TAT AMHARIC

F O R E I G N S E R V I C E I N S T I T U T E

AMHARIC

BASIC COURSE Units 1 - 50

o ^{E P A R T M E N T 0 F S T A T E}

AMHARIC

BASIC COURSE Units 1 - 50

SERGE OBOLENSKY

DEBEBOW ZELELIE MULUGETA ANDUALEM

FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1964

D E P A R T MEN T 0 F S T A T E

AMHARIC

FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE BASIC COURSE SERIES

Editedby

CARLETON ~ HODGE

i i

BASIC COURSE

PREFACE

This volume is the first of a two-volume Basic Course in Amharic, and contains Units 1-50 of the course. The second volume includes Units 51.<JO, an introduction to the writing system, a Reader, and a Glossary.

Amharic, the official language of the Ethiopian Empire, is spoken natively by per- haps six million people in a small but populous area of the country which includes the capital, Addis Ababa. A member of the Southem Semitic branch of the Afro~siatic family of languages, Amharic is steadily gaining importance as it picks up additional speakers through the spread of communications and education within Ethiopw.

The linguist in charge of the entire project has been Serge Obolensky, with the assistance of Mr. Debebow Selelie and Mr. Mulugeta Andualem. The Amharic script in the second volume is the work of Mr. Zelelie. Valuable suggestions received from Pro- fessor Wolf Leslau during the beginning stages of the work are gratefully acknowkdged.

Howard E. Sollenberger, Dean School of Language and Area Studies

Foreign Service Institute Department of State

i i i

AMHARIC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ... iii Introduction ... ^xvi

Unit

1

Symbols used . . • • . • . • • • . . . • • • • • • • • • • • . . • • • • . • . • . • • • • • • • • 1

Basic Sentences . . .. . . ... . . .. .. . .. . ... .. . . . .. . . ..• 2

Note

1.1

Transcription used • • • • • • . • • • . • • . • • • • • . • • • • • • • • 3

1.2 Vowels

4

1.3 Consonants . • • .• •. ••• •••• • •• • •• . • • . . • •• • .•• • • . • 7 1.3.1 Plain Consonants •••••••••.•.•.•.•••.••••••••••

7

1.3.2 Glottalized Consonants • • • . •• • . . . • •• •• .•. •• • • • •

9

Drills

9

Unit

2

Ba.sic Sentences .

2.2

'and' /-(i)nna/ •••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••

Note 2.1 Masculine Definite Suffix /-u--w/ •••••••••••••

Drills ...

12 13

14 15

Unit 3

19 22 23 23

24 24 25 25

26 27

Transitional Vowel li/ .

Forma tion of Plural •.••••••••.•••••.••••••••••

/w/ and /y/ glides ••••••••••••••••.•••.•.••••.

Verb 'be r • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

...

Ba.s ic Sentence s .

No te 3.1 Independent Pronouns ••.•.•••.•.•.•••••.•.•••..

3.2 Suffix Pronouns ••••••••••••.••..••••••••••••.•

3.2.1 Verb Suffix Pronouns ••••••••••••••••••••••••••

3.3 Loss of Vowels ••••••••••••.•••••••••••••.•.•••

3.4 3.5

3.6 3.7 Drills

Amharic equivalents of 'have' and 'have not' •••

Feminine Definite Suffix

/-wa~-(y)itu--(y)itwa/.

Definite Suffix on Modifier •.•••••.•••••••••••

Suffix /-(i)n/-Specific Direct Object •••••••••

Noun Suffix Pronouns Unit 4

Basic Sentences Note 4.1

4.2 4.3 4·4 4.5

...

... ^{31 29}

32 33

34 35

iv

BASIC COURSE

Pr e p0sit ion . . . .

Preposition /b(e)-/ and /best(e)-/ •••••••

Drills

35 35

36 Unit 5

Basic Sentences Note 5.1

5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.5.1 5.5.2

Drills Narrative Unit 6

Verb. Perfective

'have' and 'have not' with feminine object.

