View source for Social:Amharic

{{short description|Semitic language of Ethiopia}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Amharic
| nativename       = {{lang|am|አማርኛ}} ({{transliteration|am|Amarəñña}})
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|am|amarɨɲːa|}}
| states           = Ethiopia
| ethnicity        = {{sigfig|29.300000|2}} million Amhara (2018)<ref name=e25/>
| speakers         = [[Social:First language|L1]]: {{sigfig|32.366560|2}} million
| date             = 2018
| ref              = e25
| speakers2        = L2: {{sigfig|25.100000|2}} million (2019)<ref name=e25/> Total:  
{{sigfig|57.466560|2}} million (2018–2019)<ref name=e25/>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = Semitic
| fam3             = [[Social:West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4             = South Semitic
| fam5             = [[Social:Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopic]]
| fam6             = [[Social:Ethiopian Semitic languages|South Ethiopic]]
| fam7             = [[Social:Ethiopian Semitic languages|Transversal South Ethiopic]]
| fam8             = Amharic–Argobba
| script           = Geʽez script (Amharic syllabary)<br/>Ge'ez Braille
| nation           = {{flag|Ethiopia}}<ref name="africanews.com">{{cite news |last1=Shaban |first1=Abdurahman |title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |agency=Africa News |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231030/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| agency           = [[Organization:Imperial Academy (Ethiopia)|Imperial Academy]] (former)
| iso1             = am
| iso2             = amh
| iso3             = amh
| lingua           = 12-ACB-a
| image            = Amharic.svg
| imagescale       = 0.7
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = Signed Amharic<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morgan|first=Mike|title=Complexities of Ethiopian Sign Language Contact Phenomena & Implications for AAU|url=https://www.academia.edu/1230482|date=9 April 2010|journal=L'Alliance française et le Centre Français des Études Éthiopiennes|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref>
| glotto           = amha1245
| glottorefname    = Amharic
| imagecaption     = Amharic script, ''fidäl'', from Ge'ez script
}}

'''Amharic''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|ˈ|h|ær|ɪ|k}} {{respell|am|HARR|ik}}<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh; ''Collins English Dictionary'' (2003), ''Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary'' (2010)</ref><ref>{{OED|Amharic}}</ref><ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Amharic}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ɑː|m|ˈ|h|ɑr|ɪ|k}} {{respell|ahm|HAR|ik}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/amharic |title=Amharic |website=dictionary.com |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref> {{lang-am|አማርኛ|label=native name|Amarəñña}}, {{IPA|am|amarɨɲːa|IPA|Amarigna.ogg}}) is an [[Social:Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopian Semitic language]], which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the [[Social:Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic languages]]. It is spoken as a [[Social:First language|first language]] by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other populations residing in major cities and towns in Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Ronny |year=2011 |chapter=The Role of Amharic as a National Language and an African lingua franca |editor=Stefan Weninger |title=The Semitic Languages |place=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=1212–1220}}</ref>

The language serves as the official [[Social:Working language|working language]] of the Ethiopian federal government, and is also the official or working language of several of Ethiopia's federal regions.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Gebremichael |first=M. |year=2011 |title=Federalism and conflict management in Ethiopia: case study of Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State |type=PhD |location=United Kingdom |publisher=University of Bradford |hdl=10454/5388}}</ref> As of 2018, it has over 32,400,000 mother-tongue speakers and more than 25,100,000 second language speakers in 2019, making the total number of speakers over 57,500,000.<ref name=e25/> Amharic is the largest, most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, and the second most spoken mother-tongue in Ethiopia (after Oromo). Amharic is also the second most widely spoken Semitic language in the world (after [[Social:Arabic|Arabic]]).<ref name=e25/><ref name="The world factbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/| title=The world factbook |website=cia.gov| date=2 March 2022 }}</ref>

Amharic is written left-to-right using a system that grew out of the Geʽez script.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Adugna|first=Gabe|title=Research: Language Learning – Amharic: Home|url=https://library.bu.edu/amharic/Home|access-date=2021-12-08|website=library.bu.edu|language=en}}</ref> The segmental writing system in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as units is called an ''abugida'' ({{lang|am|አቡጊዳ}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Amharic alphabet, pronunciation and language|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm|access-date=26 July 2017|website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref> The graphemes are called ''fidäl'' ({{lang|am|ፊደል}}), which means "script", "alphabet", "letter", or "character".

There is no universally agreed-upon [[Social:Romanization|Romanization]] of Amharic into Latin script. The Amharic examples in the sections below use one system that is common among linguists specializing in Ethiopian Semitic languages.

== Background ==
Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopia, language of the courts, the language of trade and everyday communications and of the military since the late 12th century. The Amhara nobles supported the [[History:Zagwe dynasty|Zagwe]] prince Lalibela in his power struggle against his brothers which led him to make Amharic ''Lessana Negus'' as well as fill the Amhara nobles in the top positions of his Kingdom.<ref>Mohammad Hassan, The Oromo of Ethiopia, pp.3</ref>  The appellation of "language of the king" ({{Lang-gez|ልሣነ ነጋሲ}}; "Lisane Negus," {{Lang-am|የኢነጋሲ ቋንቋ}} "Ye-Negus QwanQwa") and its use in the royal court are otherwise traced to the Amhara Emperor Yekuno Amlak.<ref>The Southern Marches of Imperial Ethiopia: Essays in History and Social Anthropology, Donham Donald Donham, Lecturer in Social Anthropology Wendy James, Dr, PhD, Former Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Christopher Clapham, Patrick Manning CUP Archive, Sep 4, 1986, p. 11, https://books.google.com/books?id=dvk8AAAAIAAJ&q=Lisane+amharic</ref><ref>Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, Paul B. Henze, November 18th 2008, p. 78, https://books.google.com/books?id=3VYBDgAAQBAJ&q=Lisane</ref> It is one of the official languages of Ethiopia, together with other regions like Oromo, [[Social:Somali language|Somali]], Afar, and [[Social:Tigrinya language|Tigrigna]]. Amharic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the Southwest Semitic group and is related to [[Social:Geʽez|Geʽez]], or Ethiopic, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church; Amharic is written in a slightly modified form of the alphabet used for writing the Geʽez language. There are 34 basic characters, each of which has seven forms depending on which vowel is to be pronounced in the syllable. There are also 49 "wa" letters, which form compound sounds involving "w." All together, the alphabet has some 280 letters. Until 2020 Amharic was the sole official language of Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web |title=ETHIOPIA TO ADD 4 MORE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES TO FOSTER UNITY |url=http://venturesafrica.com/ethiopia-to-add-4-more-official-languages-to-foster-unity/ |website=Ventures Africa |date=4 March 2020 |publisher=Ventures |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts |url=https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |website=Nazret |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817225007/https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="africanews.com"/><ref name="Meyer">{{Cite journal|last=Meyer|first=Ronny|year=2006|title=Amharic as lingua franca in Ethiopia|url=https://www.academia.edu/5514187|journal=Lissan: Journal of African Languages and Linguistics|language=en|volume=20|issue=1/2|pages=117–131|via=Academia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Amharic: Political and social effects on English loan words |first=Anbessa |last=Teferra |year=2013 |title=Globally Speaking: Motives for Adopting English Vocabulary in Other Languages |editor1-first=Judith |editor1-last=Rosenhouse |editor2-first=Rotem |editor2-last=Kowner |publisher=Multilingual Matters |page=165}}</ref> The 2007 census reported that Amharic was spoken by 21.6 million native speakers in Ethiopia.<ref name="catalog.ihsn.org">Central Statistical Agency. 2010. "[http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3583/download/50086 Population and Housing Census 2007 Report, National]". Accessed 13 December 2016].</ref> More recent sources state the number of first-language speakers in 2018 as nearly 32 million, with another 25 million second-language speakers in Ethiopia.<ref name=e25/> Additionally, 3 million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak the language.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}} Most of the Ethiopian Jewish communities in Ethiopia and Israel speak Amharic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/geez-language-only-left-in-lithurgy.html|title=Israel's Ethiopian Jews keep ancient language alive in prayer|date=29 June 2017|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=26 July 2017|language=en-us}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ohr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ohr/publication/attachments/LAAFactSheet-English.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919063500/http://ohr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ohr/publication/attachments/LAAFactSheet-English.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-19 |url-status=live|title=Language Access Act Fact Sheet|date=5 October 2011|access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> Furthermore, Amharic is considered a holy language by the [[Unsolved:Rastafari|Rastafari]] religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide.

