AMHARIC BASIC COURSE Units 1-50 SERGE OBOLENSKY DEBEBOW ZELELIE MULUGETA ANDUALEM FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE WASHINGTON, D.C. 1964 DEP ARTM EN T O F STATEAMHARIC FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE BASIC COURSE SERIES Edited by CARLETON T. HODGE aLBASIC COURSE PREFACE This volume is the first of a so0-volume Basic Course in Amharic, and contains Units 1-$0 of the cowse. The second volume includes Units 5160, on inwoduction to the writing system, a Reader, and a Glossary. Ambaric, the official language of the Ethiopian Empire, is epoken natively by per haps six million people in a small but populous area of the country which includes the ‘capital, Addis Ababa. A member of the Southem Senitic branch of the Afowt siatic fanily of languages, Ambaric is steadily gaining importance as it picks up additional ‘speakers through the spread of communications and education within Ethiopia, The linguist in charge of the entire project has been Serge Obolensky, with the assistance of Mr. Debebow Selelie ond Mr. Mulugeto Andualem. The Amharic script in the second volune is the work of Ir. Zelelie, Valuable suggestions received from Pro- fessor Wolf Leslau daring the beginning stages of the work are gratefully acknowledged. pillage Howard E, Sollenberger, Dean School of Language and Area Sudies Foreign Service Institute Department of Suse autAMHARIC TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface seseeeee Introduction . Unit 1 Symbols used. Basic Sentences ...+ Note 1-1 Transcription used 1.2 Vowels seeeeees 1.3. Consonants «+... 1.3+1 Plein Consonants +... 1.3.2 Glottalized Consonants Drills . unit 2 Basic Sentences .sseseeeee Note 2.1 Masculine Definite Suffix /-w 2.2 tend! /-(i)nne/ Drills seeeesessssseeeeeeee Unit 3 Basic Sentences sss.++ Note 3.1 Independent Pronouns . 3.2 Suffix Pronouns 3.2.1 Verb Suffix Pronouns seseeeseeeeeeeee 3.3 Loss of Vowels ++. 3.4 /i/ and /y/ glides. 3.5 Verb tbe .. 3.6 3.7 Formation of Plural ‘Transitional Vowel /i/ Unit Basic Sentences +++ Note 1 Noun Suffix Pronouns . 4.2 Amharic equivalents of thave' and thave not! .. 4.3. Feminine Definite Suffix /-wa—(y)itu-(y) Ltwa/ 4h Definite Suffix on Modifier essere 4.5 Suffix /-(i)n/-Specific Direct Object sesssse+s iv aut xvi worse Eene 12 13 uy 1s 19 22 23 23 ay ay 25 25 26 eT 29 32 32 33 3h 35BASIC COURSE 4.6 Preposition «+ 44.61 Preposition /b(e)-/ and /vest(o)-/ Drills sess. unit 5 Basic Sentences seeeeeeeeeee ee laletalet elle Vote 5.1 Verbs Perfective seesseees ore 5.2 ‘have! and ‘have not! with feminine object. 5.3 Verb Suffix Pronouns with Perfective ..++++ 5.4 Verb Suffix Pronouns used in apposition «+ 5.5 Prepositions /x(o)~/, /isk(e)-/ and /1le)~/ 5.5.1 /klo)-/ from! .. Paeesene 5.5.2 /isk(e)-/ and /isk(a)-...dires/ tup tot, Mtot seeeee 5.5.3 /1le)-/ fort, 'tot . 5.6 Postpositions /wist/ and /lay/ combined with prefixes /b(o)-/ or /i-/ seeeeseeeee 5.7 Suffixes /-iyye/ and /-iyyo/ to nouns . 5.7.1 Definite Suffixes /iyyew/ and /iyyewa/ « 5.8 Numoralss Ordinals Peedebseta Narrative seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees unit 6 Basic Sontences sesseseeeeeseceeeeceeeeteeeeeeeeee eens Note 6.1 Relational Prefix /yle)-/ sssseeee 6.2 Verb Infinitive : 6.3 Verbs Imperfective 6.4 Verb Classification an 6.4.1 Regular Three-Radical Verbs 6.4.2 Regular Two-Radical Verbs . 6.5 Verbs Notation . tee seeeeee . 6.6 Postposition /gar-gara/ combined with pre- fix /elo)=/seceesseeeeeeeeesseeesseeens 6.7 Use of /klo)=...dofit/ and /xlol-/.+. behwale/ seeeseeeeeeeeeeees : Drills seseee Narrative Unit 7 Basic Sentences . Note 7-1 Verb Suffix Pronouns with Imperfective .. 7.2 Equivalents of thad' and ‘had not! sssesse 35 35 36 57 59 60 6 63 63 65 65 65 66 66 69 n B 7AMHARIC Drills seseseeee Narrative - Unit 8 Basic Sentences s+eseseeeees teens Note 6.1 Tame. 6.2 suffix /-(1)m/ 8.3 Suttax /-(1)88/ Drills see Narrative « unit 9 Basic Sentences ssseseeee Note 9.1 Imperfective forms connected by /-(2)nna/ 9.2 Negatave Perfectave . 93 Short Imperfective .. 9.4 Negatave Imperfectave 9.5 Negatave Infimtave Drills . Narrative . Unit 10 Basic Sentences ...++.- sees edohaledelalad Note 10,1 Relataonal Affxes to Verbs ssssseeseeeeeeees 10.1.2 Relatzonal Affix /y(o)~~ yomn(1)-/ an Relative Constructions s+... 10.2 affix /and(e)-/ 10.2.1 /ind(e)-/ ‘1ake', ete. . 10.2.2 /rnd(e)~...yalle/ ‘such as!, otc. 10.2.3 /rnd(o)-/ 'as soon as! . tee 10.2.4 /rnd(o)=/ wath Relatave Constructions ‘that'.. Dralis ss : Warrative s+. Unit 11 Basic Sentences « Note 11.1 Verb: Regular Two-Radical Verbs in /-0/ « 11.2 Verbs Gerund see 11.3 Verbs Present Perfect eee : 1.4 Verdi Past Perfect ...++ 11.5 Verbs Imperfect (Past) . Drills sees Narrative . vi 7 80 81 82 bh by 88 89 92 92 3 5 99 100 103 105 107 107 110 io ua a 1 2 118BASIC COURSE unit 12 Basic Sentences « Note 12.1 Tellang Tame .. 12.2 Verbs Jussive 12.3 Verbs Inperatave 12.4 Relational Affix /1yy(e)-/ with nouns ..... 12.5 Relational Affix /1yy(s)-/ with verbs 12.6 Relational Affix /s(1)-/ 12.7 /abro/ "both", ‘together! Drills ... teaerey Narrative aa teeee Unit 13 Basic Sentences seseee+ Wote 13.1 Relataonal Affaxes /1(1)-/ and /~(2)12(2)-—— (a)Me-/ seeeeeee 13.142 /1(a)-/ wath short Inperfectave ... 13.1.2 /1(a)-/ wath Short Imporfectave plus /new/ or [r00b0r/ seeveeeeeeeeeees B13 -G)UG)-—G)ie-/ . 13.2 Relataonal affaxes /1sk(1)-/ and /ask(o)-/ « 13.2.1 /iak(e)-/ wath Relatave Constructions Drills sesseeeeeeees Warratave .. Unit 1h Beare Sentences seeeeeseeseeeeeeees Note 1h.1 Demonstratave Pronouns Uy.2 Nount Gender see 1.3.1 Relataonal affix /o(a)-/ aft .. 1j.3.2 Relational Affix /b(1)-/ "because! Ub — Suffix /-(a)b_()-/ seeeeeeeeeees wy.S Prefix /b(o)-/ with Relative Clauses Up.5.1 /olo)-...gize/ seeeeveees ‘14.5.2 /blo)-...KuTar/ . +Uy.6 — /olo)=...mkmayat/ . 14.7 Relataonal Affix /sil(e)-~ silemm(1)-/ Dril1S seseeceeceeeeeneeeeeceneee Narrative unit 15 Basic Sentences .. Hote 15.1 Verbs /a-/ verbs . vit 133 136 136 yo Uy lp 1s wy? U8 153 155 158 159 159 159 159 160 161 161 163 165 168 169 172 175 176 178 178 178 179 119 180 186 188 189AMHARIC 15.2 Verb: Causataves an /s-/ and /as-/ . 190 15.2.1 Causative Verbs in /e-/ 191 15.2.2 Gausatave Verbs an /as-/ a9. 