Verb Suffix Pronouns with Perfective •.••••

Verb Suffix Pronouns used in apposition ..•

Prepositions /k(e)-/, /isk(e)-/ and /l(e)-/

/k (

e ) - /

'fr am ' .••••••.••.•••.•.•••.••••••

/isk(e)-/ and /isk(e)- •.. dires/ 'up to', 'to'

/l(e)-/ 'for', 'to' •.•.••..•••.•..••••••

Postpositions /wisT/ and /lay/ combined with prefixes /b(e)-/ or /i-/ .•.••••••••

Suffixes /-iyye/ and /-iyyo/ to nouns •••••

Definite Suffixes /-iyyew/ and /iyyewa/ •••

Numerals; Ordinals •••••.•••••••••••.••••

43 46 49 49 51 51 52 52 52 52 53 53 53 54 55

Basic Sentences .

Note 6.1 Relational Prefix /y(e)-/ .•••••••••••••••

6.2 Verb. Infinitive •..•••••..••.•••.•••••••

6.3 Verb. Imperfective •..•••.••••.•.•••.•.••

6.4 Verb Classification ...•••..••••.•.•••.•

6.4.1 Regular Three-Radical Verbs ..•••..••••.••

6.4.2 Regular Two-Radical Verbs •.•...•••••••.••

6.5 Verb. Notation .•••••...••••.•.•.•••••.••

6.6 Postpositlon /garHgara/ combined with pre-

f

ix /k ( e ) - / • • • • • . • • • . • • . • • • • • . . . • • • • • • • 6.7 Use of /k(e)- ••• befit/ and /k(e)-/ •••

behwBla/ .

Drills Narrative

57 59

60 61 63 63

65 65 65

66 66 69 Unlt 7

Basic Sentences Note 7.1

7.2

Verb Suffix Pronouns with Imperfective ••••

Equivalents of 'had' and 'had not' •••••••

v

71

73

77

AMHARIC

Dr~lls •••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••.••••• • •••••••••••.•

Narratl.ve •••••••.•.•.••••.••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••.•

77

80

Un~t

8

Bas~c Sentences Note 8.1 T~me

8.2 SuffLK /-(~)m/

8.3

Suff1X /-(~)ss/

Dr 1.118 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Narrat~ve ••••. •^{.1 •} ~ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

81 82

84 84 84 88

Un~t

9

BaS:LC Sentences •••.•••••••••••.•••••••••••.•.•••••••••.••

Note 9.1 Imperfect~ve forms connected by /-(~)nna/ • 9.2 Negat~ve Perfect~ve .•..•...•...••..••••.•

9.3

Short Imperfect~ve •.•.•••••.•.•.••.•.•••••••

9.4

Negat~ve Irnperfect~ve •.•...••...••..•••..•••

9.5

Negat~ve Inf~n~t~ve •••.•.•....•..•.••••••.•.

Dr~11s •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••.••••

Narratl.va • •• • • • •• • • • • •• • •• • • • • • • • ••• • • .•. • • • • • ••• • • • •t • • •

89

92 92

93

95

99

100 103

Un~t 10

Ba S 1C Sentence s ••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••.••.

107 110 110

III III III

112 118 105 107

10.2 10.2.1 10.2.2 10.2.3 10.2.4

Drl11s •••.•••••••••••••.••.•••••••.•••••.••••••••••••••.•

Narratlve ••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••.•..••••••••••••••••

Note 10.1 Relat~onalAffLKes to Verbs .••.•..••.•.•.•.•

10.1.1 Relat~onal Aff1X /y(e)-- yemrn(~)-/ ~n Relat~ve

Construct~ons

Aff1X /~nd(e)-I

/~nd(e)-/ 'l~ke', etc. • ..•••...••••••••..•

/~nd(e)-.•• yalle/ 'such as', etc. • .•.•••.••.

/~nd(e)-/ 'as soon as' ..••..•..•.•••••••••..

/~nd(e)-/ w~th Relat~ve Construct~ons 'that' •.

Un~t 11

Bas~c Sentenues 120

121 122 126 127 128 129 132 Regular Two-Radlcal Verbs _~n

I-e/ ...

