Amharic Language
Amharic language classification, Amharic alphabet, Amharic dialects, Amharic orthography, Amharic language history
Amharic language
Amharic: Official language of Ethiopia (in East Africa).
Number of Amharic Speakers: Over 17 million mother tongue speakers and more than 21 million second language speakers. About 9 million Ethiopians speak Oromo and Somali. Afaan Oromo is also spoken in Egypt and Kenya.
Amharic Speakers: Also in Egypt, Israel (about 40,000 Jews calling themselves Beta Jews from Ethiopia), and Sweden.
Language Classification: Semitic (cushitic) language which is Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Asia, including Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, and Tigrinya. Other Cushitic languages are Hadiyya, Kembata, and Sidamo.
Amharic Alphabet: Writing system is called fidel or abugida adapted from Ge’ez language that does not exists now. Abugida is a Brahmic language script used in India and Southeast Asia as well as by North American Indians. Amharic alphabet is Ethiopic script in Kana system originating from Ge’ez in the 4th century AD.
Amharic Dialects: Argobba is a dialect spoken by Muslim population.
Amharic Orthography: Amharic uses triconsonantal roots in its morphology where consonants help clarify the written text while vowels further explain the meaning (semantics). Amharic orthography is standard and the script is written horizontally from left to right.
Amharic Language History: Amharic language appeared in the region called Amhara in the ninth century. Amharic speakers are mainly Orthodox Christians. About four million people in Eritrea now speak Tigrinya. Amharic contained only consonants and vowel indication was added in 350 AD.
Amharic Language Enriched by: The Cushitic tongues influenced Amharic grammar and vocabulary.
Amharic Standardization Efforts: No major standardization reform.
Unique Features of Amharic: It is a modified version of Ethiopic script.
Discover the origins and development of the Ethio-Semitic (Afroasiatic) languages at Amharic Verb Morphology: A Generative Approach and daily Ethiopian news.