=== Linguistic development theory ===
 
Early [[Social:Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] populations speaking proto-Semitic, proto-Cushitic and proto-[[Social:Omotic languages|Omotic]] languages would have diverged by the fourth or fifth millennium BC. Shortly afterwards, the proto-Cushitic and proto-Omotic groups would have settled in the Ethiopian highlands, with the proto-Semitic speakers crossing the [[Place:Sinai Peninsula|Sinai Peninsula]] into [[Earth:Asia Minor|Asia Minor]]. A later return movement of peoples from [[Place:South Arabia|South Arabia]] would have introduced the Semitic languages to Ethiopia.<ref name="Levine2728"/> Based on archaeological evidence, the presence of Semitic speakers in the territory date to some time before 500 BC.<ref name="eoaamhara">{{cite book|last1=Appiah|first1=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC&pg=PA96|title=Encyclopedia of Africa|author2=Henry Louis Gates|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|page=96}}</ref> Linguistic analysis suggests the presence of Semitic languages in Ethiopia as early as 2000 BC. Levine indicates that by the end of that millennium, the core inhabitants of Greater Ethiopia would have consisted of dark-skinned agropastoralists speaking Afro-Asiatic languages of the Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic branches.<ref name="Levine2728">{{cite book|first=Donald N.|last=Levine|title=Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZHeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|year=2014|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-22967-6|pages=27–28|quote=The analysis of linguistic distributions suggests that the proto-Ethiopians of the third millennium B.C. spoke languages derived from a single stock, that is known as Hamito-Semitic or Afro-Asiatic. This ancestral language probably originated in the eastern Sahara, before the desiccation of that region... the homeland of Afro-Asiatic may have been in southwest Ethiopia. Wherever the origins of Afro-Asiatic, it seems clear that peoples speaking proto-Cushitic and proto-Omotic separated as groups with distinct languages by the fifth or fourth millennium BC and began peopling the Ethiopian plateaus not long after. Proto-Semitic separated at about the same time or somewhat earlier and passed over into Asia Minor... it seems reasonable to follow I. M. Diakonoff in assuming that the Semitic-speakers moved from the Sahara across the Nile Delta over Sinai, so that the presence of Semitic-speaking populations in Ethiopia must be attributed to a return movement of Semitic-speakers into Africa from South Arabia... As a base line for reconstructing the history of Greater Ethiopia, then, we may consider it plausible that by the end of the third millenium<!--sic, according to Google Books snippet view--> B.C. its main inhabitants were dark-skinned Caucasoid or "Afro-Mediterranean" peoples practicing rudimentary forms of agriculture and animal husbandry and speaking three branches of Afro-Asiatic – Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic.}}</ref>

Other scholars such as Messay Kebede and Daniel E. Alemu argue that migration across the Red Sea was defined by reciprocal exchange, if it even occurred at all, and that Ethio-Semitic-speaking ethnic groups should not be characterized as foreign invaders.<ref name="Kebede 2003 1–19">{{Cite journal|last=Kebede|first=Messay|date=2003|title=Eurocentrism and Ethiopian Historiography: Deconstructing Semitization|department=University of Dayton-Department of Philosophy|journal=International Journal of Ethiopian Studies|publisher=Tsehai Publishers|volume=1|pages=1–19|via=JSTOR}}</ref><ref name="Alemu 2007 56–64">{{Cite journal|last=Alemu|first=Daniel E.|date=2007|title=Re-imagining the Horn|journal=African Renaissance|volume=4|issue=1|pages=56–64|via=Ingenta}}</ref>

Amharic is a South Ethio-Semitic language, along with Gurage, Argobba, Harari, and others.<ref name=":Meyer2011">{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Ronny |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC&dq=amharic+proto+ethio+semitic&pg=PA1178 |title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook |date=2011 |publisher=Walter De Gruyter |isbn=9783110251586 |editor-last=Weninger |editor-first=Stefan |location= |pages=1178–1212 |chapter=Amharic |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Edzard |first=Lutz |title=The Semitic Languages |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |editor1=John Huehnergard |location=London |pages=202–226 |chapter=Amharic |editor2=Naʽama Pat-El}}</ref><ref name=":Hetzron72p36">{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=36 |language=English}}</ref> Due to the social stratification of the time, the Cushitic Agaw adopted the South Ethio-Semitic language and eventually absorbed the Semitic population.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=36, 87–88 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Appleyard |first=David |title=Amharic: History and dialectology of Amharic |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Aethopica |volume=1 |page=235}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Butts |first=Aaron Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lai8CgAAQBAJ&dq=amhara+old+agaw&pg=PA22 |title=Semitic languages in contact |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn= 9789004300156|location=Leiden, Boston |pages=18–21 |language=English |oclc=1083204409 |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Amhara {{!}} Definition, History, & Culture |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amhara |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=Britannica  |language=en}}</ref> Amharic thus developed with a Cushitic substratum and a Semitic superstratum.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=88 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=45–52 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref> The northernmost South Ethio-Semitic speakers, or the proto-Amhara, remained in constant contact with their North Ethio-Semitic neighbors, evidenced by linguistic analysis and oral traditions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia: Monarchy, Revolution and the Legacy of Meles Zenawi|date=2015|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|isbn=9781849042611|editor1-last=Prunier|editor1-first=Gérard|location=London|page=19 |editor2-last=Ficquet|editor2-first=Éloi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=124 |language=English}}</ref> A 7th century southward shift of the center of gravity of the [[History:Kingdom of Aksum|Kingdom of Aksum]] and the ensuing integration and Christianization of the proto-Amhara also resulted in a high prevalence of Geʽez sourced lexicon in Amharic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=15, 133–138 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Butts |first=Aaron Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lai8CgAAQBAJ&dq=amhara+old+agaw&pg=PA22 |title=Semitic languages in contact |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn= 9789004300156|location=Leiden, Boston |page=22 |oclc=1083204409 |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tamrat |first=Taddesse |title=Church and state in Ethiopia, 1270-1527 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1972 |isbn=978-1-59907-039-1 |pages=34–38 |language=English |oclc=783536291}}</ref> Some time after the 9th century AD, Amharic diverged from its closest relative, Argobba, probably due to religious differences as the Argobba adopted Islam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=33, 131–137 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref>

