considered distinct languages.