15.3 Passive-Reflexive Verbs « ag. 15.4 Glassafacation and Notation seer 195 15.5 Relational Affix /k(e)-/ with Perfective .. 197 15.5.1 /klol-/ 120" severe 197 15.5.2 fele)-/ taince! see 198 Drills seseeeeeee 198 Narratave s+ 205 Unit 16 Basie Sentences .+e+++6 cee vee 206 Note 16.2 Relational Affix /ind(1)-/ see 208 16.2 Pronoun /ras-/ !self! seeeeeee see 208 16.3. Regular Four-Radical Verbs se see 209 16.4 ‘Three-and Four-Radacal Verbs an /-0-/ ss.++. 210 16.5 Verbs Noun of Agent see. 210 16.6 Verbs Noun of Instrument . we 212 16.7 Use of /weyam/ and /woyiss/ tort ... . 2B Dr211S seeseseeeeesceeeseeecseveensees Prerrreery 21k Narrative .. + 21s Unt 17 Basic Sentences ..... roe . Wote 17-1 Verbs Classification sees os chart I Regular Three-Radical Verbs ss 222 Chart II Regular Three-Radical /a-/ Verbs 223 Chart III Regular Two-Radacal Verbs in /-a/ « 22h Chart Iv Regular Two-Radcal Verbs an /-0/ 228, chart V Regular Four-Radzcal Verbs 226 Drills .. 7 dateoestdaseses 227 Narrative . 7 : 230 Unit 16 Basic Sentences ssseseeseeeeeeeeereeeeeeeees 232 Note 18.1 Verbs Use of /yihonal/ « 233 16.2 Use of /gona/ 23k, Drills sesesesseeeeeee 235 Narrative .. 239 viitBASIC COURSE Unit 19 Basic Sentences .- Note 19.1 Comparatave and Superlative Drills Narratave umt 20 Basic Sentences ssssseeeeeeesene Note 20.1 Verb Classification, Two-Radical Verbs, types mola2, molo2, mole? and mole? ..ee+eee Chart VI/l mole2 ss. Chart v1/2 molo2 Chart VI/3 mele2 chart VI/4 mele? 20.2 Verbs Impersonal Constructions ..seeeseeeee 20.3 Verb: Present Perfect of verbs denoting tatate! or teondation! 7 Drills seeeeeeees Narrative ss. Unit 21. Basic Sentences Drills sees Narrative Unit 22 Basic Sentences Dralls sesseseee Narrative unit 23 Basic Sentences Note 23.1 Plural Affix /inn(e)-/ 23.2 Question Words .. 23.2.1 /man/ 23.2.2 /man/ or /mmdan/ 23.2.3 /yot/ 7 23.2.4 /yotu/, /yotafifiaw/ end /nannififiew/ 23.3. /mannafifiawam/ or /nannaccewin/ .. 23.4 /manman/ and /manimn/ seeeee 23.5 /mnamm/ wath /ando-/ Dralle se. Narrative 2yo ayn 243 24s aur 248 250 251 252 252 252 253 255 256 258 260 261 263 265 267 268 270 271 an 23 27k 27h 275 215 276 amr 278AMHARIC unat 24 Basie Sentences ssssssseeeeees 7 Note 2k.1 Verb: Short form of /madreg/ 2.2 Use of /giddeta/ wath /ailebb-/, /nonedb-/ ana /nebberebb-/ Drille .. Narratave sseeesseeeeeee unit 25 Basxe Sentences .. Se itanee Note 25.1 Repetataon and Reduplicaton 25.1.1 Repetataon sssseeeeeeee “ 25.1.2 Partial Reduplication 25.1.3 Complete Reduplacataon 25.2 Use of /madrogiya/ . ” Drills. a Narratave naan unit 26 Basie Sentences .sessseee Note 26.1 Suffix /-(2)nnot/ .. 26.2 Verbs The use of /noKnat/ .... Drills seeeee Narrative Unit 27 Basic Sentences Note 27.1 Suffix /-2/ an compound words «+..++ 27.2 Plural after mumerals .... Drills sees teeta enone eee eeee . Narrative oe + Unit 28 Basie Sentences seeesesesee Note 28.1 Verb: Hypothetical Conditional ....... 28.2 affix /and(o)=/ with /alle-/ ana /nono-/: 28.3 Impersonal Verbs. pralls Narrative Unit 29 Basic Sentences .. Note 29.1 Verb Classification Three-Radical Verbs in [-a-/ ve 280 283 283 28k 268 291 292 293 293 29k. 295 295 297 300 3ol 302 303 307 310 31 312 33 315 317 318 31g 320 324 327 328BASIC COURSE Chart VIZ 29.2 29.3 Drills . Narrative Unit 30 Use of /mikniyatu/ combined with /sile-/ and /szlomm(1)-/ affixes and the verb form /new/ Jule): Basic Sentences « Note 30.1 30.1.1 Verbs Drills . Nerratave Unit 32 Compound Verbs wath /malot/ and /madrog/ . Inconelusive Aspect Basic Sentences .... Note 31.1 31.2 Drills . Narrative Unit 32 foto) syotenossa/ sbokical/ Use of /bicca/ with Noun Suffix Pronouns and Direct Object Suffix /~(1)n/ Basac Sentences ... Note 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4, Drills sees Narrative Unit 33 Basic Sentences « Note 33.1 Drilla sees Narrative Suffix /-ge/ «+. Verb: /indehon/ with relative constructions /andohon/ with Short Imperfectave and Gerund, Nwhether or not! Verbs Infinatave with Noun Suffix Pronouns and Verb forms /new/ and /nebber/ Verbs /s-/ negative combined with the forms of the verb /Kerre-mokret/ «+++ xi 329 329 330 330 332 33k 338 338 3ko 3he She Bus 346 3u7 3k9 350 352 352 353 354 355 387 358 361 363 36AMHARIC Unit 3h Basic Sentences ssseseeeeeee Note 34.1 Verbs Frequentatave Form Chart VIII Frequentative Verbs. 34.2 Verbs Reciprocal Form . Chart IX Recaprocal Verbs ~ Drills seseree Narratives... Unit 35 Basie Sentences +++. Note 35.2 Use of /ankwan/ sssseseeseeees 35.2 /ankwan/ combined wxth /y1Krinna/ et elone', teven thought « Drills . Narrative +... Unit 36 Basic Sentences ...- Note 36,1 Relative constructions combined with amperson- al forms of the verb /tiomsol/ ... Drills seeeee Narrative. Unit 37 Basie Sentences -...eeeeee Note 37.1 Verbs /maweK/ with Gerund Dralls sesecseeeceseee Narrative. Unit 38 Basic Sentences Drills ss.eee Narrative sss. Unit 39 Basic Sentences -..+++ Note 39.1 Verbs Use of /yellem fT / with Short Imper- fective and Gerund ..... Drills . Narrative . xii 365 367 368 369 372 3B 375 377 379 360 381 383 38 387 387 391 392 395 396 398 yoo yor 403 yo? 408 410BASIC COURSE Unit 4o Basac Sentences .... Drills . Narratives unit Li Basie Sentences +++ Note 41.1 Fostposataons /zend/ and /ga/ 41.1.1 /ko-...20nd ~ ga/ UL.L2 /anss.zond-ga/ 41.1.3 /oo-...20nd/ « 41.1.5 /azzith zend~rzeih ga/ and /iaziya zond~1z2lya ee/. 41.2 Verb: Use of /zond/ as postverb . 11.2.1 Verbs /zoné/ wath Short Imperfectave .... Y1.2.2 Verbs /ko...zoné/ with Perfectave « 41.3 Verbs Use of /konoref/, /ionoreh/, ete. ‘If I do have! ete. ++ Ul. Verb: /nenor/ used impersonelly, ‘W211. have’, ‘may have! Drills . Narrative Unat We Basae Sentences .ssseeseceesesseeeeeeeeseseaeeeeees Note 42.1 Verbs Progressive Form .....+ 42.2 Verbs ‘whether... (or not)! constructions .. 42.3 Use of /mmammalit/, /namimattri/, ete. ++ Drills. toh detaeteta ar Narratave see wnat 3 Basic Sentences ssssee+ : Note 43.1 Benefactive or Causative Reciprocal Verbs chart X Benefactave Verbs ++++ Drills « Narratave unat hl. Basic Sentences . Note 4.2 Verbal Nouns Dralls seseeee Narrative .seees xilt yie yy 416 ua? 420 42. yar yaa 422 422 422 yee 422 bak 427 429 432 433 43k 435 439 aye 47 448 4ho 4st 453 45s us7AMHARIC unit 4s Basie Sentences Note 45.1 Use of /bicea sayhon/ 45.2 Adverbials ... 