In 1983, Lionel Bender proposed that Amharic may have been constructed as a [[Social:Pidgin|pidgin]] as early as the 4th century AD to enable communication between Aksumite soldiers speaking Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic languages, but this hypothesis has not garnered widespread acceptance. The preservation in Old Amharic of [[Social:Verb–subject–object word order|VSO word order]] and gutturals typical of Semitic languages, Cushitic influences shared with other Ethio-Semitic languages (especially those of the Southern branch), and the number of geographically distinct Cushitic languages that have influenced Amharic at different points in time (e.g. Oromo influence beginning in the 16th century) support a [[Social:Language change|natural evolution]] of Amharic from a Proto-Ethio-Semitic language with considerable Cushitic influences (similar to Gurage, Tigrinya, etc.).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=8–54 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref><ref name=":Meyer2011" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=22, 67, 88 |language=English}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Consonants<ref name="IPAHandbook">{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Katrina|title=Handbook of the IPA|author2=Hayward, Richard J.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|location=Cambridge|pages=44–51|chapter=Amharic}}</ref>
|-
!colspan="2"|
!Labial
!Alveolar
!Palatal
!Velar
!Labio-<br />Velar
!Glottal
|-
!colspan="2"|Nasal
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|ɲ}}
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|Plosive/<br>Affricate
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷ}}
|{{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡʷ}}
|
|-
!<small>ejective</small>
|{{IPAlink|pʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|tʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |Fricative
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
!<small>ejective</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|sʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="2"|Approximant
|({{IPAlink|β̞}})
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|
|-
!colspan="2"|Rhotic
|
|{{IPAlink|ɾ}} ({{IPAlink|r}})
|
|
|
|
|}
The Amharic ejective consonants correspond to the [[Social:Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] "emphatic consonants." In the Ethiopianist tradition they are often transcribed with a dot below the letter. [[File:Amharic vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.36|The vowels of Amharic on a vowel chart.<ref name=IPAHandbook/> Vowels in parentheses are allophones of {{IPAslink|ɨ}} and {{IPAslink|ə}}.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowels<ref name=IPAHandbook/>
|-
!
!Front
!Central
!Back
|-
!High
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|{{IPAlink|ɨ}} {{angbr|ə}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|-
!Mid
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|ə}} {{angbr|ä}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|-
!Low
|
|{{IPAlink|a}}
|
|}
The notation of central vowels in the Ethiopianist tradition is shown in angled brackets.

=== Allophones ===
The voiced bilabial plosive /b/ is phonetically realized as a voiced labial approximant [β̞] medially between sonorants in non-geminated form. The fricative ejective /{{IPA link|sʼ}}/ is heard as a fricative ejective [{{IPA link|sʼ}}], but is mostly heard as the affricate sound [{{IPA link|t͡sʼ}}]. The rhotic consonant is realized as a trill when geminated and a tap otherwise. The closed central unrounded vowel {{angle bracket|ə}} /ɨ/ and mid-central vowel {{angle bracket|ä}} /ə/ are generally fronted to [<nowiki/>ɪ] and [<nowiki/>ɛ], respectively, following palatal consonants, and generally retracted and rounded to [<nowiki/>ʊ] and [<nowiki/>ɔ], respectively, following labialized velar consonants.<ref name="IPAHandbook" />

==== Examples ====

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ge'ez !! Romanized !! IPA !! Gloss
|-
| {{lang|am|ከበሮ}} || {{transliteration|am|käbäro}} || {{IPA|[kə'''β̞'''əɾo]}} || drum
|-
| {{lang|am|ብር}} || {{transliteration|am|bərr}} || {{IPA|[bɨ'''r''']}} || Ethiopian birr
|-
| {{lang|am|ይህ}} || {{transliteration|am|yəh}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɪ'''h]}} || this
|-
| {{lang|am|የማን}} || {{transliteration|am|yäman}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɛ'''man]}} || whose
|-
| {{lang|am|ውስጥ}} || {{transliteration|am|wəsṭ}} || {{IPA|[w'''ʊ'''stʼ]}} || in
|-
| {{lang|am|ወንድ}} || {{transliteration|am|wänd}} || {{IPA|[w'''ɔ'''nd]}} || man
|}

==Writing system==
{{anchor|Alphabet}}
[[File:Ethiopian Air aircraft showing Ethiopic script.jpg|right|thumb|The Ethiopic (or Ge'ez) writing system is visible on the side of this Ethiopian Airlines Fokker 50: it reads "Ethiopia's": {{lang|am|የኢትዮጵያ }} {{transliteration|am|ye-ʾityop̣p̣ya}}.]]
The Amharic script is an abugida, and the [[Social:Grapheme|grapheme]]s of the Amharic writing system are called {{transliteration|am|fidäl}}.<ref name="MajorLanguages">{{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Grover |chapter=Amharic |title=The World's Major Languages |date=2009 |editor-last=Comrie |editor-first=Bernard |location=Oxon and New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=594–617 |isbn=978-0-203-30152-4}}</ref> It is derived from a modification of the Ge'ez script.<ref name=":0" /> Each character represents a consonant+vowel sequence, but the basic shape of each character is determined by the consonant, which is modified for the vowel. Some consonant [[Social:Phoneme|phoneme]]s are written by more than one series of characters: {{IPAslink|ʔ}}, {{IPAslink|s}}, {{IPAslink|tsʼ}}, and {{IPAslink|h}} (the last one has ''four'' distinct letter forms). This is because these ''fidäl'' originally represented distinct sounds, but phonological changes merged them.<ref name="MajorLanguages" /> The citation form for each series is the consonant+''ä'' form, i.e. the first column of the ''fidäl''. The [[Ethiopic (Unicode block)|Amharic script]] is included in [[Unicode]], and glyphs are included in fonts available with major operating systems.

[[File:Amharic Coca Cola bottle.jpg|thumb|A modern usage of Amharic: the label of a [[Engineering:Coca-Cola|Coca-Cola]] bottle. The script reads {{lang|am|ኮካ-ኮላ}} ({{transliteration|am|koka-kola}}).]]