Gerund •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Present Perfect . . . • . . . . Past Perfect . . . • . . . • Imperfect (Past) •...•...•.•...•.••

Verb:

Verb.

Verb:

Verb:

Verb.

Note 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5

Dr:Llls •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Narratlve •••••.••..•••.•••••.•••.••••••••••.••••••••..•••

vi

BASIC COURSE

Unl.t 12

BaSl.C Sentences Note 12.1

12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Drl.lls Narratl.ve

Telll.ng Tl.me Verba Jussl.ve

Verb. Imperat1.ve •••.••••••••••••••••••••••••

Relat1.onal AfflX /1.yy(e)-/ W1.th nouns ••••••••

Relatl.onal AfflX /1.yy(e)-/ w1.th verbs ••••••••

Relatl.onal AfflX /s(1.)-/ •••••••••••••••••.•••

/abro/ 'both', Itogether' ••••••••••••••••••••

133 136·

136 140

144 144

145 147 148 153 Unl.t 13

BaSl.C Sentences 155

Narratl.ve Unl.t 14

BaSl.C Sentences

...

Note 13.1 13.1.1 13.1.2 13.1.3 13.2 13.2.1 Drl.lls Narratl.ve

Note 14.1 14.2 14.3.1 14.3.2 14.4 14·5 14.5.1 14.5.2 '14.6

14.7 Drl.lls

Relat1.onal Aff1.xes /1(1.)-/ and /-(1.)ll(l.)-N-

(1.)11e-/ .

/1(1.)-/ w1.th Short Imperfect1.ve •••••••••••••

/1(1.)-/ wl.th Short Imperfect1.ve plus /new/ or

/nebber/ ••.••••.•.•.•.•.•...•...

/-(1.)ll(1.)--(1.)lle-/ ••••.••••••••••••••••••

Relat1.onal AfflXes /1.sk(1.)-/ and /1.sk(e)-/ •••

/1.sk(e)-/ w1.th Relat1.ve Construct1.ons •••••••

Demonstrat1.ve Pronouns

Noun: Gender . . . • . . . • . . • . . . • . .

Relat1.onal AfflX /b(1.)-/ 'l.f' •••••••••••••••

Relatl.onal AfflX /b(1.)-/ 'because' ••••••••••

SufflX /-(1.)bb(1.)-/ •••••••••••••••••••••••••

PreflX /b(e)-/ w1.th Relat1.ve Clauses •••.•••••

/b (

e) - •••g iz e / ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

/b(e)- ••• KuTl.r/ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

/b ( e )- ••• ml.kn1.ya t/ ••••••••••••••••••.•••••••

Relat1.onal AfflX /s1.1(e)-- s1.1emm(1.)-/ ••••••••

158 159 159 159 159 160 161 161 163

165 168 169 172 175 176 178 178 178 179 179 180 186

Verb. /a-/ verbs Unl.t 15

BaSl.C Sentences Note 15.1

...

vii

188

189

AMHARIC

15.2 Verb: Causat~ves ~n /a-/ and /as-/ ••.•.••••• 190 15.2.1 Causat~ve Verbs ~n /a-/ •..•...••••.•.•••. 191 15.2.2 CausatJ.ve Verbs _~n /as-/ ••...•..•••..•••••• 191 15.3 PassJ.ve-ReflexJ.ve Verbs ••.••.•••••...•.•... 191 15.4 Class~fJ.catJ.onand NotatJ.on •.•••..••••••.•. 195 15.5 RelatJ.onal AffJ.x /k(e)-/ _w~th PerfectJ.ve •.•• 197 15.5.1 /k(e)-/ _'~f' ••••••••.••..•....•••••••.••.•• 197 15.5.2 /k ( e ) - / 's J.nce ' • • • • • • • • . . • • • . • • • • • • • . . • • . • • 198

Drllls

198

Narra^tilve . . . • . . . . 205

Un~t 16

BaS1C Sentences .

Note 16.1 Relat~onal Aff~x /~nd(~)-/ ...•.•.•.•••

16.2 Pronoun /1"as-/ 'self' . . . • . . • . . • . . . • . • . 16.3 Regular Four-Rad~ca1Verbs •...••..•..••.

16.4 Three-and Four-Rad~calVerbs ~n

/-0-/ .

