Amharic language

Amharic language

Semitic language of Ethiopia. Amharic is spoken by more than 18 million people as a first language and is used as a lingua franca throughout much of central highland Ethiopia. Its status as a de facto national language is largely due to the long dominance of the Ethiopian monarchy by Amhara sovereigns. Amharic is written in a modified form of the partly syllabic, partly alphabetic script used to write Ge'ez, the classical language of Christian Ethiopian civilization (see Ethiopic languages). Though manuscripts in Amharic are known from the 14th century, the language has only recently been used as a general medium for literature, journalism, and education.