45.2.1 Adverbaals an /b(o)-/ 45.2.2 Adverbaals of Tame in /=(a)n/ "45.2.3 Gerund Forms used Adverbially Drills Warratave unit bé Basic Sentences +. Note 46.1 /k(e)~/ used 1n combination with /iedin~wedezzih/ and /vedlya-wedezzrya/ Drala seeeeeeseeeseeeeeeeeeeees Narrative .. unit 47 Basic Sentences Drills .seee Narrative + Unit 4S Basic Sentences «+. Note 48.1 Use of /1(2)-/ form an combanataon wath /si1/, /sittal/, ete. «. 48.2 Verbs Intensave Aspect « 48.3. Verb Conative Aspect .. Dralls sesseee Narratave sesseesseeceeeeseees Uart 49 Basic Sentences Drills ... Narrative Unit 50 Basic Sentences Note 50.1 Emphatae Suffix /-2/ Drills... Narrative xiv 483 +483 1 485 488 490 yor 493BASIC COURSEAMHARIC INTRODUCTION The Amharic Language Amharic 1s the official language of the Hthiopien Empire used in government, in busaness, in all instruction in government schools and in most newspapers, It 18, however, not the only language spoken in Ethiopia. As can be seen from the map on page xv the area where Anharic 28 spoken as a natave tongue is about one sixth of the whole territory of Ethiopia. Anharie belongs to the Southern Semitac branch of the Afro-Asaatie (formerly called Hamito-Semitic) famly of languages. The number of native speakers of Amharic together with the speakers of the other Semitac languages bcietn| sulmerabud (east aol Fudwinsdal ‘wicked, ada’, lahdadel ent tuba) a less than one half the total population of the Empire. ‘he greatest part of Ethiopia is ambabated by speakers of Cushitzc languages (another branch of the Afro-Asiatic family) such as Galla, Agaw, Somali and many others. Since no census has ever been taken in Ethiopia the number of Bthiopiens can only be estimated. According to the official data of the Ethiopian government the number of inhabitants of Ethiopie 1s between 20 and 22 mllion. It 18 also difficult to give a reliable estamate of the number of Amharic speakers; at as probably between 5 and 7 milion. There 18 lattle doubt, however, that due to the constantly growing development of communacations systems and the spreading of education Amharae 1s gaining ground throughout the whole country. It 1s now the language of greatest prestige and anyone who has had any educa- taon 1s able to speak it, even 1f at is not his mother tongue. Stall others learn it informally as @ second lenguage. Thas Cours The following pavls may be found ina unite Basie Sentences Classroom Expressions Structure Sentences Useful Words Grammatical Notes Drills: Substatutaon Correlation ‘Transformation Model-Transform érills Questions and Answers Narrative xviBASIC COURSE Basic Sentences and Questions and Answers are found in each unit. The Warratives begin wath the unit 5. The occurrence of other parts may vary. The Course 1s divided anto two volumes. Volume I - contains units 1 through 50 in transcription. Volume II - units 51-60 in transcription, Introduction to the Amharac Wratang System, The Reader (Units 1-60 an Anharie scrapt) and a Glossary (an transcription). ‘The Reader ancludest Basic Sontences Questions and Answers Narratives Use of ths Course 1. "Basic Sentences', 'Structure Sentences', ‘Useful Words'. The anstructor reads the Amharic item by item, repeatang each item (a buzld-up or @ sentence) twice for each student. Bach member of the clase repeats the tem ammediately after the instructor trying to amitate his (or her) pronunciation. If an the instructor's opinion the atem is mispronounced by the student, the instructor repeats 1t at normal speed with the student repeating after ham (or her) a8 many tames as necessary. After the class hours each student goes over the Basic Sentences by listening to the tape and repeating, doing thie untzi he mows the dialogue by heart. After the Basic Sentences have been thoroughly memorized the students take part and act out the dialogues. The instructor may take one of the parts the first tame or two. This drill as to be continued untal any student can take part and go through the dialogue like an actor. 2, Substatutaon, Correlation and Transformation Drills are to be used an accordance with the instructions given at the beginning of each drill. 3, Model Transform Drills should be drilled in the sane way as other ‘ransformataon Dralis. 4. Questions and Answers. The questions and answers are to be drilled as specified below, but they should not be considered complete. Any question which 1s within the lamats of the students! grammar and vocabulary can be asked. Some questions require informational answers some others simply 'yes! or tno! answers. xvitAMHARIC Questions requiring informational answers are to be drilled as follows: ‘The instructor asks each student a question, The student repeats the question and gives an answer. Any answer given by the student 18 considered correct af at 18 good Amharic, The answer 1s corrected by the instructor, af necessary. The student repeats the corrected answer. The instructor then gives the student the answer which 1s written in the book and the student repeats 1t as a further drall, Questions requiring 'yes' or tot answers should be drilled an the sane way, 1.0, the student repeats the question after the instructor and gives him either an affirmative or @ negative answer (or both if so requested by the anstructor). 5. Narrative The instructor goes through the sentences (2f any) illustrating new vocabulary items, in the same way as he 1d for Basic Sentences. After the students have thus familiarized themselves wath the new worda the instructor reads through the whole Narrative at a natural speed. The students listen for comprehension, books closed. ‘The students summarise an English as much as they understood of the Narratave. The anstructor reads each sentence again for each student, each of whom repeats after him. Each student trans- lates the sentence he repeated. This drill 1s continued untal the students are thoroughly famlaar with the material. The instructor then asks ques- tions listed at the end of each Narrative and the students answer then as completely as possible using words contained in the Narrative. In addition to the questions lasted in the book the anstructor may ask any question pertinent to the Narratave within the limite