Amharic

Infobox Language
name=Amharic
nativename=አማርኛ "amarəñña"
pronunciation=/amarɨɲɲa/
states=Ethiopia, Israel |speakers=17,000,000+ total, 14,000,000+ monolinguals (1998)
familycolor=Afro-Asiatic
fam2=Semitic
fam3=South Semitic
fam4=Ethiopian
fam5=South
fam6=Transversal
fam7=Amharic-Argobba
script=Ge'ez alphabet abugida
nation=Ethiopia and the following specific regions: Addis Ababa City Council, Amhara Region, Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Dire Dawa Administrative council, Gambela Region, SNNPR
agency="no official regulation"
iso1=am|iso2=amh|iso3=amh

Amharic (አማርኛ "amarəñña") is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara. It is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the "official working" language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It thus has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working language of several of the states within the federal system, including Amhara Region and the multi-ethnic Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, among others. It has been the working language of government, the military, and of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church throughout modern times. Outside Ethiopia, Amharic is the language of some 2.7 million emigrants (notably in Egypt, Israel and Sweden).

It is written, with some adaptations, with the Ge'ez alphabet (first used for the language of the same name)—called, in Ethiopian Semitic languages, ፊደል "fidel" ("alphabet", "letter", or "character") and አቡጊዳ "abugida" (from the first four Ethiopic letters in Greek order, also giving rise to the modern linguistic term "abugida").

Sounds and orthography

Consonant and vowel phonemes

There is no agreed way of transliterating Amharic into Roman characters.The Amharic examples in the sections below use one system that is common, though not universal, among linguistsspecializing in Ethiopian Semitic languages. The Amharic ejectives correspond to the Proto-Semitic "emphatic consonants", usually transcribed with a dot below the letter.The consonant and vowel charts give these symbols in parentheses wherethey differ from the standard IPA symbols.

Gemination

As in most other Ethiopian Semitic languages, gemination is contrastive in Amharic. That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another; for example, "alä" 'he said', "allä" 'there is'; IPA|"yǝmätall" 'he hits', IPA|"yǝmmättall" 'he is hit'. Gemination is not indicated in Amharic orthography, but since there are relatively few minimal pairs such as these, Amharic readers seem not to find this to be a problem. This property of the writing system is analogous to the vowels of Arabic and Hebrew or the tones of many Bantu languages, which are not normally indicated in writing. The noted Ethiopian novelist Haddis Alemayehu, who was an advocate of Amharic orthography reform, indicated gemination in his novel IPA|"Fǝqǝr Ǝskä Mäqabǝr" by placing a dot above the characters whose consonants were geminated, but this practice has not caught on.

Grammar

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

In most languages, there is a small number of basic distinctions of person, number, and often gender that play a role within the grammar of the language.We see these distinctions within the basic set ofindependent personal pronouns, for example,English "I", Amharic እኔ "IPA|ǝne"; English "she", Amharic እሷ "IPA|ǝsswa".In Amharic, as in other Semitic languages, the same distinctions appear in three other places within the grammar of the languages.; Subject-verb agreement: All Amharic verbs agree with their subjects; that is, the person, number, and (2nd and 3rd person singular) gender of the subject of the verb are marked by suffixes or prefixes on the verb. Because the affixes that signal subject agreement vary greatly with the particular verb tense/aspect/mood, they are normally not considered to be pronouns and are discussed elsewhere in this article under verb conjugation.; Object pronoun suffixes: Amharic verbs often have additional morphology that indicates the person, number, and (2nd and 3rd person singular) gender of the object of the verb.:: Morphemes such as "-llat" and "-bbat" in these example will be referred to in this article as prepositional object pronoun suffixes because they correspond to prepositional phrases such as 'for her' and 'on her', to distinguish them from the direct object pronoun suffixes such as "-at" 'her'.; Possessive suffixes: Amharic has a further set of morphemes which are suffixed to nouns, signalling possession: ቤት "bet" 'house', ቤቴ "bete" 'my house', ቤቷ "betwa" 'her house'.