16.5 Verb: Noun of Agent . • . . . . • . . . • . • . . . • . 16.6 Verb: Noun of Instrument ..••...•...•.••.

16.7 Use of /wey~m/and /weyJ.ss/ 'or' . . . • . • . . . .

Dr~lls

NarratJ.ve UnJ.t 17

Bas~c Sentences

206 208 208 209 210 210 212 213 214 215

...

...

CIa ss~f~cat~on

Note 17.1 Chart I Chart II Chart III Chart IV Chart V DrJ.11s

Narrat~ve

Verba Regular Regular Regular Regular Regular

Three-Rad~calVerbs .•...•.•.••....•

Three-Rad~cal/a-/ Verbs .••••..••..

Two-Rad~calVerbs _~n /-a/ •.••••••.•

Two-Rad~cal Verbs ~n /-e/ ..••...•..

Fou~-Rad~calVerbs ...•....••...•••.

222 223 224 225 226 227 230

Un~t 18

Bas~c Sentences

...

Note 18.1 18.2

Dr~lls Narrat~ve

Verba Use of /y~honal/ ...•.••....••.••.

Use of /gena/ ••••..•.•...•...•.•....

...

viii

232 233 234 235 239

BASIC COURSE

Un~t 19

Ba^{S 1.C} Sentence s .

Drllls .

Note 19.1 Comparat~ve and Superlatlve •••••..••.•••.••

· .

Narratlve Unlt 20

BaS lC Sentence s . 247

Note 20.1 Verb Classlflcatlon, Two-Radlcal Verbs, types

me~a~, me~o~, me~e~ and me~e~ •.•••••••.••

· .

me Ia 2 . . . • . . . • . . . • . . • . . . • .

me102 .

253 255 256 248 250 251 251 252 252

...

...

Impersonal Cbnstructlons .•••••••••••

Verb: Present Perfect of verbs denotlng 'state' or 'condltlon' .••.•.•.•.•••..••.•

mele2 mele2 Verbl

· .

Chart VI/l Chart VI/2 Chart VI/3 Chart VI/4 20.2 20.3

Narratlve

Dr~lls

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Unlt 21

BaSlC Sentences Drllls

Narratlve

· .

· .

258 260 261 Unlt 22

BaS1C Sentences

· .

Drllls Narratlve

· .

· .

263 265 267

· .

Unlt 23

Ba s lC Sentence s

..

^~

.

268 270 271 271 273 274 274 275 275 276 277 278

...

· .

/yet / .

/ma n/ .

Questlon Words .••••••.••••....•••••••.•••••

/mln/ or /mlndln/ •••••••••••••.•.••••••.•••

/yetu/, /yetlnnaw/ and /mannlnnaw/ ••.••••••

/manrunnawlm/ or /mannaccewlm/ ••.•••..•.•••

/mannEn/ and /mlnlmm/ •••..•..••..••..•••.••

/mlnlmm/ wlth _/~nde-/ •.••••••...•.•.•••••••

Note 23.1 23.2 23.2.1 23.2.2 23.2.3 23. 2 .4 23.3 23.4 23.5 Narratlve Drllls

ix

Repet~t1on ••••••••••.••••••••.••••••••••••

Part~al Redupl~cat~on

.•••••.••..•.••••••••

Complete

Redupl~cat~on

..••...•.••••••.•••.

Use of /madregiya/ ..•••••••..••...•.••••.•

AMHARIC

Un~t

24

BaS1C Sentences .

Note 24.1 Verb: Short form of /madreg/ .•.•••.••.•.•

24.2 Use of

/g~ddeta/ w~th

/allebb-/, /honebb-/

and /nebberebb-/

Dr~lls •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Narrat.1ve .

Un~t

25

BaS1C Sentences .

Note 25.1

Repet~t~on

and

Redupl~cat~on

.••..•••••••••

25.1.1 25.1.2 25.1.3 25.2

Drllls .