===Alphasyllabary===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart of Amharic fidäls<ref>
{{cite book
|chapter=Ethiopic Writing
|title=The World's Writing Systems
|year=1996
|last1=Haile
|first1=Getatchew
|editor1-last=Daniels
|editor1-first=Peter T.
|editor2-last=Bright
|editor2-first=William
|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc
|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7
|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/573 573]
|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/573
}}</ref>
|- valign=top
! colspan=2| &nbsp;!!{{transliteration|sem|ä/e}}<br />{{IPA|[ə]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|u}}!!{{transliteration|sem|i}}!!{{transliteration|sem|a}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ē}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ə}}<br />{{IPA|[ɨ], ∅}}!!o!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷä/ue}}<br />{{IPA|[ʷə]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷi/ui}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷa/ua}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷē/uē}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷə}}<br />{{IPA|[ʷɨ/î]}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|h}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/h/}}
|{{lang|am|ሀ}}||{{lang|am|ሁ}}||{{lang|am|ሂ}}||{{lang|am|ሃ}}||{{lang|am|ሄ}}||{{lang|am|ህ}}||{{lang|am|ሆ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|l}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/l/}}
|{{lang|am|ለ}}||{{lang|am|ሉ}}||{{lang|am|ሊ}}||{{lang|am|ላ}}||{{lang|am|ሌ}}||{{lang|am|ል}}||{{lang|am|ሎ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሏ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ḥ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/h/}}
|{{lang|am|ሐ}}||{{lang|am|ሑ}}||{{lang|am|ሒ}}||{{lang|am|ሓ}}||{{lang|am|ሔ}}||{{lang|am|ሕ}}||{{lang|am|ሖ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሗ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|m}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/m/}}
|{{lang|am|መ}}||{{lang|am|ሙ}}||{{lang|am|ሚ}}||{{lang|am|ማ}}||{{lang|am|ሜ}}||{{lang|am|ም}}||{{lang|am|ሞ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሟ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ś}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/s/}}
|{{lang|am|ሠ}}||{{lang|am|ሡ}}||{{lang|am|ሢ}}||{{lang|am|ሣ}}||{{lang|am|ሤ}}||{{lang|am|ሥ}}||{{lang|am|ሦ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሧ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|r}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/r/}}
|{{lang|am|ረ}}||{{lang|am|ሩ}}||{{lang|am|ሪ}}||{{lang|am|ራ}}||{{lang|am|ሬ}}||{{lang|am|ር}}||{{lang|am|ሮ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሯ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|s}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/s/}}
|{{lang|am|ሰ}}||{{lang|am|ሱ}}||{{lang|am|ሲ}}||{{lang|am|ሳ}}||{{lang|am|ሴ}}||{{lang|am|ስ}}||{{lang|am|ሶ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሷ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|š}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|{{lang|am|ሸ}}||{{lang|am|ሹ}}||{{lang|am|ሺ}}||{{lang|am|ሻ}}||{{lang|am|ሼ}}||{{lang|am|ሽ}}||{{lang|am|ሾ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሿ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|q}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/kʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ቀ}}||{{lang|am|ቁ}}||{{lang|am|ቂ}}||{{lang|am|ቃ}}||{{lang|am|ቄ}}||{{lang|am|ቅ}}||{{lang|am|ቆ}}||{{lang|am|ቈ}}||{{lang|am|ቊ}}||{{lang|am|ቋ}}||{{lang|am|ቌ}}||{{lang|am|ቍ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|b}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/b/}}
|{{lang|am|በ}}||{{lang|am|ቡ}}||{{lang|am|ቢ}}||{{lang|am|ባ}}||{{lang|am|ቤ}}||{{lang|am|ብ}}||{{lang|am|ቦ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቧ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|v}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/β/}}
|{{lang|am|ቨ}}||{{lang|am|ቩ}}||{{lang|am|ቪ}}||{{lang|am|ቫ}}||{{lang|am|ቬ}}||{{lang|am|ቭ}}||{{lang|am|ቮ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቯ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|t}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/t/}}
|{{lang|am|ተ}}||{{lang|am|ቱ}}||{{lang|am|ቲ}}||{{lang|am|ታ}}||{{lang|am|ቴ}}||{{lang|am|ት}}||{{lang|am|ቶ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቷ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|č}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|{{lang|am|ቸ}}||{{lang|am|ቹ}}||{{lang|am|ቺ}}||{{lang|am|ቻ}}||{{lang|am|ቼ}}||{{lang|am|ች}}||{{lang|am|ቾ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቿ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ḫ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/h/}}
|{{lang|am|ኀ}}||{{lang|am|ኁ}}||{{lang|am|ኂ}}||{{lang|am|ኃ}}||{{lang|am|ኄ}}||{{lang|am|ኅ}}||{{lang|am|ኆ}}||{{lang|am|ኈ}}||{{lang|am|ኊ}}||{{lang|am|ኋ}}||{{lang|am|ኌ}}||{{lang|am|ኍ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|n}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/n/}}
|{{lang|am|ነ}}||{{lang|am|ኑ}}||{{lang|am|ኒ}}||{{lang|am|ና}}||{{lang|am|ኔ}}||{{lang|am|ን}}||{{lang|am|ኖ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኗ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ñ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|{{lang|am|ኘ}}||{{lang|am|ኙ}}||{{lang|am|ኚ}}||{{lang|am|ኛ}}||{{lang|am|ኜ}}||{{lang|am|ኝ}}||{{lang|am|ኞ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኟ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|{{hamza}}}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ʔ/}}
|{{lang|am|አ}}||{{lang|am|ኡ}}||{{lang|am|ኢ}}||{{lang|am|ኣ}}||{{lang|am|ኤ}}||{{lang|am|እ}}||{{lang|am|ኦ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኧ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|k}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/k/}}
|{{lang|am|ከ}}||{{lang|am|ኩ}}||{{lang|am|ኪ}}||{{lang|am|ካ}}||{{lang|am|ኬ}}||{{lang|am|ክ}}||{{lang|am|ኮ}}||{{lang|am|ኰ}}||{{lang|am|ኲ}}||{{lang|am|ኳ}}||{{lang|am|ኴ}}||{{lang|am|ኵ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|x}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/h/}}
|{{lang|am|ኸ}}||{{lang|am|ኹ}}||{{lang|am|ኺ}}||{{lang|am|ኻ}}||{{lang|am|ኼ}}||{{lang|am|ኽ}}||{{lang|am|ኾ}}|||{{lang|am|ዀ}}||{{lang|am|ዂ}}||{{lang|am|ዃ}}||{{lang|am|ዄ}}||{{lang|am|ዅ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|w}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/w/}}
|{{lang|am|ወ}}||{{lang|am|ዉ}}||{{lang|am|ዊ}}||{{lang|am|ዋ}}||{{lang|am|ዌ}}||{{lang|am|ው}}||{{lang|am|ዎ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|{{ayin}}}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ʔ/}}
|{{lang|am|ዐ}}||{{lang|am|ዑ}}||{{lang|am|ዒ}}||{{lang|am|ዓ}}||{{lang|am|ዔ}}||{{lang|am|ዕ}}||{{lang|am|ዖ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|z}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{lang|am|ዘ}}||{{lang|am|ዙ}}||{{lang|am|ዚ}}||{{lang|am|ዛ}}||{{lang|am|ዜ}}||{{lang|am|ዝ}}||{{lang|am|ዞ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዟ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ž}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|{{lang|am|ዠ}}||{{lang|am|ዡ}}||{{lang|am|ዢ}}||{{lang|am|ዣ}}||{{lang|am|ዤ}}||{{lang|am|ዥ}}||{{lang|am|ዦ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዧ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|y}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/j/}}
|{{lang|am|የ}}||{{lang|am|ዩ}}||{{lang|am|ዪ}}||{{lang|am|ያ}}||{{lang|am|ዬ}}||{{lang|am|ይ}}||{{lang|am|ዮ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|d}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/d/}}
|{{lang|am|ደ}}||{{lang|am|ዱ}}||{{lang|am|ዲ}}||{{lang|am|ዳ}}||{{lang|am|ዴ}}||{{lang|am|ድ}}||{{lang|am|ዶ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዷ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ǧ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/dʒ/}}
|{{lang|am|ጀ}}||{{lang|am|ጁ}}||{{lang|am|ጂ}}||{{lang|am|ጃ}}||{{lang|am|ጄ}}||{{lang|am|ጅ}}||{{lang|am|ጆ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጇ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|g}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/ɡ/}}
|{{lang|am|ገ}}||{{lang|am|ጉ}}||{{lang|am|ጊ}}||{{lang|am|ጋ}}||{{lang|am|ጌ}}||{{lang|am|ግ}}||{{lang|am|ጎ}}||{{lang|am|ጐ}}||{{lang|am|ጒ}}||{{lang|am|ጓ}}||{{lang|am|ጔ}}||{{lang|am|ጕ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ṭ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/tʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ጠ}}||{{lang|am|ጡ}}||{{lang|am|ጢ}}||{{lang|am|ጣ}}||{{lang|am|ጤ}}||{{lang|am|ጥ}}||{{lang|am|ጦ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጧ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|č̣}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/tʃʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ጨ}}||{{lang|am|ጩ}}||{{lang|am|ጪ}}||{{lang|am|ጫ}}||{{lang|am|ጬ}}||{{lang|am|ጭ}}||{{lang|am|ጮ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጯ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|p̣}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/pʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ጰ}}||{{lang|am|ጱ}}||{{lang|am|ጲ}}||{{lang|am|ጳ}}||{{lang|am|ጴ}}||{{lang|am|ጵ}}||{{lang|am|ጶ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጷ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ṣ}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/tsʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ጸ}}||{{lang|am|ጹ}}||{{lang|am|ጺ}}||{{lang|am|ጻ}}||{{lang|am|ጼ}}||{{lang|am|ጽ}}||{{lang|am|ጾ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጿ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|ṣ́}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/tsʼ/}}
|{{lang|am|ፀ}}||{{lang|am|ፁ}}||{{lang|am|ፂ}}||{{lang|am|ፃ}}||{{lang|am|ፄ}}||{{lang|am|ፅ}}||{{lang|am|ፆ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|f}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/f/}}
|{{lang|am|ፈ}}||{{lang|am|ፉ}}||{{lang|am|ፊ}}||{{lang|am|ፋ}}||{{lang|am|ፌ}}||{{lang|am|ፍ}}||{{lang|am|ፎ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ፏ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{transliteration|sem|p}}
|style="font-size:0.5em"|{{IPA|/p/}}
|{{lang|am|ፐ}}||{{lang|am|ፑ}}||{{lang|am|ፒ}}||{{lang|am|ፓ}}||{{lang|am|ፔ}}||{{lang|am|ፕ}}||{{lang|am|ፖ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ፗ}}||colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;"|&nbsp;
|-
!colspan=2| &nbsp;!!{{transliteration|sem|ä/e}}<br />{{IPA|[ə]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|u}}!!{{transliteration|sem|i}}!!{{transliteration|sem|a}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ē}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ə}}<br />{{IPA|[ɨ], ∅}}!!o!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷ/ue}}<br />{{IPA|[ʷə/ū]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷi/ui}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷa/ua}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷē/uē}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ʷə}}<br />{{IPA|[ʷɨ/ū]}}
|}

