AMHARIC

THE ORGIN OF AMHARIC

• This language descended from the earlier language Ge'ez which came from Ethiopia

NUMBER OF SPEAKERS

• It is the second most spoken Semitic language after Arabic
• It has 22 million first language speakers and 4 million second language speakers

LOCATION OF SPEAKERS

• Amharic is mostly spoken in Ethiopia. It is only an official language in that country

LITERARY TRADITIONS

• Ethiopia has very old literary traditions, their earliest were written in Ge'ez which led to Amharic literature in 1300
• The first book written in Amharic was praised for its content and form, along with the harmony of the setting and characters.

STYLE OF ALPHABET

• Their alphabet is very different form ours. There is no way to translate their characters into roman characters. There alphabet is made up of sounds

FACTS ABOUT AMHARIC

• Alternative names: Abyssian, Ethiopian, Amarinya, Amarigna
• Taught in education in many areas
• Part of the Afro-uAsiatic branch