In each of these four aspects of the grammar, independent pronouns, subject-verb agreement, object pronoun suffixes, and possessive suffixes, Amharic distinguishes eight combinations of person, number, and gender.For first person, there is a two-way distinction between singular ('I') and plural ('we'), whereas for second and third persons, there is a distinction between singular and plural and within the singular a further distinction between masculine and feminine ('you m. sg.', 'you f. sg.', 'you pl.', 'he', 'she', 'they').

Like other Semitic languages, Amharic is a pro-drop language.That is, neutral sentences in which no element is emphasized normally do not have independent pronouns: ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው IPA|"ityop'p'ǝyawi näw" 'he's Ethiopian,' ጋበዝኳት "‘gabbäzkwat" 'I invited her'. The Amharic words that translate 'he', 'I', and 'her' do not appear in these sentences as independent words. However, in such cases, the person, number, and (2nd or 3rd person singular) gender of the subject and object are marked on the verb. When the subject or object in such sentences is emphasized, an independent pronoun is used: እሱ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው IPA|"ǝssu ityop'p'ǝyawi näw" 'he's Ethiopian', እኔ ጋበዝኳት "IPA|ǝne gabbäzkwat" 'I invited her', እሷን ጋበዝኳት "IPA|ǝsswan gabbäzkwat" 'I invited her'.

The table below shows alternatives for many of the forms.The choice depends on what precedes the form in question, usually whether this is a vowel or a consonant, for example, for the 1st person singular possessive suffix, አገሬ "agär-e" 'my country', ገላዬ "gäla-ye" 'my body'.

Within second and third person singular, there are two additional "polite" independent pronouns, for reference to people that the speaker wishes to show respect towards.This usage is an example of the so-called T-V distinction that is made in many languages.The polite pronouns in Amharic are እርስዎ IPA|"ǝrswo" 'you sg. pol.' and እሳቸው IPA|"ǝssaččäw" 'he/she pol.'. Although these forms are singular semantically — they refer to one person — they correspond to 3rd person plural elsewhere in the grammar, as is common in other T-V systems. For the possessive pronouns, however, the polite 2nd person has the special suffix "-wo" 'your sg. pol.'.

For possessive pronouns ('mine', 'yours', etc.), Amharic adds the independent pronouns to the preposition "yä-" 'of': የኔ "yäne" 'mine', ያንተ "yantä" 'yours m. sg.', ያንቺ IPA|"yanči" 'yours f. sg.', የሷ "yässwa" 'hers', etc.

Reflexive pronouns

For reflexive pronouns ('myself', 'yourself', etc.), Amharic adds the possessive suffixes to the noun ራስ IPA|"ras" 'head': ራሴ IPA|"rase" 'myself', ራሷ IPA|"raswa" 'herself', etc.

Demonstrative pronouns

Like English, Amharic makes a two-way distinction between near ('this, these') and far ('that, those') demonstrative expressions (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs). Besides number, as in English, Amharic also distinguishes masculine and feminine gender in the singular.There are also separate demonstratives for formal reference, comparable to the formal personal pronouns: እኚህ IPA|"ǝññih" 'this, these (formal)' and እኒያ IPA|"ǝnniya" 'that, those (formal)'.

The singular pronouns have combining forms beginning with "zz" instead of "y" when they follow a preposition: ስለዚህ IPA|"sǝläzzih" 'because of this; therefore', እንደዚያ IPA|"ǝndäzziya" 'like that'. Note that the plural demonstratives, like the second and third person plural personal pronouns, are formed by adding the plural prefix እነ IPA|"ǝnnä-" to the singular masculine forms.

Nouns

Amharic nouns can be primary or derived. A noun like "IPA|əgər" 'foot, leg' is primary, and a noun like "IPA|əgr-äñña" 'pedestrian' is a derived noun.