of the students’ grammar and vocabulary. The students memorize the Narrative by listening to the tape and relate the story to the instructor the next day. Students must keep in mand that there 1s no one correct way of speaking Amharic. Due to the poor system of communications in Ethiopia Amharie has developed various local dialects. There 1s an especially marked difference an pronunezation, in vocabulary, and even in grammar between the northern Gojjam1 and the southern Showa dialects. The purpose of this Course 1s to teach the language as it 1s spoken in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa Amharic contains elements of a variety of dialects. The student should have this in mind and should always follow the manner of speech of his anstructor even if his (or her) speech varies somewhat from what 1a indicated im this book. xviitBASIC COURSE, uNiT 1 Symbols Used in This Course On the English side, parentheses and quotation marks are used together Oy English equivalent. -') whet a more lateral translation 1s given an addataon to the ordanery Brackets [ ] are used to indicate words 2n the English equivalent which do not have an equivalent in the Amharic, Parentheses ( ) indicate words which are in the Amharic but not in a normal English equivalent. The English side 1s not necessarily @ lateral translation but what 18 ordinarily said in this situation, ‘The use of parentheses and brackets as explained above should make the situation clear an each case. On the Amhara sometines omitted. Brackets are used to induoate a nore fornal pronunczation to be used an more delaberate speech or while reading texts wratten an Amharic characters. Alternate pronunciations of the same word or alternate words are given after a slant lanes /. le, parentheses are used to indicate sounds which are The accent mark used is / “/, This indicates the loudest syllable x word or phrase. Secondary stresses are not marked. As Amharic has an almost even distribution of stress on each syllable, at is sometimes extremely difficult to detect where the principal strese of a particular word lies. In this Course phrase stress will be marked in the Basic Sentences, but words in the buildups will be left unmarked unless the stress 1s clearly distinctive. an arrow / t / 1s used to indicate sharply rising patch. A period / + / 19 used to andacate the end of a phrase accompanzed by fellang patch. It may or may not correspond to an English period. A comma / + / indicates that the preceding tone 18 carried on evenly to ‘the comma and that a new patch contour begins following the comma. ‘The syllables immediately before / » / are slightly lengthened. There may or may not be @ break or pause after /» /. In the Notes slant lines are used to set off Arharzc sounds or words within an English text. English letters and words are underlined when used as examples.pNrr lL AMHARIC Unit 2 Basic Sentences health let ham give for me Hello. or Goodbye. (general gresting) now you (polite) spent the night Good morning. How are you? (thow dad you spend the naght?'). good, very well Goa he may be praised thank you (‘may God be praised’) Very well, thank you. How are yout Amharie you (polite) know Do you imow Amharic? yes 1 imow Yes, I do ('know'). nos there 16 not I don't know Yo, I don't Umow), little, onall, a little I imow a little. what you (polite) sazd What did you say? nothing ‘Tena yasTallaf TenéyisTillif. andenan adderu TengyisTillifi, andemin adderu. denne agelyabher yannoegon ageiyabher yanneegen dohné, igziyabher yammesgén, indemin adderu. amar2fifia yawkallu anarififia yawkallu t Awo/awon awkalloha wo, awKallehu. yellem alawKan yollém, aléwKim. tanni3, tanniS awxellenu. mn alu mainglu t maininmBASIC COURSE, UNIT 1. I did not say I didn't say anything. alalhun minimmalalbu. /mininm alalhum . Againl Repeat its correct, exect (ne, at) as It's correct. at as not It's not correct. very, very much good ages It's very good. Let's have a break (‘let us rest'). andogens. yadgomut. lak Likk new. aydollen Like aydolien, botam Tara/tra beTam Tara now. annaref. Granma tical Notes Note 1.1 Tais transcription 1s an attempt to put down Granscraption Used in Thus Course systematically on paper the sounds that the instructor will say, or that w21l be heard on the tapes. The transcription 1s based directly on spoken Amharic and is not a transliteration of ordinary Awharie spelling. @ ‘phonetic! transeraption. It 1s not, strictly speaking, For example, the letter /o/ stands for one sound at the beginning of a phrase or 1f doubled, and for another sound elsewhere. Since the pronunciation 1s predictable on the basis of where it occurs, a single letter may be used for both sounds. The letters and other symbols used are: Vowels auiaero Consonants paared unpaired Vorceless ptksic fh Glottalized PTKS © vorced bég2i) rinnftywunr 2. AMHARIC Stresa Weak (unnarked) Strong Patent Indacated as contours an conjunction wath phrase fanal juncture: Falling / / Rising / t / Change of Patch / , / Juncturer Closes (no space) Opens Space between words fol lth fers Phrase fina Those letters should not be confused with those used for wratang English or any other language. Every language has @ unique sound system and symbols used to write a language mist be defined an terms of that language. However, whore the Amharac and English sounds are samlar, the same letter is usually used an the transeraption as is used in English. ‘thas does not mean that these sounds are adentacal. / 1 /, for example, 1 dafferent an English and Anharie, even though the same symbol 1s used. The following notes are rough hints on the pronuncietion of Amharic. English sounds are given for comparison, or more accurately for contrast, since they are different sounds. Only careful listening and practice can gave the student the Amharic sounds. It 1s also very important to realize the possible daversaty of sounds covered by a single symbol, the actual sound being deter- mined by the context. The Amherae writang systen 1s syllabic: that as to say, each ‘etter! represents @ consonant followed by @ vowel. Since there are seven vowels in Amharae, at follows that there are seven different ways of writing @ given consonant, depending on what vowel accompanies 1t. The writing syatem wall be introduced at a later stage an the course. In the notes below, the vowel sounds are discussed an the order an whach they come an the Amharic eyllabary (but the letters are our transerip- tions they are not letters of the Amharic syllabary). Wote 1.2 Vowels Letter Nearest Engla: Sound, Description Examples /e/ represents several soundss the major veriante erer bine" aeorwny féllege the wanted! 