Narrat~ve ••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Unlt 26

Bas~c

Sentences

Note 26.1 SufflX /-(l)nnet/

26.2 Verb. The use of /meKnat/ .•...••••••..

Drl11s .

Narratlve . . . • . . . .

Unlt 27

BaS1C

Sentences

Note 27.1 SufflX /-e/ In compound words •••••••••••••

27.2 Plural after numerals •..••.••.••••••••••••

Drllls .

Narratlve .

Unlt 28

BaS1C Sentences . . . • . . . .

Note 28.1 Verb: Hypothetlcal Condltlonal .•..•..•.•••

28.2 AfflX /lnd(e)-/ wlth /alle-/ and /hone-/••••

28.3 Impersonal Verbs •••.•.•...•.•••••••••••...

Dr 1.118 • . • • • • • . • • • . • . . • • . • . . . • • • . . . • . . . . • . . . •

Narratlve .

Unlt 29

BaS1C Sentences .

Note 29.1 Verb C1asslflcatlon Three-Radlcal Verbs

~n

/-a-/

x

280 283 283 284 288

291 292 293 293 294 295 295 297

300 301 302 303 307

310 311 312 313

315 317 318 319 320 324

327

328

Chart VII 29.2

Dr111s Narrat1ve

BASIC COURSE

Use of /m1kn1yatu/ comblned w1th /s11e-/ and /s11emm(1)-/ affLXes and the verb form /new/

/k(e)- ••. yetenessa/ •••••.••.•.•••••••••••••

329 329 330 330 332

BaS1.C Sentences . ~ .

Note 30.1 Compound Verbs w1th /ma1et/ and /madreg/ ••••

30.1.1 Verb: Inconclus1ve Aspect •••••••••••••••••

llil.lls .

Narrat1ve

334 335 338 340 342 UnlC 31

BaS1C Sentences

Un1t 32

BaS1C Sentences Note 31.1

31.2 Dr111s Narratlve

Note 32.1 32.2 32.3

Dr111s Narrat1ve

/b(e)- ••• beklru1/ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Use of /b1cca/ w1th Noun SufflX Pronouns and D1rect ObJect Suff1X /-(l)n/ ••.•••••••.••.

\

Suff l.X / -ge / • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • •••

Verb: /lndehon/ w1th re1at1ve construct10ns /lndehon/ wlth Short Imperfect1ve and Gerund,

'whether or not' •••••••••••••.••••••••••

Verb: Inf1n1t1ve w1th Noun SufflX Pronouns and Verb forms /new/ and /nebber/ •••••••

344

345 346 347 349

350 352 352 353 354 355 357 Un1t 33

BaSH~

Sentences 358

...

Note 33.1 Drl1ls Narrat1ve

Verb, /s-/ negat1ve comb1ned w1th the forms of the verb /Kerre-meKret/ •••.•••••••••••

...

xi

AMHARIC

Un~t

34

Ba s~c Se n tenc e s • . • • • . • • . • • • • . • • • • • . • . . . • . . • • . • . • • • . • . Note

34.1

Verba Frequentat~veForm ••.•••.••••.•••...

Chart VIII Frequentat~ve Verbs •••••.••.•.•••.•••.•....

34.2

Verb: Rec~procalForm ..•••.••..•••••••••••

Chart IX Rec~procalVerbs ••••.•.••••••..•••••••••.•.

})r11.11s • • • • • • • . . • • . . • . . . • . • . • • • . • . . . • . . • . . . . • . . . • . . . • .

Narrat~ve

· .

365 367 368 369 372 373 375

Ba^{S J.C} Sentence s .

Note

35.1

Use of /~nkwan/ ••.••..•..••.••....•.•.•••.•

35.2

/~nkwan/ comb~ned w~th /y~KrlTma/ 'let alone r,

377 379

· .

Drllls

Narrat~ve

'even though' •••••••••...••...•••••••.•

· .

380 381 383

Un~t

36

Bas~c Sentences

· . 384

· .

Note

37.1

Verb. /maweK/ w~th Gerund ••••..••••••••.••

Dr~11s ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Un~t

37

BaSlC Sentences

Unlt

38

Bas~c Sentences

·

^~

.

