29/01/2022
Hello, Amharic learners!
We will see what's Amharic language here.
Part One
አማርኛ – Amharic – Amarinya – アムハラ語 -- амхарский – Amharique – Amhariski – ਅਮਹਾਰਿਕ – Amharică – isi-amharic – èdè Amẹrika – الأمهرية
¤ Amharic language is one of the two main languages in Ethiopia – along with Oromo language.
¤ Like Arabic, Hebrew and Assyrian, Amharic is a semitic language, belonging to the Afro-Asiatic family. There are three main subgroups of this family in Ethiopia:
¤ The Ethiopic subgroup, including Amharic and Tigrinya;
¤ Cush*tic subgroup, including Somali and Oromo languages;and
¤ Omotic, including the Wolayitta language.
¤ In Ethiopia’s south-west you will also come across Nilo-Saharan languages, including Nuer and Mursi languages.
¤ Amharic is a Second Language For Many Ethiopians*
¤ The name Amharic (ኣማርኛ – a.ma.r.gna) comes from the district of Amhara (አማራ) in northern Ethiopia, which is thought to be the historic centre of the language.
¤ Due to the language policy which was settled during the Derg regime (1974-1987), Amharic was widely spoken by a majority of the population as a mother tongue, mostly by the Amharas, or as a second or bridge language.
¤ Amharic has lost its status of being the single official language of Ethiopia since the 1994 Constitution. The article 5-2 of the Constitution states that “All Ethiopian languages shall enjoy equal state recognition.” However article 5-2 grants Amharic the status of the federal government as a language of work, “Amharic shall be the working language of the Federal Government”.