2) usually lake @ in formu Technically: @ lower-md central unrounded vowel [€] 4BASIC COURSE UNIT 1 / Af fal /e/ 2) approximately the sound of © an bet under the following condxtionst Always after /y/ usually acter /3/ A/ LY /a/ /e/ ef Technically: & low-mad front unrounded vowel [€] @ high u sound something like the 20 of boot but without the w glade found in English and with the lips rounded fron the beginning. Technically: a high back rounded vowel [ul something lake the ee of beet but without the /y/ glide of English. Technically: a high front ur rounded vowel [1] Jake in g an father Technically: a low central un rounded vowel [a] approxanately lake the Englash sound of the farst part of tho a2 in bart but without the /y/ glade of English. yet yollen yolay123 Hommoro agotiie Jomeggelo abd 336 tonoece ace aur bunna fit semi péris abbat vet mohéd set ané wondamné ‘where! ‘no! ‘grandchild! the started’ ‘he found! the became old! the performed! ‘nt Decame com- fortable! the shaved! ‘forest! teoffee! "face! ‘lastener' "Papas! ‘father! "house! "to got 'Pomale! a ‘my brother!UNIT 2 AMHARIC In making /e/ the center of the tongue is raised almost to the roof of the mouth. Consonants umediately preceding thas vowel may be slaghtly pala- talazed, that as, the tongue is close to the position it takes for y, 80 that the consonants have a slight y off-glader by, Sys yy ete. Technieally+ s higher-mid front unrounded vowel [e] /1/ may vest be compared wath a regular pronunciation of the u of just in just_a minute barr tgoller! aabb ‘bear! sam tame! Technically: lower-hagh central unrounded vowel [+] In anitiel position (at the beginning of an utterance) this vowel less and may be heard es a breathed voace= glade to the followang sound. abaklawo — tplease! asziya there! azzih ‘here! /o/ something like the 9 of note but short, rounded from the beganning and without the x glade of Bnglaah after the vowel. Consonants preceding /o/ are usually labialized, that 1s, are pronounced wath rounded lips, resultang an a slight w off-glider bY, p¥, Wek, ete. monor tte hive! angdcca bread! aore ‘ehacken' Technically: mean-mid back unrounded vowel [0] Vowels an Amharzc are generally short. When final or followed by only one consonant they may be longer than when followed by two consonants, or by @ long (double) consonant.BASIC COURSE UNIT 1 Note that after /y/ the following vowel, af normelly unrounded, a8 anitially rounded. his is particularly notaceable wath /e/ and /2/. Examples: wede "to wal 'agreement! wer ‘month! wake ‘water! wegen tsect! wis? ‘inside! Note 1.3 Gonsonants Al1 consonants an Amharic occur short (andacated by a single symbols z, 1, m, ete+) and long (andacated by doublang the symbol: rr, 11, mn, ete.). ‘The dietanction between short (single) and long (doubled) consonants 1s very important, as 1t may distanguish otherwise 1dentacal words, e.g. /ale/ the said', /alle/ ‘there as'. Amharie has twenty-seven consonants which we write with the follow. ang symbole: “ Plaant pedfghjykinmnfiprsitwy2i' Glottalized: CK PST Note 1.3.1. Most of the plain consonants have near equivalents either in English or in other familiar languages such as French, Italaan or Spanish, pronunciation are given as necessaryt nts on /o/ has two pronunciations: at the beginning of a word, when doubled, or when immedaately following /m/ or /n/ 1b is lake English b in bet. Between vowels or finally the air is not completely stopped, so that fricatave sound results, rather than a stop. ‘This as a balabial sparant (cr fricative), comparable to the b in Spanish Habana, echnicaly [8]. Examples bet ‘house! monber pulpit! abbat ‘father! aboba "flower! womber "chair! gib 'goal! /c/ represents a sound lake that of ch in church /e/ lake g an gun. /s/ bas three pronunczatzons which sound somewhat different to a speaker of English: 1) at the beginning or in the miadle of the word at approximates the h to ham.UNIT 1 AMHARIC 2) at the end of the word at sounds almoat lake German oh an nach. Technically a velar sparant [x]. 3) at the ond of the word followed by the vowel /u/ this sound 18 like a sharp puff of breath with the lips rounded. Examples: hede the went! heahu 'T went! hedh ‘you went! hedaccahu — tyou (pl.) went! /A/ rs formed farther forward in the mouth than English 1 and 2s very much 1ike French 1 an elle or Italian 1 in lingua. The middle of the tongue 1s closer to the roof of the mouth than 1t 18 for Englash Exampless alo the said! alle "there as! /8/ x8 ike ny sound in English canyon. Technically a palatalized cn (8) or [ny]. /o/ 15 volled or flapped = the tap of the tongue striking one or more times on the gun radge behind the upper tosth. It as very much 1ake Ttalaan 7 an gare. Examples: neggere the told! roman ‘ponegrenate ' borrede "1 was cold! barr vaolier | /3/ approxanates the sh sound in English harsh vather than an she. It as close to the French ch an shat /t/ r2 made against the teeth rather than against the ridge back of the teeth as an English. It as otherwise very mich lake English t except an final position where it 1s more aspirated (released with a short puff of breath). /3/ 18 lake the French 3 in jour or somewhat like the English s an am pleasure. /*/ 19 @ glottal stop [7], a stoppage of breath which can be heard before each of the words! an English 2f these words are pronounced slowly and deliberately. /y/ lake y 1m yes, yeast, etc. Between vowels /y/ 1s just a kind of trough an between the vowel peaks. Both vowels are said dastanctly, e.g. /xoyot/ ‘where from' /getaye/ 'eir', ete. /i/ Lake w in west. Between vowels /w/ 1s a slaght weglide, e.g. /eaklowoc/ tmules'. Where the second vowel is an /o/, /w/ stands for the same wand of trough as described above an the case of /y/. The /u/ trough or glide as rounded. Compare the /u/ glade an /awo/ 'yes', /sevoc/ "people! wath the /y/ glide im /nayet/ ‘to see! and /ryut/ "look at it’.BASIC COURSE. UNIT 1. The voaced consonants /b, d, g, 2, 2/ are generally devoiced in final position and sound very much 1ike thear voiceless counterparts /p, ¢, k, 8, 3/. ‘They are, however, nore ‘lenis!, i.e, pronounced wath nore relaxed museles of the mouth. Note 1.3.2 © glottalzzed consonant sounds /¢ K P $ T/ are not lake anything an English or any other language in Europe. These sounds are formed almost lake /e k p s t/ as far as the tongue (or lips in case of /p/) are concerned. But they are imprisoned between the vocal cords (which tongue (or lips 1n case of /?