Note

36.1

Drllls

Narrat~ve

Narrat~ve

Dr~lls

Narratlve

Relat~ve construct~ons comblned w~th lmperson- al forms of the verb /memsel/ .•.•••••..•.

· .

· .

· .

· .

· .

387 387 391

392 395 396 398

400 401 403

Unl t

39

Bas~c Sentences

·

^~

.

· .

Note

39.1

Dr~lls Narrat~ve

Verba Use of /yel1em

T /

w~th Short Imper-

fect~ve and Gerund •...•.•.•.•••.••....•••

· .

xii

407

408

410

BASIC COURSE

Unlt 40

Ba s lC Sentence s Drllls

Narratlves

Unlt 41

BaS1C Sentences Note 41.1

41.1.1 41.1.2 41.1.3 41.1.5 41.2 41.2.1 41.2.2 41.3

Drl11s

Postposltlons /zend/ and /ga/ ••.•.•.••••••

/ke- ••• zend - gal •••.••••••••••••••.••••••

/1- •.• zend-ga/ •••••••••.•••.•••••••••••.•.

/be- ••. z end/ •.•••••.•.•.•••••.••••••••••.•

/lziih zend-lzzih gal and /lzziya zend-lzziya gal •••.•••.•.••.•••••....•.••••••••...•.

Verb: Use of /zend/ as postverb .••••.•••••

Verb: /zend/ wlth Short Imperfectlve ••••..

Verb. /ke .•• zend/ wlth Perfectlve •••••.•.•

Verb: Use of /kenoren/, /kenoreh/, etc. 'If I do have' etc. . ••...•.•••.•.••••••••

Verb: /menor/ used lmpersonally, 'wlll have', 'may have'

417 420 421 421 421 422 422 422 422 422

Narratlve Unlt 42

BaS1C Sentences

Unl t 43

BaS1C Sentences

Note 41+.1 Verbal Nouns ••••••••..••.••..•.•••••.•••••

Drl11s e • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Unlt

44

BaS1C Sentences Note 42.1

42.2 42.3 Drllls Narratlve

Note 43.1 Chart X Drllls Narratlve

Narratlve

Verba Progre s s 1ve Form .•..••.•••.••••••••

Verba 'whether ••. (or not)' constructlons Use of /mlnlmmal1l/, /mlnlmmattll/, et~.

Benefactlve or Causatlve Reclprocal Verbs •.

Benefactlve Verbs •.•.••.••.•...••.••••••

...

xiii

429 432 433 434 435 439

442 444 447 448 449

451 453 455 457

AMHARIC

Adver1blaIs .

Narratl.ve

Adverbl.a1s l.n /b(e)-/

Adverbl.a1s of Tl.me l.n /-(l.)n/

Gerund Forms used Adverbl.a11y Unl.t 45

Bas~c Sentences . . . • . . . .

Note 45.1 Use of /bl.cca sayhon/ •.•••••.••••••••••••••

45.2 45.2.1 45.2.2 '45.2.3 Drl.11s

460 461 461 461 462 464 468

Basle Sentences .

467

Note 46.1 /k(e)-/ used l.n combl.natl.on wl.th

/wedih-wedezzih/ and /wediya-wedezzl.ya/

Dr

1.11 s .

Narrat~ve ••••.•.•••.•.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

470 471 472 Unl.t 47

BaS1.C Sentences . . . • . • . . . .

Drl.lls .

Narra tl.ve .

474 476 478

480

48.2 48.3

Drl.lls .

Narrat~ve •••••••••••••••.•.••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••

Unl.t 48

BaSl.C Sentences .

Note 48.1 Use of /1(l.)-/ form l.n combl.natl.on wl.th /sl.l/, /sl.ttl.1/, etc. •.••••.••••.•••.••••••••••• 483 Verb. Intensl.ve Aspect •.•.•.•..••.•••••••••••• 483 Vel'b. Cona tl.ve Aspect . . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 484 485 488 Unl.t 49

BaS1C Sentences .

Drllls .

Narratlve .