===Gemination===
As in most other [[Social:Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopian Semitic languages]], gemination is [[Social:Phoneme|contrastive]] in Amharic.  That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another; for example, {{transliteration|am|alä}} 'he said', {{transliteration|am|allä}} 'there is'; {{transliteration|am|yǝmätall}} 'he hits', {{transliteration|am|yǝmmättall}} 'he will be hit'.  Gemination is not indicated in Amharic orthography, but Amharic readers typically do not find this to be a problem.  This property of the writing system is analogous to the vowels of [[Social:Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]] or the [[Social:Tone (linguistics)|tones]] of many [[Social:Bantu languages|Bantu languages]], which are not normally indicated in writing. Ethiopian novelist Haddis Alemayehu, who was an advocate of Amharic orthography reform, indicated gemination in his novel ''Love to the Grave'' by placing a dot above the characters whose consonants were geminated, but this practice is rare.

=== Punctuation ===
Punctuation includes the following:

:{{lang|am|፠}} section mark
:{{lang|am|፡}} word separator
:{{lang|am|።}} full stop (period)
:{{lang|am|፣}} comma
:{{lang|am|፤}} semicolon
:{{lang|am|፥}} colon
:{{lang|am|፦}} preface colon (introduces speech from a descriptive prefix)
:{{lang|am|፧}} question mark
:{{lang|am|፨}} paragraph separator

==Grammar==

;Simple Amharic sentences

One may construct simple Amharic sentences by using a subject and a [[Philosophy:Predicate (grammar)|predicate]]. Here are a few simple sentences:<ref>{{cite web|author=habesha |url=http://bigaddis.com/2010/09/simple-amharic-sentences/ |title=Simple Amharic Sentences |publisher=Bigaddis |date=28 September 2010 |access-date=18 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403130954/http://www.bigaddis.com/language/simple-amharic-sentences/ |archive-date=3 April 2012}}</ref>

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ኢትዮጵያ አፍሪካ ውስጥ ናት
|ʾItyop̣p̣ya ʾAfrika wǝsṭ nat
|{Ethiopia} {Africa} {in} {is}
|'Ethiopia is in Africa.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ልጁ ተኝቷል
|Lǝǧ-u täññǝtʷall.
|{the boy} {asleep is}
|'The boy is asleep.' (''-u'' is a definite article. {{transliteration|am|''Lǝǧ''}} is 'boy'. {{transliteration|am|''Lǝǧu''}} is 'the boy')}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|አየሩ ደስ ይላል
|Ayyäru däss yǝlall.
|{the weather} pleasant feels
|'The weather feels pleasant.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|እሱ ወደ ከተማ መጣ
|Ǝssu wädä kätäma mäṭṭa
|he to city {came}
|'He came to the city.'}}

===Pronouns===

==== Personal pronouns ====
Amharic grammar distinguishes person, number, and often gender. This includes personal pronouns such as English ''I'', Amharic {{lang|am|እኔ}} ''{{transliteration|am|ǝne}}''; English ''she'', Amharic {{lang|am|እሷ}} ''{{transliteration|am|ǝsswa}}''. As in other Semitic languages, the same distinctions appear in three other places in their grammar.

; Subject–verb agreement
All Amharic verbs agree with their subjects; that is, the person, number, and (in the second- and third-person singular) gender of the subject of the verb are marked by [[Social:Affix|suffixes or prefixes]] on the verb. Because the affixes that signal subject agreement vary greatly with the particular verb [[Social:Grammatical tense|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 (second- and third-person singular) gender of the object of the verb.
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|አልማዝን 	አየኋት
|almazǝn 	ayyähʷ-'''at'''
|Almaz-ACC 	{I saw '''her'''}
|'I saw Almaz.'}}

While morphemes such as ''-at'' in this example are sometimes described as signaling object agreement, analogous to subject agreement, they are more often thought of as object pronoun [[Social:Affix|suffixes]] because, unlike the markers of subject agreement, they do not vary significantly with the tense/aspect/mood of the verb.  For arguments of the verb other than the subject or the object, there are two separate sets of related suffixes, one with a benefactive meaning (''to'', ''for''), the other with an adversative or locative meaning (''against'', ''to the detriment of'', ''on'', ''at'').
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ለአልማዝ 	በሩን 	ከፈትኩላት
|läʾalmaz 	bärrun 	käffätku-'''llat'''
|for-Almaz 	door-DEF-ACC 	{I opened '''for her'''}
|'I opened the door for Almaz.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|በአልማዝ 	በሩን 	ዘጋሁባት
|bäʾalmaz 	bärrun 	zäggahu-'''bbat'''
|on-Almaz 	door-DEF-ACC 	{I closed '''on her'''}
|'I closed the door on Almaz (to her detriment).'}}

Morphemes such as ''-llat'' and ''-bbat'' in these examples 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 that are suffixed to nouns, signaling possession: {{lang|am|ቤት}} ''bet'' 'house', {{lang|am|ቤቴ}} ''bete'', ''my house'', {{lang|am|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'').

Amharic is a pro-drop language: neutral sentences in which no element is emphasized normally omit independent pronouns: {{lang|am|ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው}} ''{{transliteration|am|ʾityop̣p̣yawi näw}}'' 'he's Ethiopian', {{lang|am|ጋበዝኳት}} ''{{transliteration|am|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 (second- or third-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: {{lang|am|እሱ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው}} ''{{transliteration|am|'''ǝssu''' ʾityop̣p̣yawi näw}}'' ''''he''''s Ethiopian', {{lang|am|እኔ ጋበዝኳት}} ''{{transliteration|am|'''ǝne''' gabbäzkwat}}'' ''''I''' invited her', {{lang|am|እሷን ጋበዝኳት}} ''{{transliteration|am|'''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 first-person singular possessive suffix, {{lang|am|አገሬ}} ''{{transliteration|am|agär-e}}'' 'my country', {{lang|am|ገላዬ}} ''{{transliteration|am|gäla-ye}}'' 'my body'.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Amharic Personal Pronouns
! rowspan="3" | English
! rowspan="3" | Independent
! colspan="3" | Object pronoun suffixes
! rowspan="3" | Possessive suffixes
|-
! rowspan ="2" | Direct
! colspan="2" | Prepositional
|-
! Benefactive
! Locative/<br />Adversative
|-
| I
| {{lang|am|እኔ}}<br />ǝne
| -(ä/ǝ)ñ
| -(ǝ)llǝñ
| -(ǝ)bbǝñ
| -(y)e
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አንተ}}<br />antä
| -(ǝ)h
| -(ǝ)llǝh
| -(ǝ)bbǝh
| -(ǝ)h
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አንቺ}}<br />anči
| -(ǝ)š
| -(ǝ)llǝš
| -(ǝ)bbǝš
| -(ǝ)š
|-
| you (polite)
| {{lang|am|እርስዎ}}<br />ərswo
| -(ǝ)wo(t)
| -(ǝ)llǝwo(t)
| -(ǝ)bbǝwo(t)
| -wo
|-
| he
| {{lang|am|እሱ}}<br />ǝssu
| -(ä)w, -t
| -(ǝ)llät
| -(ǝ)bbät
| -(w)u
|-
| she
| {{lang|am|እሷ}}<br />ǝsswa
| -at
| -(ǝ)llat
| -(ǝ)bbat
| -wa
|-
| s/he (polite) 
| {{lang|am|እሳቸው}}<br />ǝssaččäw
| -aččäw
| -(ǝ)llaččäw
| -(ǝ)bbaččäw
| -aččäw
|-
| we
| {{lang|am|እኛ}}<br />ǝñña
| -(ä/ǝ)n
| -(ǝ)llǝn
| -(ǝ)bbǝn
| -aččǝn
|-
| you (pl.)
| {{lang|am|እናንተ}}<br />ǝnnantä
| -aččǝhu
| -(ǝ)llaččǝhu
| -(ǝ)bbaččǝhu
| -aččǝhu
|-
| they
| {{lang|am|እነሱ}}<br />ǝnnässu
| -aččäw
| -(ǝ)llaččäw
| -(ǝ)bbaččäw
| -aččäw
|}