/). ‘exploded’ not with air from the lunge but rather with the air are completely closed) and the Examples: /e/ Canmore the aadea* waco toutside // Key "rea! rok ‘tax! /2/ ityoPaya "Ethiopia! PaPas Neshop! /s/ Senay ‘sun! goss "page! Mo tare tgood! wis? tanszde! Pronunciation Drills /e/ neblat "to eat! nayot ‘to see! mosmat ‘to listen, hear! mondzzere ‘he changed! mehed ‘to got ameséggone ‘he thanked! bolle the ate! asgéddede the forced! semma ‘he listened! ndkkere the tried! Assobo ‘he thought' gémmote the guessed! dadere ‘he spent the night! sébbeko ‘he preached! masseb 'to thank? nékkere the advised! mader ‘to spend the night? borr ‘doorway! foros thorse! weyzero nurs. + edo the went? woyzorit ass!UNIT 1 nodros, dérrese ayye weadedo mewdod tows lajagored fof ugaden ututa bonne viater otaqa muldtt auldun aur muro a Sun aul véin wSssodu nédu Al immant ityoPaya iyyesua imam ialaya isdyyas BEL anbabl aaragi fof mehed leba let netar to the the the "to the arrived! sew! laked! lake! left! igirl! (place name) ta ery for help! teoffee! taove! telub, mace! Newo! taull! ‘forest! ‘aife! "pleck seed! toffaeral! 'pearlt tthey ate! "they tookt "they went? taneagnifacant! 'Ethaopia! "Jesus! "Imam! "Italy? ‘Isazah! tall right? ‘reader! tdoer! "to got "thief! tmaght? meter! AMHARIC 1o kéddene wessede réiece néggore fadoge récoe cérrose mula fellegu guriya gun muSirra makkora kurat aulet gulbot Sukke Sumet Surrab aubba yasdyyua alu angliz Addis woyzerit ambite semi, ener ikaw follagi same bitire the covered! the took! the wanted! the told! the grew! the shaved! "he fanashed! ‘fall! ‘they wanted! tearcle! mast! "orade! terial! 'pride! ‘eouneal of elders! Nene ' ‘fork! trank! 'swoater! *pumplan! "let thom show met ‘they said! tgot 'face! ‘English ‘new! "ass! 'refusal! ‘lastener? "american! tone who wants! irr ‘myself! ‘my name! 'my pen!meda gota bergewoc admewoe neggadewoe andet Af absu asswa annessu annante arsas azzih azzlya annozzii yanbabu ayut, adme anmabet ammayte aS5i xeiléilehu arewa fof monor angocea mangoca woyzero weado belto hedo BASIC COURSE ‘field! ‘master toxen! tages! ‘merchants! "how! the! "she! "they! tryout 'pencal! there! "there! "these! tread! "Look! tage! "say! ya tam! 104K! 1I cant "she! tto lave! "bread! "bakery! Mrs. the, having lakeat the, having eaten! ‘he, having gone! barre aane agre bete fite awanet tannis lak yadresu taféilig sayy yabun dangay a vir askezaiya sin aint arbb ainnie birtakan ankuvakto 1 ‘my dollar! lage! my foot! ‘my house! my face! ‘truth! ‘small! teorrect! UNIT 1. ‘let them errave! ‘let her look for! ‘let her see! "Let 2t be! Istone! ‘pen! tdoller' ‘meanwhile! ‘mame! "how macht "bear! "potato! torange! the, having the, having the, havang the, havang the, havang panied! "bread! 'ehacken! knocked! bo entered! tt accon~ynir 2 AMHARIC. unit 2 Basic Sentences please abéldcawo Embassy enbassi Aneraca anorika Ameracan yanortkan/anertian where yet Excuse me, where is the American Embassy? face, ahead, earlier an front of It's (right] am front [of youl. far It's far (from here]. right on the paght on your right The American Embassy 18 on your right. left on your left It's on your left, toward, to got (polite amperative) and turn (polite imperative) Go straight ahead and turn to the left. near It's nearby. xbdiiawo, yenerikan enbassi yét now. rit fitlefit fitlerit new. uk ruk new, KSA bostoKefii yanerikan onbassi, bestoKefifiaws now. gra bostograwo bestegraws now. wodo yabidu anna yazuru wedefit yahidunna, wedegra yazuru. Karb arb new. 12BASIC COURSE station trean raairoad station the raalroad station Where's the railroad station? here from here Is the railroad station far from here? Itte not far, atts (right) near {nere]. hotel, restaurant there 1s, he or 16] existe Where as (‘exists') @ good hotel? There 19 a good hotel across from (an front of') the American Embassy. ‘the hotel there The hotel is over there. one and ‘wo nulett three sost. four arate five enmist Tebiya babu babur Tabiya babur Pablyaw babur Tabiyaw ySt now. azzih kezzih babur Tabiyaw kezzih rik new t rik aydellon, Kirb now. note? ane dohna hotel yét alle. amerikan embasei fitlefit, dehna hotél alle. hotelu azzlya hoteld, azziya now. Numbers sax siddist seven sobatt eaght sinmnt nine zoToh ten assir Grammatical Notes Note 2.1 The masculane definite auffix /-u ~ -w/ 1, dehna hotel yét alle. 2, hotelu rzziya now. 3. vabur Tabiyéw, ySt now. Where 1s a good hotel? The hotel 1s there. Where 15 the razlroad station? UNIT 2pNir_2 AMHARIC In sentences 2 and 3 we have /notelu/ and /Tabiyaw/, 1.0. these nouns have the suffixes /-u/ and /-w/ respectively. ‘The suffix /-u/ after consonants and /-w/ after vowels 18 sdded to masculine nouns or their modifiers (see later units) to make them definite or specific. It 1s generally used when the speaker refers to things or persons that have been mentioned before, or to things or persons which are an his presence. It 1s, however, not necessarily used in the same situations as the English definite article. The suffix makes the 'poantang out! or ‘reference! more explicit. It 1s less used with plural nouns then with nouns an the singular. Note 2.2. ‘and! /-(x)nna/. The suffix /-inns/ after consonants and /-nna/ after vowels 1s the equivalent of the English word ‘and’, e.g. /rotelanna babur Tablya/ ‘a hotel and a railroad station’ /sexthanna re2tya/ There and there! It should be noted, however, that /inna/ may also occur as a sep- arate word. Note 2.3 Verb: The use of /new/ ‘15! and /alle/ "there is!. amerikan embassi yét now. Where 18 the American Embassy? babur Tabiyaw kezzih rak