Linguistic changes and changing practices in Kambaata beekeeping

International audience In the Kambaata community in the Central Ethiopia Region, we still find a flourishing tradition of home-garden beekeeping in locally produced bamboo beehives. Based on a large corpus of two- or multi-party conversations with 25+ beekeepers recorded in 2023 and 2025 as well as observations in beekeeping households all across the Kambaata zone, we give a first account of (i) the changes in the Kambaata apicultural lexicon under the influence of the Ethiopian lingua franca Amharic (borrowings, loan translations), (ii) the emergent changes in discursive practices about the social, cultural and medicinal benefits of honey and taboos surrounding apiculture, and (iii) the incipient changes in the apicultural techniques under the influence of trainings and material support provided by local authorities and NGO.