Within second- and third-person singular, there are two additional polite independent pronouns, for reference to people to whom the speaker wishes to show respect. This usage is an example of the so-called [[Social:T–V distinction|T–V distinction]] that is made in many languages. The polite pronouns in Amharic are {{lang|am|እርስዎ}} ''ǝrswo'' 'you (sg. polite)'. and {{lang|am|እሳቸው}} ''ǝssaččäw''  's/he (polite)'.  Although these forms are singular semantically—they refer to one person—they correspond to third-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 ''{{transliteration|am|yä-}}'' 'of': {{lang|am|የኔ}} ''{{transliteration|am|yäne}}'' 'mine', {{lang|am|ያንተ}} ''{{transliteration|am|yantä}}'' 'yours m. sg.', {{lang|am|ያንቺ}} {{transliteration|am|''yanči''}} 'yours f. sg.', {{lang|am|የሷ}} ''{{transliteration|am|yässwa}}'' 'hers', etc.

====Reflexive pronouns====
For reflexive pronouns ('myself', 'yourself', etc.), Amharic adds the possessive suffixes to the noun {{lang|am|ራስ}} ''ras'' 'head': {{lang|am|ራሴ}} ''rase'' 'myself', {{lang|am|ራሷ}} ''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, Amharic – unlike English – also distinguishes between the masculine and the feminine genders in the singular.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Amharic demonstrative pronouns
! colspan="2" |Number, Gender
! Near
! Far
|-
! rowspan="2" |Singular
! Masculine
|{{lang|am|ይህ}} yǝh(ǝ)
|{{lang|am|ያ}} ya
|-
! Feminine
|{{lang|am|ይቺ}} yǝčči, {{lang|am|ይህች}} yǝhǝčč
|{{lang|am|ያቺ}} <br />yačči
|-
! colspan="2" |Plural
|{{lang|am|እነዚህ}} ǝnnäzzih
|{{lang|am|እነዚያ}} ǝnnäzziya
|}
There are also separate demonstratives for formal reference, comparable to the formal personal pronouns: {{lang|am|እኚህ}} ''ǝññih'' 'this, these (formal)' and {{lang|am|እኒያ}} ''ǝnniya'' 'that, those (formal)'.

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

===Nouns===
Amharic nouns can be primary or derived. A noun like ''{{transliteration|am|ǝgǝr}}'' 'foot, leg' is primary, and a noun like ''{{transliteration|am|ǝgr-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 femininity. 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. ''ityop̣p̣ya-(a)wi'' 'Ethiopian (m.)' vs. ''ityop̣p̣ya-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 ''{{transliteration|am|qǝt(t)ul}}'', e.g. ''{{transliteration|am|nǝgus}}'' 'king' vs. ''{{transliteration|am|nǝgǝs-t}}'' 'queen' and ''{{transliteration|am|qǝddus}}'' 'holy (m.)' vs. ''{{transliteration|am|qǝddǝs-t}}'' 'holy (f.)'.

Some nouns and adjectives take a feminine marker ''-it'': ''{{transliteration|am|lǝǧ}}'' 'child, boy' vs. ''{{transliteration|am|lǝǧ-it}}'' 'girl'; ''bäg'' 'sheep, ram' vs. ''bäg-it'' 'ewe'; ''{{transliteration|am|šǝmagǝlle}}'' 'senior, elder (m.)' vs. ''{{transliteration|am|šǝmagǝll-it}}'' 'old woman'; ''ṭoṭa'' 'monkey' vs. ''ṭoṭ-it'' 'monkey (f.)'. Some nouns have this feminine marker without having a masculine opposite, e.g. ''{{transliteration|am|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-<small>FEM</small>-<small>DEF</small>). The feminine marker can also serve to express tenderness or sympathy.

====Specifiers====
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 femininity, e.g. ''wänd lǝǧ'' 'boy', ''set lǝǧ'' '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 ''{{transliteration|am|anəst}}'' or ''set'' to indicate feminine gender. Examples: ''täbat ṭǝǧǧa'' 'calf (m.)'; ''awra doro'' 'cock (rooster)'; ''set doro'' 'hen'.

====Plural====
The plural suffix ''{{transliteration|am|-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 ''{{transliteration|am|-očč}}'' is used: ''bet'' 'house' becomes ''{{transliteration|am|bet-očč}}'' 'houses'. For nouns ending in a back vowel (-a, -o, -u), the suffix takes the form ''{{transliteration|am|-ʷočč}}'', e.g. ''{{transliteration|am|wǝšša}}'' 'dog', ''{{transliteration|am|wǝšša-ʷočč}}'' 'dogs'; ''käbäro'' 'drum', ''{{transliteration|am|käbäro-ʷočč}}'' 'drums'. Nouns that end in a front vowel pluralize using ''{{transliteration|am|-ʷočč}}'' or ''{{transliteration|am|-<sup>y</sup>očč}}'', e.g. ''{{transliteration|am|ṣähafi}}'' 'scholar', ''{{transliteration|am|ṣähafi-ʷočč}}'' or ''{{transliteration|am|ṣähafi-<sup>y</sup>očč}}'' 'scholars'. Another possibility for nouns ending in a vowel is to delete the vowel and use plain ''{{transliteration|am|očč}}'', as in ''{{transliteration|am|wǝšš-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 ''{{transliteration|am|wäyzär-očč}}'', but ''{{transliteration|am|wäyzazər}}'' 'ladies' is also found (Leslau 1995:173).

Some [[Social:Kinship|kinship]]-terms have two plural forms with a slightly different meaning. For example, ''{{transliteration|am|wändǝmm}}'' 'brother' can be pluralized as ''{{transliteration|am|wändǝmm-očč}}'' 'brothers' but also as ''{{transliteration|am|wändǝmmam-ač}}'' 'brothers of each other'. Likewise, ''{{transliteration|am|ǝhǝt}}'' 'sister' can be pluralized as ''{{transliteration|am|ǝhǝt-očč}}'' ('sisters'), but also as ''{{transliteration|am|ǝtǝmm-am-ač}}'' 'sisters of each other'.

In compound words, the plural marker is suffixed to the second noun: ''{{transliteration|am|betä krǝstiyan}}'' 'church' (lit. house of Christian) becomes ''{{transliteration|am|betä krǝstiyan-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) (Amharic: ''gǝ'ǝz)'' (Leslau 1995:172). There are basically two archaic pluralising 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 sometimes used to form new plurals, but this is only considered grammatical in more established cases.

*Examples of the external plural: ''{{transliteration|am|mämhǝr}}'' 'teacher', ''{{transliteration|am|mämhǝr-an}}''; ''{{transliteration|am|ṭäbib}}'' 'wise person', ''{{transliteration|am|ṭäbib-an}}''; ''{{transliteration|am|kahǝn}}'' 'priest', ''{{transliteration|am|kahǝn-at}}''; ''qal'' 'word', ''{{transliteration|am|qal-at}}''.
*Examples of the internal plural: ''{{transliteration|am|dǝngǝl}}'' 'virgin', ''{{transliteration|am|dänagǝl}}''; ''hagär'' 'land', ''{{transliteration|am|ahǝgur}}''.
*Examples of combined systems: ''{{transliteration|am|nǝgus}}'' 'king', ''{{transliteration|am|nägäs-t}}''; ''{{transliteration|am|kokäb}}'' 'star', ''{{transliteration|am|käwakǝb-t}}'';  ''{{transliteration|am|mäṣǝhaf}}'' 'book', ''{{transliteration|am|mäṣahǝf-t}}''.

