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Amharic |
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Amharic (ămhâr`ĭk), language of Ethiopia belonging to the South Ethiopic group of South Semitic languages, which, in turn, belong to the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages Afroasiatic languages , formerly Hamito-Semitic languages , family of languages spoken by more than 250 million people in N Africa; much of the Sahara; parts of E, central, and W Africa; and W Asia (especially the Arabian peninsula, Iraq, Syria,
..... Click the link for more information. ). The official tongue of Ethiopia since the 14th cent., Amharic is spoken by about 20 million people in that country. Amharic employs a modification of the Ethiopic script (see Ethiopic Ethiopic , extinct language of Ethiopia belonging to the North Ethiopic group of the South Semitic (or Ethiopic) languages, which, in turn, belong to the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages). ..... Click the link for more information. ). The earliest extant texts in Amharic go back to the 14th cent. Amharic has been considerably influenced in its grammar and vocabulary by the nearby Cushitic tongues. BibliographySee W. Leslau, Amharic Textbook (1968); C. A. Ferguson, The Ethiopian Language Area (1971); W. Leslau, Concise Amharic Dictionary (1980). Amharic the official language of Ethiopia, belonging to the SE Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family Amharic language of the Amhara people. Amharic is spoken, according to approximate calculations, by 6 million to 11 million inhabitants of Ethiopia. It is also commonly spoken among several nationalities of adjacent countries (in the Somali Democratic Republic and in eastern regions of the Sudan). Amharic developed from a dialect similar to the Geez language, and both of them (as well as the Tigrinya and Tigre languages) belong to the southwestern branch of Semitic languages, although they exhibit several differences and have been extensively influenced by the Cushitic languages. The phonetic system of the Amharic language is characterized by the presence of one pharyngeal h and a laryngeal stop (’). There exist glottalized consonants k, and t and the affricates c and č, corresponding to the pharynegealized (emphatic) consonants in the Semitic languages of Asia. Semitic features retained include genders and word building on the basis of the triliteral root, interrupted affixes, and flection of the root, but word formation by adding suffixes is most common. The word order in the sentence is typical of Cushitic languages: the attribute (including the subordinate clause) precedes the constituent modified, and the predicate stands at the end of the phrase. The beginnings of Amharic literature date back to the 14th and 15th centuries (inscriptions of war songs, historic events, and so on). Amharic began to develop as a literary language starting with the late 19th century and especially in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Prior to the 17th century, Ethiopian literature developed using the ancient Ethiopic language Geez. Literature using the Ethiopic syllabic script differs from the latter in the set of symbols used and also in the absence of the traditional separation of words by two dots. REFERENCESIushmanov, N. V. Amkharskii iazyk. Moscow, 1959.Cohen, M. Traité de la langue amharique (Abyssinie). Paris, 1936. Iazykovaia situatsiia v stranakh Azii i Afriki. Moscow, 1967. Pages 122–129. V. P. STARININ Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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No references found | With their national languages written in Latin, thank to the educational efforts of European missionaries and academia, the Oromos, the Ogadenis, the Sidamas and the other enslaved peoples learnt to great extent Amharic as a foreign language, and this helped them understand better their invaders, their brutal and barbaric culture, and their totalitarian and anachronistic mentality. Tabane Abdi Ali, a local resident, said the troops spoke Ethiopia's Amharic language and their vehicles carried Ethiopian number plates. Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir descends from his plane (AP) 'The Reporter' independent daily which is published in native Amharic language said that the Sudanese delegation headed by Bashir was stuck in the presidential jet at Mekele Airport waiting for the boarding ladder. |
Amharic |
AMGOT AMGOT AMGP AMGP AMGPJ AMGPM AMGR AMGRA AMGS AMGSSS AMGT Amguema Amgun Amgun AMGVF AMGVG AMH Amha AMHA-TP AMHAA AMHAC Amhara Amhara Amhara National Democratic Movement Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute Amhara Regional Health Bureau Amhara Women Entrepreneurs Association Amharas Amharas Amharic Amharic (language)Amharic (language) Amharic language Amharic language Amharics Amharics AMHARN AMHB AMHC AMHC1 AMHCA AMHCN AMHCU AMHD AMHE AMHEA Amherst Amherst Amherst (disambiguation) Amherst (disambiguation) Amherst Academy Amherst Area Amateur Astronomers Association Amherst Central High School Amherst Chamber Ensembles Amherst College Amherst College Amherst College Emergency Medical Services Amherst College Library Amherst College Museum of Natural History Amherst Community Church | |||||||
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