new t Is the railroad station far from here? dehna hotel yét alle. Where 1s (there) a good hotel? The verd form /new/ 18! (see Note 3.5.) denotes simple equation (x 1s y). Its negatave counterpart 1s /aydollen/ ‘25 not', e.g. /nulettinns bulett arétt now/ two and two are ('18!) four! /rotelu Taru aydollen/ 'The hotel 1s not good! The verb form /alle/ denotes the existenca of something (‘there as’, 'there oxists'), Its negative counterpart 2s /yollen/ tthere 1s not,? e.g. /end donna hotel 1zzih alle/ “There 18 @ good hotel here’. /azzih dohna hotel yollen/ ‘There isn't a good hotel here. ‘The word /yollem/ means also 'no'+BASIC COURSE, UNIT 2 Pronunciation Dralls Glottelized Consonants /s/ Kone the stood up? sake Kellen tank! beKio Kézzofe the rowed! beKi Kobar ‘funerei! teKebbele Kunet “length! toxarsone Kim igrudge! moe kal tyorat asdonneKi Kurs "oreakfast! awaki Keyy trea! dorreke! Kofi weight! tal2aKannet TabK ‘taght! dank fallax roag! mowdek rok tart masonTeK sank tprovasion! mix bark tstrange tf Twat tmornang ! was? tant ‘ancient! Boxer TébbeKe the watched! moTSTT Téyyeke the asked! lew? aérroge the dusted? ay? TeréTTora the suspected! KereT ToméTTeme "he wound! bilT TabK ‘eight! modongo? TerePeza table! nowKo? Dérra the called! moKure? moTémmeTe the sucked! rétTobe Beto the sold! wSTTere 3aKKoTo the peddled! KéTTore améTTe the brought! senéTToKo érobe ‘he ached gazeTa /P/ PaPas vashop Pagune PoraKlifos (a Saint's name) PesTonTinos (a Saint's name) as the laughed! tmule! ‘enough! the the ht received! opposed! became warm! ‘surprising! twase! tat ariea! "bigness! temazing! "bo. to fallt split! taoptn! tanto! ‘merchandase! tapank? ‘barter! treats "taxataon! telever! "to "to tte the me the the be frightened! pound! out! got wet? stretched! hired! split! ‘newspaper! 5 days placed between August and Septemberunir_2 AMHARIC. Petros 'Peter! Pavlos Paul! PonTokosTs 'pentecost! StyoPaya —"Ethaopia’ feof cétbore the grasped" races whe shaved céne the loaded! tocce the ground! cé2i0Te ‘he emptied? accéwwote the kept company? cow tsalt! maces to. smoke # céttore the danced neGCaweca "playground; ‘gameroon’ cirtora ‘aance! doceas ‘he mowed cSuxene the became cruel! ——_tdcde ‘he became engaged’ cold veruel! meGobbo? ——tto. grasp! cowata ‘play! noGeffor —*to dance! cas ‘enoke # accar ‘short! malac wrazor! waco voutszde! galabbec toopy! woth ‘expenses! Teco ‘aruniara! nee vunate! soi 'generous' oi ‘one who ognes! Korac tone who cuts! Korac ‘tax collector! /3/ sondy ‘oun! valesegga rach! site ‘he wrote! moSanat "ook? Sonat eater, clerk! esa ‘tre! Soaea ‘grace! moSelley —'to pray? Sormata ‘calmness! isan Yoaby! Soot 'prayer! noSannet —_freedon! Solleye ‘ne prayed? dans Wwouce! siax righteous! Kars ‘ehape' siak ‘righteousness! suis ‘open! moSat ‘to wrate! goss page! maswat ‘alms? gabs "meyot! ast rgouble! as ‘plant * hinSa "building! 16BASIC COURSE UNIT 2 Substatutaon Dralis Substitute the words given to the right of each sentence for the underlined word (or words) of the sentence. 1. hotelu ruk new. arb aeztye dohna bestegra beam ruk Tiru bostoKefifi beTam Kirb beam Taru aezin 2. vabur Tabiyaw ruk aydellem, Kar asziye debna bostegra boTan ruk tra bostoKefifi beam Karb beam Tar. ‘ aenth 3. gneriken enbassi fitlefit aeziya bestegrano dehna hotel alie. aesih babur Tebiyaw fitlefit bes toKefifiawo 4. azzih dehna hotel yellon. azziya dostexonit bestoKofifiawo anerikan embassi fitiefit. bestegra bestegrawo Questions end Answers Question TenayisTi11if, indemin adderu. abakkawo, and dehna hotel yét allo. hotelu rik new t amarififia yawkallu t min alu t babur Tabiyaw wzziyé new t amerikan embassi kezzih ruK now t beam Tiru amarafifia yawKallu t kezzih bestegra min allo. kezzih bosteKefif min allo. aw Anewer dehnd, igziyabher yanmesgen. dohna hotel amerikan enbasst fitlerit alle. yellon, ruk aydellen. wo, tanni3 awkéllehu. minimm alalhu. yellom, azziya aydellem. ruk aydellom, Kirb new, yollon. bean Taru aydellem. and beTam Tiru hotél alle. kozzih besteKefifi and embass{ alle.unr 2 babur Tabiyaw ruk new t hotelu tanni3 new t babur Tabiyaw yét alle, kezzih rik new t amerikan enbassi yét new. AMHARIC 18 awo, beTam ruk new. ive, betam tinm3 new. amerixan enbassi ritierit, and bebur Tabiyd allo. yollom, rik aydoliom, Kinb now. alawKam.BASIC COURSE, UNIT 3 Unit 3 Basic Sentences John _/jony nano ny nano you (polate) yours (polite) how about yours Hello, my nane's John, what's yours (now about yours")? sam same arsawo / 1ss2W0 yersivo / yessiwo yersivoss TendyssTi2126 sine 36n now, yoroaw6oo t kobbode (a proper nane) Ethiopia Ethiopian you are (polste) Kebbede. Are you an Ethiopian? American Lem but Mr. (a proper name) (a proper nane) Ethiopians they are Tm an American, but Mr. Tesexma and Mr. Lemma are Ethiopians. LtyoPaya ityoPayawi newo ebbods now, LtyoPayaw! news t John anerikaw noi nogergin ato ‘tosdmma 1émma ityoPayawiyan naccow anerixawi nef, negergin ato tesemmanne ato lena, ityoPayawiyan naccew. 19UNIT 3 when you came When did you come? yesterday I cane I came yesterday. how much, how many hour, o'clock, watch, clock What tame 1s at, please. It's three otelock. Thank you (‘May God give [at] for me')2 both let ham give us You're welcome ('let him give it to both of us!) AMHARIC kebbade moce / moc meTTa mecé meTTu, Jonn tanantanna / tinant moTTaha tanantannd meTTanu. xabbode mnt seat adikiawo, sint seat now. John sist soat now. kabbode ageiyabhér yieT11238. Jonn abro yisTen abré yisTon. Classroom Expressions book books your books your books (as direct object of a verb) opent (Please] open your books. meSihaf / meShat moShafoo meShafoccacezhu neShafoccaceahun kafotu meSihafoccaceahun kifotu. 20BASIC COURSE UNIT 3 together (you pl.) say! Altogether! (‘say together") now closet. Now close your books! abraccihu bolu abraccihu belu. ahun zagu ahun meSihafoccaceimin zigu. Structure Sentences Personal endings of the verb 'be!. I I'm an American. Are you an Ethiopian? you (fem. sang.) pretty You (f) are pretty. intelligent, sensible You (polate) are intelligent. this person, man who Who 15 this man? woman, female She's @ good woman. student studente We are studente. teacher teachers Are you teachers? 