Gender

Amharic nouns can have a masculine or feminine gender. There are several ways to express gender. An example is the old suffix "-t" for feminity. This suffix is no longer productive and is limited to certain patterns and some isolated nouns. Nouns and adjectives ending in "-awi" usually take the suffix "-t" to form the feminine form, e.g. "ityop':ya-(a)wi" 'Ethiopian (m.)' vs. "ityop':ya-wi-t" 'Ethiopian (f.)'; "sämay-awi" 'heavenly (m.)' vs. "sämay-awi-t" 'heavenly (f.)'. This suffix also occurs in nouns and adjective based on the pattern "IPA|qət(t)ul", e.g. "IPA|nəgus" 'king' vs. "IPA|nəgəs-t" 'queen' and "IPA|qəddus" 'holy (m.)' vs. "IPA|qəddəs-t" 'holy (f.)'.

When someone is talking to a male or female, different endings are usually used for masculine and feminine. If you are talking to a male, the word simply ends in an 'h' sound. When you are talking to a female, the word ends in 'sh'. Additionally, when you are talking to a group of people, the word ends in 'achu'. For example: ayIzoh-Be strong, to male. ayIzosh-Be strong, to female. And ayIzachu-Be strong, to all. This is also a common word used frequently by many Ethiopians, or Amharic speakers. It is important to keep in mind that there are irregulars, for example when you are telling someone to COME. NA(Male) Nei (Female) Nu (Everyone).

Some nouns and adjectives take a feminine marker "-it": "IPA|ləǧ" 'child, boy' vs. "IPA|ləǧ-it" 'girl'; "bäg" 'sheep, ram' vs. "bäg-it" 'ewe'; "IPA|šəmagəlle" 'senior, elder (m.)' vs. "IPA|šəmagəll-it" 'old woman'; "t'ot'a" 'monkey' vs. "t'ot'-it" 'monkey (f.)'. Some nouns have this feminine marker without having a masculine opposite, e.g. "IPA|šärär-it" 'spider', "azur-it" 'whirlpool, eddy'. There are, however, also nouns having this "-it" suffix that are treated as masculine: "säraw-it" 'army', "nägar-it" 'big drum'.

The feminine gender is not only used to indicate biological gender, but may also be used to express smallness, e.g. "bet-it-u" 'the little house' (lit. house-FEM-DEF). The feminine marker can also serve to express tenderness or sympathy.

pecifiers

Amharic has special words that can be used to indicate the gender of people and animals. For people, "wänd" is used for masculinity and "set" for feminity, e.g. "wänd IPA|ləǧ" 'boy', "set IPA|ləǧ" 'girl'; "wänd hakim" 'physician, doctor (m.)', "set hakim" 'physician, doctor (f.)'.For animals, the words "täbat", "awra", or "wänd" (less usual) can be used to indicate masculine gender, and "IPA|anəst" or "set" to indicate feminine gender. Examples: "täbat IPA|t'əǧa" 'calf (m.)'; "awra doro" 'cock (rooster)'; "set doro" 'hen'.

Plural

The plural suffix "IPA|-očč" is used to express plurality of nouns. Some morphophonological alternations occur depending on the final consonant or vowel. For nouns ending in a consonant, plain "IPA|-očč" is used: "bet" 'house' becomes "IPA|bet-očč" 'houses'. For nouns ending in a back vowel (-a, -o, -u), the suffix takes the form "-^wIPA|očč", e.g. "IPA|wəšša" 'dog', "IPA|wəšša-^wIPA|očč" 'dogs'; "käbäro" 'drum', "käbäro-^wIPA|očč" 'drums'. Nouns that end in a front vowel pluralize using "-^wIPA|očč" or "-^yIPA|očč", e.g. "s'ähafi" 'scholar', "s'ähafi-^wIPA|očč" or "s'ähafi-^yIPA|očč" 'scholars'. Another possibility for nouns ending in a vowel is to delete the vowel and use plain "IPA|očč", as in "IPA|wəšš-očč" 'dogs'.