====Definiteness====
If a noun is definite or ''specified'', this is expressed by a suffix, the ''article'', which is -''u'' or -''w'' for masculine singular nouns and -''wa'', -''itwa'' or -''ätwa'' for feminine singular nouns. For example:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! masculine sg
! masculine sg definite
! feminine sg
! feminine sg definite
|-
|}

In singular forms, this article distinguishes between the male and female gender; in plural forms this distinction is absent, and all definites are marked with -''u'', e.g. ''bet-očč-u'' 'houses', ''gäräd-očč-u'' 'maids'. As in the plural, morphophonological alternations occur depending on the final consonant or vowel.
<!--table to be inserted-->

====Accusative====
Amharic has an accusative marker, -''(ə)n''.  Its use is related to the definiteness of the object, thus Amharic shows differential object marking.  In general, if the object is definite, possessed, or a proper noun, the accusative must be used, but if the direct object is not determined, the accusative marker is generally not used. (Leslau 1995: pp.&nbsp;181–182 ff.).

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ልጁ ውሻውን አባረረ
|lǝǧ-u wǝšša-w-ǝn abbarrär-ä.
|child-M.DEF dog-DEF-ACC drove.away-3MS.SUBJ
|'The boy drove the dog away.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ውሻዋ በግ ነከሰች
|wǝšša-wa bäg näkkäs-äčč.
|dog-F.DEF sheep bit-3FS.SUBJ
|'The dog (F) bit a sheep.'}}

The accusative suffix is usually placed after the first word of the noun phrase:

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ይህን ሰዓት ገዛ
|Yǝh-ǝn sä'at gäzz-a.
|this-ACC watch bought-3MS.SUBJ
|'He bought this watch.'}}

====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:
*CəCäC: – ''{{transliteration|am|ṭǝbäb}}'' 'wisdom'; ''{{transliteration|am|hǝmäm}}'' 'sickness'
*CəCCaC-e: – ''{{transliteration|am|wǝffar-e}}'' 'obesity'; ''{{transliteration|am|č'ǝkkan-e}}'' 'cruelty'
*CəCC-ät: – ''{{transliteration|am|rǝṭb-ät}}'' 'moistness'; ''{{transliteration|am|'ǝwq-ät}}'' 'knowledge'; ''{{transliteration|am|wəfr-ät}}''  'fatness'.
There are also several nominalising suffixes.
*''{{transliteration|am|-ǝnna}}'': – 'relation'; ''{{transliteration|am|krǝst-ənna}}'' 'Christianity'; ''{{transliteration|am|sənf-ənna}}'' 'laziness'; ''{{transliteration|am|qes-ǝnna}}'' 'priesthood'.
*''-e'', suffixed to place name X, yields 'a person from X': ''goǧǧam-e'' 'someone from Gojjam'.
*''{{transliteration|am|-äñña}}'' and ''{{transliteration|am|-täñña}}'' serve to express profession, or some relationship with the base noun: ''{{transliteration|am|ǝgr-äñña}}'' 'pedestrian' (from ''{{transliteration|am|ǝgǝr}}'' 'foot'); ''{{transliteration|am|bärr-äñña}}'' 'gate-keeper' (from ''bärr'' 'gate').
*''{{transliteration|am|-ǝnnät}}'' and ''{{transliteration|am|-nnät}}'' – '-ness'; ''{{transliteration|am|ityop̣p̣yawi-nnät}}'' 'Ethiopianness'; ''{{transliteration|am|qǝrb-ənnät}}'' 'nearness' (from ''{{transliteration|am|qǝrb}}'' 'near').

===Verbs===

====Conjugation====

As in other Semitic languages, Amharic verbs use a combination of prefixes and suffixes to indicate the subject, distinguishing three persons, two numbers, and (in the second and third persons singular) two genders.

====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. ''{{transliteration|am|ali 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    '''''{{transliteration|am|nägro}}''''' ''{{transliteration|am|-all/näbbär}}'' 'He has said'.
* past perfect       '''''{{transliteration|am|nägro}}''''' ''{{transliteration|am|näbbär}}'' 'He had said'.
* possible perfect   '''''{{transliteration|am|nägro}}''''' ''{{transliteration|am|yǝhonall}}'' 'He (probably) has said'.

=====Adverbial use=====
The gerund can be used as an adverb:
'''''alfo alfo''''' ''{{transliteration|am|yǝsǝqall}}'' 'Sometimes he laughs'. (From ማለፍ 'to pass')

===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 ''{{transliteration|am|dägg}}'' 'kind, generous', ''{{transliteration|am|dǝda}}'' 'mute, dumb, silent', ''{{transliteration|am|bič̣a}}'' 'yellow'.

====Nominal patterns====
:CäCCaC – ''{{transliteration|am|käbbad}}'' 'heavy'; ''{{transliteration|am|läggas}}'' 'generous'
:CäC(C)iC – ''{{transliteration|am|räqiq}}'' 'fine, subtle'; ''{{transliteration|am|addis}}'' 'new'
:CäC(C)aCa – ''{{transliteration|am|säbara}}'' 'broken'; ''{{transliteration|am|ṭämama}}'' 'bent, wrinkled'
:CəC(C)əC – ''{{transliteration|am|bǝlǝh}}'' 'intelligent, smart'; ''{{transliteration|am|dǝbbǝq}}' '' 'hidden'
:CəC(C)uC – ''{{transliteration|am|kǝbur}}'' 'worthy, dignified'; ''{{transliteration|am|ṭǝqur}}'' 'black'; ''{{transliteration|am|qəddus}}'' 'holy'

====Denominalizing suffixes====
:-äñña – ''{{transliteration|am|hayl-äñña}}'' 'powerful' (from ''hayl'' 'power'); ''{{transliteration|am|ǝwnät-äñña}}'' 'true' (from ''{{transliteration|am|ǝwnät}}'' 'truth')
:-täñña – ''{{transliteration|am|aläm-täñña}}'' 'secular' (from ''aläm'' 'world')
:-awi – ''{{transliteration|am|lǝbb-awi}}'' 'intelligent' (from ''{{transliteration|am|lǝbb}}'' 'heart'); ''{{transliteration|am|mǝdr-awi}}'' 'earthly' (from ''{{transliteration|am|mǝdr}}'' 'earth'); ''haymanot-awi'' 'religious' (from ''haymanot'' 'religion')

====Prefix ''yä''====
:''yä-kätäma'' 'urban' (lit. 'from the city'); ''{{transliteration|am|yä-krǝstǝnna}}'' 'Christian' (lit. 'of Christianity'); ''{{transliteration|am|yä-wǝšät}}'' 'wrong' (lit. 'of falsehood').

====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. ''{{transliteration|am|kǝfu 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. ''{{transliteration|am|tǝllǝq-u bet}}'' (lit. big-<small>def</small> house) 'the big house'. In a possessive construction, the adjective takes the definite article, and the noun takes the pronominal possessive suffix, e.g. ''{{transliteration|am|tǝllǝq-u bet-e}}'' (lit. big-<small>def</small> house-my) "my big house".

When enumerating adjectives using ''{{transliteration|am|-nna}}'' 'and', both adjectives take the definite article: ''{{transliteration|am|qonǧo-wa-nna astäway-wa lǝǧ mäṭṭačč}}'' (lit. pretty-<small>def</small>-and intelligent-<small>def</small> 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 ''{{transliteration|am|tǝgu tämariʷočč}}'' (lit. diligent student-<small>PLUR</small>) or ''{{transliteration|am|təguʷočč tämariʷočč}}'' (lit. diligent-<small>PLUR</small> student-<small>PLUR</small>).

