Amharic Language: Some Basic Facts
Some Basic facts about the Amharic language and some recommended resources for learning Amharic.
The Amharic Language
The Amharic language is spoken by the Amhara, an ethnic group in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The Amhara comprise approximately 30 percent of the population, with about 27 million speakers. An additional 7-15 million people speak it as a second language. It has been the working language of government institutions, the military, and of the Ethiopic Orthodox church.
In addition to Ethiopia, Amharic is also the language of some 2.7 million emigrants. The largest population of émigrés live in Egypt, Israel, and Sweden. Increasing numbers of Ethiopians and Eritreans have also emigrated to the United States. The Amharic language is also spoken in Eritrea by some Eritreans as a vestige of past years when Eritrea was part of the Ethiopia.
In addition to Ethiopia, Amharic is also the language of some 2.7 million emigrants. The largest population of émigrés live in Egypt, Israel, and Sweden. Increasing numbers of Ethiopians and Eritreans have also emigrated to the United States. The Amharic language is also spoken in Eritrea by some Eritreans as a vestige of past years when Eritrea was part of the Ethiopia.
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Amharic as a Semitic Language
Semitic languages, of which Amharic is one, represent a family of languages spoken by more than 300 million people across the Middle East, North Africa, and the horn of Africa. After Arabic, Amharic is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world.
According to Lionel Bender & Hailu Fulass, Semitic languages can be divided into two categories. The two primary categories are Western Semitic and Eastern Semitic. Western Semitic can be further divided into Southern and Central families and it is from the Southerm Semitic branch, that Arabic and Amharic languages are derived.
According to Lionel Bender & Hailu Fulass, Semitic languages can be divided into two categories. The two primary categories are Western Semitic and Eastern Semitic. Western Semitic can be further divided into Southern and Central families and it is from the Southerm Semitic branch, that Arabic and Amharic languages are derived.
A Little Bit of Amharic Grammar
Amharic is written in the Ge'ez alphabet. As in many languages, there is no agreed upon manner of transliterating the Amharic language into Roman characters.
As in other Ethiopian Semitic languages, germination (i.e. occurs when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant). is contrastive in Amharic. Therefore, consonant length can distinguish words from one another. Germination is not indicated in Amharic writing orthography, but with relatively few pairs of words or phrases, which differ in only one phonological element, such as these, Amharic readers seem not to find this to be a problem.
There are a limited number of materials available for learning the Amharic language. You may want to also check out Talk Now Amharic.
As in other Ethiopian Semitic languages, germination (i.e. occurs when a spoken consonant is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a short consonant). is contrastive in Amharic. Therefore, consonant length can distinguish words from one another. Germination is not indicated in Amharic writing orthography, but with relatively few pairs of words or phrases, which differ in only one phonological element, such as these, Amharic readers seem not to find this to be a problem.
There are a limited number of materials available for learning the Amharic language. You may want to also check out Talk Now Amharic.
Ethiopia: The Land of Amharic
Sunset at Awash
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Recommended Resources for Learning Amharic
The products below are highly recommended products for learning Amharic.
- Talk Now Beginner Amharic Software
- Designed for beginners who want to start learning a new language as soon as possible. Talk Now! is the course to get you started.
- Foreign Service Institute Amharic Course
- The most comprehensive course for learning Amharic available.
- Amharic Language
- This just released website will provide the ultimate collection of articles, free resources, product reviews for Amharic and 100 other languages.
- Amharic Language Resources
- The Language Chronicle is the ultimate resource for all things related to foreign languages, including product reviews, history of languages, trends, and more.
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Popular News and Blogs on Amharic
Popular News and Blogs on Amharic
Blog Posts from Google on Amharic
- Ethiopian News | Amharic translation of Isaias Afwerki's Interview ...
- Part 1 and 2 of President Isaias Afwerki's interview with Ethiopian Review and eppfOnline.org Part 1...
- »Amharic. Name of the month: Aläm Road to Ethiopia - Camino a ...
- The name of this month is Aläm - ??? sometimes also written in Amharic characters as Our worl...
- Ethiopia: Press Release On the Chicago Conference (in Amharic)
- Click here to read the ENPCP Press Release in Amharic For further information contact the ENPCP Secr...
- Learning the Amharic Language |
- This is an interesting article on learning Amharic in Ethiopia.
New Link List
- Talk Now Amharic
- Designed for beginners who want to start learning Amharic as soon as possible. Whether on business, vacation, or perhaps meeting a foreign visitor, Talk Now! is the disc to get you started.
- Learning Amharic
- The most extensive text and audio course available for learning Amharic.
Amharic Language Related Videos
Check out these two Amharic Language music videos and another commenting on the distribution of Semitic languages throughout Africa and the Middle East.
New SquidooCool Blog
New YouTube Amharic Music vids
Great Stuff on Amazon for Learning Amharic
Foreign Service Institute Amharic Basic Course Text Book and Audio CDs Edition (Foreign Service Institute Amharic Series, Volume 1)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009) 
Foreign Service Institute Twi Basic Course Text Book and Audio CDs (Foreign Service Institute African Language Series)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009)
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- Learning the Amharic Language: This is an interesting article on learning Amharic in Ethiopia. http://tinyurl.com/n4exyc
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Learning Amharic with Talk Now Amharic
This video reviews Talk Now Amharic- a vocabulary based approach to learning Amharic.
Runtime: 8:22
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Lensmaster
Saurabh wrote
I am an Indian and going to be posted in Addis Ababa, can anybody help me or guide me in learning ameharic. Please contact on saurbhmogli@yahoo.com
Posted September 18, 2007
JLumbroso wrote...
Hi, my name is Jacob Lumbroso and I love languages. I write for the UtimateLanguageStore.com
Posted September 11, 2007