Besides using the normal external plural ("-očč"), nouns and adjectives can be pluralized by way of reduplicating one of the "radicals". For example, "wäyzäro" 'lady' can take the normal plural, yielding "wäyzär-oIPA|čč", but "IPA|wäyzazər" 'ladies' is also found (Leslau 1995:173).

Some kinship-terms have two plural forms with a slightly different meaning. For example, "IPA|wändəmm" 'brother' can be pluralized as "IPA|wändəmm-očč" 'brothers' but also as "IPA|wändəmmam-ač" 'brothers of each other'. Likewise, "IPA|əhət" 'sister' can be pluralized as "IPA|əhət-očč" ('sisters'), but also as "IPA|ətəmm-am-ač" 'sisters of each other'.

In compound words, the plural marker is suffixed to the second noun: "betä IPA|krəstiyan" 'church' (lit. house of Christian) becomes "betä IPA|krəstiyan-očč" 'churches'.

Archaic forms

Amsalu Aklilu has pointed out that Amharic has inherited a large number of old plural forms directly from Classical Ethiopic (Ge'ez) (Leslau 1995:172). There are basic two archaic pluralizing strategies, called external and internal plural. The external plural consists of adding the suffix "-an" (usually masculine) or "-at" (usually feminine) to the singular form. The internal plural employs vowel quality or apophony to pluralize words, similar to English "man" vs. "men" and "goose" vs. "geese". Sometimes combinations of the two systems are found. The archaic plural forms are not productive anymore, which means that they are not be used to form new plurals.

*Examples of the external plural: "IPA|mämhər" 'teacher', "IPA|mämhər-an"; "t'äbib" 'wise person', "t'äbib-an"; "IPA|kahən" 'priest', "IPA|kahən-at"; IPA|qal 'word', "IPA|qal-at".
*Examples of the internal plural: "IPA|dəngəl" 'virgin', "IPA|dänagəl"; "hagär" 'land', "IPA|ahəgur".
*Examples of combined systems: "IPA|nəgus" 'king', "IPA|nägäs-t"; "IPA|kokäb" 'star', "IPA|käwakəb-t"; "IPA|mäs'əhaf" 'book', "IPA|mäs'ahəf-t".

Definiteness

If a noun is definite or "specified", this is expressed by a suffix, the "article". In singular forms, this article distinguishes between the male and female gender; in plural forms this distinction is absent. As in the plural, morphophonological alternations occur depending on the final consonant or vowel.

Nominalization

Amharic has various ways to derive nouns from other words or other nouns. One way of nominalizing consists of a form of "vowel agreement" (similar vowels on similar places) inside the three-radical structures typical of Semitic languages. For example:
*IPA|CəCäC: — "IPA|t'əbäb" 'wisdom'; "IPA|həmäm" 'sickness'
*IPA|CəCCaC-e: — "IPA|wəffar-e" 'obesity'; "IPA|č'əkkan-e" 'cruelty'
*IPA|CəC-ät: — "IPA|rət'b-ät" 'moistness'; "IPA|'əwq-ät" 'knowledge'; "IPA|wəfr-ät" 'fatness'.There are also several nominalizing suffixes.
*"IPA|-ənna": — 'relation'; "IPA|krəst-ənna" 'Christianity'; "IPA|sənf-ənna" 'laziness'; "IPA|qes-ənna" 'priesthood'.
*"-e", suffixed to place name X, yields 'a person from X': "goǧǧam-e" 'someone from Gojjam'.
*"IPA|-äñña" and "IPA|-täñña" serve to express profession, or some relationship with the base noun: "IPA|əgr-äñña" 'pedestrian' (from "IPA|əgər" 'foot'); "IPA|bärr-äñña" 'gate-keeper' (from "bärr" 'gate').
*"IPA|-ənnät" and "IPA|-nnät" — '-ness'; "IPA|ityop'yawi-nnät" 'Ethiopianness'; "IPA|qərb-ənnät" 'nearness' (from "IPA|qərb" 'near').

