Amharic (amh)


Amharic, also called Amarinya or Kuchumba, Amarinya also spelled Amharinya and Amarigna is one of the two main languages of Ethiopia (along with the Oromo language). It is spoken principally in the central highlands of the country. Although the oldest extant records in Amharic are songs and poems dating from the 14th century CE, significant literature in any quantity did not begin until the 19th century.

Amharic is written in a slightly modified form of the alphabet used for writing the GeĘżez language. There are 33 basic characters, each of which has seven forms depending on which vowel is to be pronounced in the syllable. Amharic has been strongly influenced by the Cushitic languages, especially Oromo and the Agaw languages.

Several methods have been developed for transliterating Amharic in the Roman script. We use the method used by Google.

Some 22 million people speak Amharic. Seventeen percent are Islamic and other ethnic religions. Eighty three percent are Christian.

Sources: Encyclopedia Brittanica
The Joshua Project
Wikipedia


Language Learning Lessons are available for Amharic.