21 ane ane anerikaw! nofi. ityoPiyawi non t anci Kongo anci Konjé ned. astoway astowdy nowo / astowdy newot. yah nan yah sow min new. set Tir set nec / Tima set nat. tomar, tomariwoe tomariwée non. astemari astomartoe astomariwoe nacoaha tyNiT 3 AMHARIC bed neffo They are bad. net? naceew. he on she (polate) arsaccew big peeeer He or she (polite) is bag. arsaccow ti11ik naccow. Grammatical Notes Note 3-1 Pronoun: Independent Pronouns. ane anertkaw! nofl. I am en Aneracan. ani Konjé nod. You (fem.sing.) are pretty. arsiwos you (polzte) arsaccow ta11iK naccew. He on she (polite) as big. These are examples of Independent Pronouns that have oceured in the Basie or Structure Sentences. As one can see from the above sentences, there are two genders, masculane and feminine. Gender is distanguished only in the second and third person singular pronouns (femaliar forms). All other pro- nouns are indeterminate of gender. As the personal ending (or other affix) of the verb indicates the person involved, the Independent Pronouns are much less used in Amharic then they are in English. When used, they are slightly emphatze. Attention is Grawn to the fact that thas particular person 1s, or these persons are doing so-and-so. The complete set of such pronouns ist ane I ante you (mase. fan.) anct you (fem. fan.) arsawo / 1ss2¥0 you (polite) arsu / issu he arswa / isswa she urséccow / 1ssaccow he or she (polate) afifia we annante you (pl.) amnessu / annersu they 22BASIC COURSE UNIT 3 As illustrated by the above list of the Independent Pronouns, Armarie has different terms of reference with regard to people spoken to (second person) and people spoken of (third person), Thus /ante/ (addreseing aman) and /anci/ (addressing a woman) show a certain degree of familuarity. /sreiwo/ 18 used as a polite or deferential form of tyou' (addressing both nen and wonen), and /innante/ addressing many persons without distinction of sex. /irsaccew/ 1s a polite or deferential form of the! or 'she!'. Note that verb forms used with the 'polate' pronouns have the third person plural per- sonal endings. Note 3.2 Pronoun: Suffix Pronouns, 1, yaeTallas let him gave for me. 2. yieTea et him gave us. J edeltitel dete My nane 18 ohn. There are two kands of suffixed pronouns: 1) Verb Suffix (or Object) Pronouns, (Sentences 1 and 2) 1.0. pronominal suffixes attached to verb stems or other forms of the verb. The translation of a Verb Suffix Pronoun depends upon the structure of English. For example the suffix /-ef/ after consonants (/-f/ after vowels), can mean tme' (direct object) or to me! (andarect object); /-accew/ then! (direct object) or 'to them! (andirect object), ete. 2) Noun Suffix Pronouns (Sentence 3) 1.e, pronominal suffixes attached to nouns, corresponding to English ‘possessive pronouns": 'my', tyour', ete. These are discussed 1n Note l.1. Wote 3.2.1 The Verb Suffax Pronouns aret After After Consonants Vowels Meenang Sangular -ofi “A me, to me -ah -h you, to you (nase.) a5 -5 you, to you (fem.) =2H0 /-aHot avo /-wot you, to you (polzte) him, to him /at, to at -t (atter /u/ and /c/) nat nat her, to her 23Nir 3. AMHARIG Plural -en(n) -n(n) us, to us -acezhu -aceihu"’ you, to you ~accow -accow ** them, to them Examples: ato lonmanna ato kebbode What 624 Lenma and Kebbede min aluh. say to yout min alu. What did they say to me? aaziyé now aluwaccahu. It's there they said to you. Note 3.3 Loss of Vowels. Note 3.4. as /-un-/, /-0/ 18 /-ow-/ As andzcated an the chart of the Verb Suffix Pronouns (Note 3.2.1 above) certain vowels are lost before the /-a-/ of the suffix pronouns /-at/, /-accin/ and /-accew/. Tis loss of vowels occurs regularly in Amharic according to the following patterns: Do e+aza eng. 2) azarae eng 3) apace enge W) etaise 5) ot 6) atiza eng. eng. eng anoTTat [enoTTa + atl band [be + and] seat ‘at one ofclock! the brought her! bagesi [ba + agoft] ‘ar 1 fina? yorsiwo [yo + arsawo) ‘yours! banogr [ba + anogr] ‘af I tell! ansegir [amsa + 2gar) ‘oentapede! Ju] and /y/ glades before /-a-/ of the affixes. ‘The Chart of Verb Suffix Pronouns (Note 3.2.1) andicates that /-u/ /-at/, /-accanu/ and /-accou/. and /-i/ 1s /-1y-/ before the suffix pronouns These /w/ and /y/ glides occur regularly in Amharic before /-a-/ of the affixes, e.g. af the’last vowel of stem 1s /a/, /a/ or /1/ it 18 dropped and the suffix 1s added directly to the preceding consonant (see Note 3.3.) Jaf rs /-u-/, /o/ 18 /-o1-/ and /1/ 1s /-1y-/ before these suffix pronouns (see Note 3.1). akBASIC COURSE, UNIT 3 wee e.g folleguwaccew [fellagu + accow) "they wanted them’ ofasowya e.g. follagowal (fellago + a1] the has wanted! ieariyga e.g. tafellagiyalles (tafelligi + alles) ‘you(f) want?! Note 3.5 Verbs /ne-/ 'be'. The verb stem /no~/ plus Verb Suffixed Pronouns (Note 3.2.1) con, I ant, tyou aret, ete. stitute verb forms expressing simple equations These forms, illustrated an the Structure Sentences, may be eather suffixed or separate words (e.g. /Tirtinew/ or /Tiri new/ 'it's good'), ‘They are themselves unstressed and the stress 1s regularly on the previous syllable, as in /temariwéc nen/ 'we are students'. ‘The complete set of these forms 1s: Sangular Blural no Iam nen we are neh you (m.) are nes te you (f.) are naceahu you are newo/newot you (pol.) are now he a8 arise ae naccow they are (ors he/she (pol.) 18) Note 3.6, Formation of the Plural temarivoc nen. We are students. astemarivoc naccahu. You are teachers. The general plural suffax an Amharic for both masculine and fema- nine 18 /-(w)oc/ (/-0c/ after consonants and /-woe/ after vowels.) Wath some speakers, words ending in vowels may drop the vowel and the suffix /-oc/ as affixed to the preceding consonant, Thus the Amharic word tetudente! may be either /tonarivoc/ or /tenarce/, Before vowols the plural suffix 1s usu- ally /-(w)o0e/, as an /meSzhafoceaceshu/ tyour books. ' ato tesoménna ato Lemna Mr. Tesenma and Hr. Lemma are ityoPsyawiyan naccow. Bthiopzans. The plural suffix /-yan/ 1s used exclusively with nouns denoting nationality ending in /ewi/ e.g. /ItyoPayawi/ ‘Ethiopian! /ityoPiyawiyan/ ‘thiopians', /anerikewi/ ‘American', /amerikewiyan/ ‘aneracans', /inglizawi/ "Hnglashman', /inglizewiyan/ ‘Englashnen', /ferensaw!/ 'Prenchnan', /ferensa~ wiyan/ 'Frenchnen', The use of the plural wall be taken up an later units. 25