Verbs

Gerund

Along with the infinitive and the present participle, the gerund is one of three non-finite verb forms. The infinitive is a nominalized verb, the present participle expresses incomplete action, and the gerund expresses completed action, e.g. "ali IPA|məsa" "bälto" "wädä gäbäya hedä" 'Ali, having eaten lunch, went to the market'.There are several usages of the gerund depending on its morpho-syntactic features.

Verbal use

The gerund functions as the head of a subordinate clause (see the example above). There may be more than one gerund in one sentence. The gerund is used to form the following tense forms:
* present perfect "nägro" "-all/näbbär" 'He has said'.
* past perfect "nägro" "näbbär" 'He had said'.
* possible perfect "nägro" "IPA|yəhonall" 'He (probably) has said'.

Adverbial use

The gerund can be used as an adverb:"alfo alfo" "IPA|yəsəqall" 'Sometimes he laughs'."IPA|əne" "dägmo" "mämt'at IPA|əfälləgallähu" 'I also want to come'.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words or constructions used to qualify nouns. Adjectives in Amharic can be formed in several ways: they can be based on nominal patterns, or derived from nouns, verbs and other parts of speech. Adjectives can be nominalized by way of suffixing the nominal article (see Nouns above). Amharic has few primary adjectives. Some examples are "dägg" 'kind, generous', "IPA|dəda" 'mute, dumb, silent', "IPA|bič'a" 'yellow'.

Nominal patterns

:CäCCaC — "käbbad" 'heavy'; "läggas" 'generous':CäC(C)iC — "räqiq" 'fine, subtle'; "addis" 'new':CäC(C)aCa — "säbara" 'broken'; "t'ämama" 'bent, wrinkled':IPA|CəC(C)əC — "IPA|bələh" 'intelligent, smart'; "IPA|dəbbəq' " 'hidden':IPA|CəC(C)uC — "IPA|kəbur" 'worthy, dignified'; "IPA|t'əqur" 'black'; "IPA|qəddus" 'holy'

Denominalizing suffixes

:IPA|-äñña — "IPA|hayl-äñña" 'powerful' (from "hayl" 'power'); "IPA|əwnät-äñña" 'true' (from "IPA|əwnät" 'truth'):IPA|-täñña — "IPA|aläm-täñña" 'secular' (from "aläm" 'world'):-awi — "IPA|ləbb-awi" 'intelligent' (from "IPA|ləbb" 'heart'); "IPA|mədr-awi" 'earthly' (from "IPA|mədr" 'earth'); "haymanot-awi" 'religious' (from "haymanot" 'religion')

Prefix "yä"

:"yä-kätäma" 'urban' (lit. 'from the city'); "IPA|yä-krəstənna" 'Christian' (lit. 'of Christianity'); "IPA|yä-wəšät" 'wrong' (lit. 'of falsehood')In the same way, a "relative perfectum" or "imperfectum" can be used as an adjective by prefixing "yä"::"yä-bässälä" 'ripe, done' (lit. 'what has been cooked/prepared'); "yä-qoyyä" 'old' (lit. 'what remained'); "yä-mm-ikkättäl" 'following' ('that what is following', from "tä-kättälä" 'to follow'); "yä-mm-ittay" 'visible' (lit. 'what is seen')

Adjective noun complex

The adjective and the noun together are called the 'adjective noun complex'. In Amharic, the adjective precedes the noun, with the verb last; e.g. "IPA|kəfu geta" 'a bad master'; "IPA|təlləq bet särra" (lit. big house he-built) 'he built a big house'.