==Dialects==
Not much has been published about Amharic dialect differences. All dialects are mutually intelligible, but certain minor variations are noted.<ref>{{cite book |first=Anbessa |last=Tefera |year=1999 |chapter=Differences Between the Amharic Dialects of Gondär and Addis Abäba |editor-first=T. |editor-last=Parfitt |editor2-first=E. Trevisan |editor2-last=Semi |title=The Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel, Studies on the Ethiopian Jews |pages=257–263 |location=London |publisher=Curzon Press |isbn=0-7007-1092-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Amsalu |last1=Aklilu |first2=Habte Mariam |last2=Marcos |year=1973 |title=The dialect of Wällo |journal=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=124–29 |jstor=41988260 }}</ref>

==Literature==
	
[[File:Ethiopian anthem (since 1992) in amharic.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|The Ethiopian anthem (since 1992) in Amharic, done on manual typewriter.]]
The oldest surviving examples of written Amharic date back to the reigns of the 14th century Emperor of Ethiopia Amda Seyon I and his successors, who commissioned a number of poems known as "የወታደሮች መዝሙር" (Soldier songs) glorifying them and their troops. 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, dictionaries (monolingual and bilingual), technical manuals, medical topics, etc. The Bible was first translated into Amharic by Abu Rumi in the early 19th century, but other translations of the Bible into Amharic have been done 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|978-1-4184-9182-6}}).

==Rastafari movement==
The word ''[[Unsolved:Rastafari|Rastafari]]'' comes from ''Ras Täfäri'', the pre-regnal title of [[Biography:Haile Selassie|Haile Selassie]], composed of the Amharic words ''Ras'' (literally "Head", an Ethiopian title equivalent to duke) and Haile Selassie's pre-regnal name, Tafari.<ref name="ChangChen1998">{{cite book|author1=Kevin O'Brien Chang|author2=Wayne Chen|title=Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music|url=https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan|url-access=registration|access-date=2 May 2013|year=1998|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-629-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan/page/n253 242]–}}</ref>

Many Rastafarians learn Amharic as a second language, as they consider it to be sacred. After Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica, study circles in Amharic were organized in Jamaica as part of the ongoing exploration of Pan-African identity and culture.<ref>[http://www.reggae.be/en/magazine/interviews/The_Abyssinians_Bernard_Collins_Abyssinians_music_is_creeping_music_and_we_were_a_creeping_band_ Bernard Collins (The Abyssinians) Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201121031/http://www.reggae.be/en/magazine/interviews/The_Abyssinians_Bernard_Collins_Abyssinians_music_is_creeping_music_and_we_were_a_creeping_band_ |date=1 February 2014 }}. Published 4 November 2011 by Jah Rebel. Retrieved 4 May 2013.</ref> Various reggae artists in the 1970s, including Ras Michael, Lincoln Thompson and Misty in Roots, have sung in Amharic, thus bringing the language to a wider audience. The Abyssinians, a reggae group, have also used Amharic, most notably in the song "Satta Massagana". The title was believed to mean "give thanks"; however, this phrase means "he thanked" or "he praised", as ''{{transliteration|am|säṭṭä}}'' means "he gave", and ''{{transliteration|am|amässägänä}}'' "thanks" or "praise".  The correct way to say "give thanks" in Amharic is one word, ''misgana''. The word "satta" has become a common expression in the Rastafari dialect of English, [[Social:Iyaric|Iyaric]], meaning "to sit down and partake".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snwmf.com/abyssinians.html |title=SNWMF 2005 – Performers |publisher=Snwmf.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

==Software==
Amharic is supported on most major [[Software:Linux|Linux]] distributions, including Fedora and Ubuntu.

The Amharic script is included in [[Unicode]], in the [[Ethiopic (Unicode block)|Ethiopic block]] (U+1200 – U+137F). Nyala font is included on Windows 7 (see [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] video)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBvP_oarrbk | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/bBvP_oarrbk| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Amharic Keyboard for Windows Vista |publisher=YouTube |date=1 February 2009 |access-date=10 August 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and Vista (Amharic [[Software:Language Interface Pack|Language Interface Pack]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e21eb7b-e01a-4fcc-b7f1-30e419da7f5b&displaylang=am# |title=የዳውንሎድ ዝርዝር፡- Windows Vista LIP |publisher=Microsoft.com |date=29 January 2010 |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref> to display and edit using the Amharic Script. In February 2010, Microsoft released its [[Software:Windows Vista|Windows Vista]] operating system in Amharic, enabling Amharic speakers to use its operating system in their language.

[[Company:Google|Google]] added Amharic to its [[Software:Google Translate|Language Tools]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=am |title=Google |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref> which allows typing Amharic Script online without an Amharic Keyboard. Since 2004 Wikipedia has had an Amharic language Wiki that uses Ethiopic script.

==See also==
*Help:IPA/Amharic

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Grammar===
* Ludolf, Hiob (1698). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8BMAAAAcAAJ Grammatica Linguæ Amharicæ.]'' Frankfort.
* {{cite book
 |last = Abraham
 |first = Roy Clive
 |year = 1968
 |title = The Principles of Amharic
 |publisher = Occasional Publication / Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan
 }} [''rewritten version of 'A modern grammar of spoken Amharic', 1941'']
* {{cite book|last1=Afevork|first1=Ghevre Jesus|title=Grammatica della lingua amarica: metodo pratico per l'insegnamento|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNbfAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=R. Accademia dei Lincei}}
* 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}}
*{{cite book|first1=Armbruster|last1=Carl Hubert|title=Initia amharica: an Introduction to Spoken Amharic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8h0YAAAAYAAJ|year=1908|publisher=The University Press}}
* Baye Yimam (2007). ''Amharic Grammar''. Second Edition. Addis Ababa University. Ethiopia.
* Bender, M. Lionel. (1974) "Phoneme frequencies in Amharic".  ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'' 12.1:19–24
* Bender, M. Lionel and Hailu Fulass (1978). ''Amharic verb morphology.''  (Committee on Ethiopian Studies, monograph 7.) East Lansing: African Studies Center, Michigan State University.
* 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}}
* 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.
* {{cite book|last1=Isenberg|first1=Karl Wilhelm|title=Dictionary of the Amharic language: Amharic and English: Englisch and Amharic|publisher=Church Missionary Society|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryamhari00isen|access-date=25 August 2012|year=1841}}
* 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 Gəṣṣəw (1953 Ethiopian calendar). ''Käsate Bərhan Täsämma. Yä-Amarəñña mäzgäbä qalat.'' Addis Ababa: Artistic.

==External links==
{{InterWiki|Amharic language|code=am}}
{{Wikivoyage|Amharic phrasebook|Amharic|a phrasebook}}
* '''Amharic Keyboard online''' (''and offline too''): [https://www.branah.com/amharic  ''type 1''] and [https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/amharic.htm ''type 2'']
* '''Fonts for Geʽez script''':
** ''[https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+Ethiopic Noto Sans Ethiopic]'' (multiple weights and widths)
** [https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+Ethiopic?query=MCKL%2F ''Noto Serif Ethiopic''] (multiple weights and widths)
** [https://software.sil.org/abyssinica/download/ ''Abyssinica SIL''] ([https://software.sil.org/abyssinica/charset/ Character set support])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060804183542/http://www.msu.edu/~hudson/Amhbiblio.htm Selected Annotated Bibliography on Amharic] by [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607201605/http://www.msu.edu/%7Ehudson/index.htm Grover Hudson at the Michigan State University] website.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160414000422/https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/amharic.html US State Dept. FSI Amharic course]


[[Category:Fusional languages]]

{{Sourceattribution|Amharic}}