If the adjective noun complex is definite, the definite article is suffixed to the adjective and not to the noun, e.g. "IPA|təlləq-u bet" (lit. big-def house) 'the big house'. In a possessive construction, the adjective takes the definite article, and the noun takes the pronominal possessive suffix, e.g. "IPA|təlləq-u bet-e" (lit. big-def house-my) 'my big house'.

When enumerating adjectives using "-nna" 'and', both adjectives take the definite article: "IPA|qonǧo-wa-nna astäway-wa IPA|ləǧ mät't'ačč" (lit. pretty-def-and intelligent-def girl came) 'the pretty and intelligent girl came'. In the case of an indefinite plural adjective noun complex, the noun is plural and the adjective may be used in singular or in plural form. Thus, 'diligent students' can be rendered "IPA|təgu tämari^wočč" (lit. diligent student-PLUR) or "IPA|təgu^wočč tämari^wočč" (lit. diligent-PLUR student-PLUR).

Literature in Amharic

There is a growing body of literature in Amharic in many genres. This literature includes government proclamations and records, educational books, religious material, novels, poetry, proverb collections, technical manuals, medical topics, etc. The Holy Bible was first translated into Amharic by Abu Rumi in the early 19th century, but has been retranslated a number of times since. The most famous Amharic novel is "Fiqir Iske Meqabir" (transliterated various ways) by Haddis Alemayehu (1909-2003), translated into English by Sisay Ayenew with the title "Love unto Crypt", published in 2005 (ISBN: 9781418491826).

Translation companies

Because of the rapid growth of Ethiopian communities in Europe, the United States and Canada, several public service organizations started to offer Amharic language translation and interpretation services.

Rastafarians

Many Rastafarians learn Amharic as a second language because they consider it to be a sacred language, and even the original language. Various roots reggae musicians including Lincoln Thompson and Misty-in-Roots have written songs in Amharic, thus bringing the sound of this relatively unknown language to a wider audience.

A notable early attempt to use Amharic in reggae was the anthem "Satta Amassagana", mistakenly believed to mean "Give thanks". However, this "Amharic" phrase seems to have been derived from looking in a bilingual dictionary and finding the entries "IPA|säţţä" for "give" (actually "he gave") and "IPA|'amässägänä" for "thank" or "praise" (actually "he thanked" or "he praised"), by those unaware of the correct inflections of these verbs, the convention of always listing verbs in the past tense third person, or the pronunciation of the diacritical marks. The actual way to say "give thanks" is a related word, "misgana". Ironically, owing to the vast popularity of this song, "to satta" has even entered modern Rastafarian vocabulary as a verb meaning "to sit down and partake".

oftware

Almost all Amharic characters have a Unicode representation. Now people can post in forums and blogs, send e-mail, or publish Web sites in Amharic. The Amharic script is included in Unicode. There are several free software programs, and also some commercial ones, for writing in Amharic. Some such software packages are: Keyman, GeezEdit, Hewan Amharic Software, AbeshaSoft and PowerGe'ez.

References

* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=amh Ethnologue entry for Amharic]

Grammar

*cite book
last = Abraham
first = Roy Clive
year = 1968
title = The Principles of Amharic
publisher = Occasional Publication / Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan
location =
id = ["rewritten version of 'A modern grammar of spoken Amharic', 1941"]
* Afevork Ghevre Jesus (1905) "Grammatica della lingua amarica." Roma.
* Afevork Ghevre Jesus (1911) "Il verbo amarico". Roma.
* Amsalu Aklilu & Demissie Manahlot (1990) "T'iru ye'Amarinnya Dirset 'Indet Yale New!" (An Amharic grammar, in Amharic)
* Anbessa Teferra and Grover Hudson. 2007. "Essentials of Amharic." Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
* Appleyard, David (1994) Colloquial Amharic, Routledge ISBN 0-415-10003-8
* Bennet, M.E. (1978) "Stratificational Approaches to Amharic Phonology." PhD thesis, Ann Arbor: Michigan State University.
* Cohen, Marcel (1936) "Traité de langue amharique." Paris: Institut d'Ethnographie.
* Cohen, Marcel (1939) "Nouvelles études d'éthiopien merdional." Paris: Champion.
* Dawkins, C. H. (¹1960, ²1969) "The Fundamentals of Amharic." Addis Ababa.
* Kapeliuk, Olga (1988) "Nominalization in Amharic." Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-515-04512-0
* Kapeliuk, Olga (1994) "Syntax of the noun in Amharic." Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03406-8.
* Łykowska, Laura (1998) "Gramatyka jezyka amharskiego" Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog. ISBN 83-86483-60-1
* Leslau, Wolf (1995) "Reference Grammar of Amharic." Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. ISBN 3-447-03372-X
* Ludolf, Hiob (1698) "Grammatica Linguæ Amharicæ." Frankfort.
* Praetorius, Franz (1879) "Die amharische Sprache." Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.

Dictionaries

* Abbadie, Antoine d' (1881) "Dictionnaire de la langue amariñña." Actes de la Société philologique, t. 10. Paris.
* Amsalu Aklilu (1973) "English-Amharic dictionary." Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-572264-7
* Baeteman, J.-É. (1929) "Dictionnaire amarigna-français." Diré-Daoua
* Gankin, É. B. (1969) "Amxarsko-russkij slovar'. Pod redaktsiej Kassa Gäbrä Heywät." Moskva: Izdatel'stvo `Sovetskaja Éntsiklopedija'.
* Guidi, I. (1901) "Vocabolario amarico-italiano." Roma.
* Guidi, I. (1940) "Supplemento al Vocabolario amarico-italiano." (compilato con il concorso di Francesco Gallina ed Enrico Cerulli) Roma.
* Kane, Thomas L. (1990) "Amharic-English Dictionary." (2 vols.) Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-02871-8
* Leslau, Wolf (1976) "Concise Amharic Dictionary." (Reissue edition: 1996) Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20501-4
* Täsämma Habtä Mikael Gəunicode|ṣṣəw (1953 Ethiopian calendar) "Käsate Bərhan Täsämma. Yä-Amarəñña mäzgäbä qalat." Addis Ababa: Artistic.

External links

* [http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/Amharic.aspx Free comprehensive Amharic language course] USA Foreign Service Institute (FSI)
* [http://www.amharicdictionary.com/ Online Amharic-English-Amharic dictionary]
* [http://www.ethiotrans.com/amharic.htm History of Amharic and its application]
* [http://st-takla.org/Bibles/Holy-Bible-Amharic.html Amharic Bible at St-Takla.org]
* [http://www.language-museum.com/a/amharic.php Amharic Language Sample]
* [http://www.myamharic.com/ Interactive Amharic Teaching software for Kids]
* [http://www.tavultesoft.com/keyman/?tsxa=kikiwa Amharic Keyboard Tool] Virtual Keyboard for Amharic
* (Also PDFlink| [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1380.pdf Supplemental] |65.2 KB and PDFlink| [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2D80.pdf Extended] |100 KB)
* [http://www.yebbo.com/zero/ Creating "Zero" in the Amharic /Ge’ez Numeric System ] Zero in Amharic langage
* [http://www.voanews.com/horn/amharic_audio.cfm Voice of America Amharic news broadcasts] in Voice of America website
* [http://globalrecordings.net/language/1 Christian recordings in Amharic] in [http://globalrecordings.net/ Global Recordings] website
* [http://www.msu.edu/%7Ehudson/Amhbiblio.htm Selected Annotated Bibliography on Amharic] by [http://www.msu.edu/%7Ehudson/index.htm Grover Hudson at the Michigan State University] website.
* [http://ethiopic.keymankeyboards.com/?tsxa=kikiwa Online Amharic Keyboard] Free Online Amharic/Ge'ez Keyboard

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