490 491 493 Unl.t 50

BaSl.C Sentences

Note 50.1 Emphatl.c Suffl.X /-a/

Drl.11s Narratl.ve

495 497 498 500

xiv

BASIC COURSE

. ,-

/"./

ETHIOPIA

./ ...-L-

['-'1

REP~L1C

_ .• - Inh:'lIlal,onJ' b.,undiHy - - - Pr v'f'lCe boundar,.

@ NatlOflit!Ot colonial ColD,tal

• PrO\',nce ca;> tal RaIlroad Roao Of lIack

111111111 '\l"har1c Speak-

inr Area

f ...··

)

-_._- ---._- ,

i

( I'l~-,,'Il!~"

,. I

....

~,1

'-',

" \

"-

_-- _':t.

^A.swD

1

. :r

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xv

Drllls:

AMHAR~

INTRODUCTION

The Amharlc Language

Amharlc lS the offlclal language of the Ethloplan Emplre used ln government, ln buslness, ln all lnstructlon ln government schools and ln most newspapers. It lS, however, not the only language spoken ln Ethlopla.

As can be seen from the map on page xv the area where Amh~rlc lS spoken as a natlve tongue lS about one slXth of the whole terrltory of Ethlopla.

Amharlc belongs to the Southern Semltlc branch of the Afro-Aslatlc (formerly called Hamlto-Semltlc) famlly of languages. The number of natlve speakers of Amharlc together wlth the speakers of the other Semltlc languages spoken ln Ethlopla (such as Tlgrlnlya, Tlgre, Hararl, Gurage and others) lS less than one half the total populatlon of the Emplre. The greatest part of Ethlopla lS lnhablted by speakers of CUShltlC languages (another branch of the Afro-Aslatlc famlly) such as Galla, Agaw, Somall and many others. Slnce no census has ever been taken ln Ethlopla the number of Ethloplans can only be estlmated. Accordlng to the offlclal data of the Ethloplan government the number of lnhabltants of Ethlopla lS between 20 and 22 mllllon. It lS also dlfflcult to glve a rellable estlmate of the number of Amharlc speakers;

lt lS probably between

5

and 7 mllllon. There lS Ilttle doubt, however, that due to the constantly growlng development of communlcatlons systems and the spreadlng of educatlon Amharlc lS galnlng ground throughout the whole country.

It lS now the language of greatest prestlge and anyone who has had any educa- tlon lS able to speak lt, even lf lt lS not hlS mother tongue. Stlll others learn lt lnformally as a second language.

ThlS Course:

The followlng parts may be found ln a unlt:

Baslc Sentences

Classroom Expresslons Structure Sentences Useful Words

Grammatlcal Notes Substltutlon Correlatlon Transformatlon

Model-Transform drllls Questlons and Answers

Narratlve xvi

BASIC COURSE

BaS1C Sentences and Questlons and Answers are found In each unlt. The Narratlves begln wlth the unlt 5. The occurrence of other parts may vary.

The Course lS dlVlded lnto two volumes. Volume I - contalns unlts 1 through 50 In transcrlptl0n. Volume II - unlts 51-60 In transcrlptl0n,

Introductlon to the Amharlc Wrltlng System, The Reader (Unlts 1-60 ln Amharlc scrlpt) and a Glossary (In transcrlptl0n).

The Reader lncludes: BaSlc Sentences

Questlons and Answers Narratlves

Use of ThlS Course

1. 'Baslc Sentences', 'Structure Sentences^{I ,} 'Useful Words '.

The lnstructor reads the Amharlc ltem by ltem, repeatlng each ltem (a bUl1d-up or a sentence) tWlce for each student. Each member of the class repeats the ltem lmmedlately after the lnstructor trylng to lmltate hlS (or her) pronunclatlon.

If In the lnstructor's 0plnlon the ltem lS mlspronounced by the student, the lnstructor repeats l t at normal speed wlth the student repeatlng after hlm (or her) as many tlmes as necessary. After the class hours each student goes over the Baslc Sentences by llstenlng to the tape and repeatlng, dOlng thlS untl1 he knows the dlalogue by heart.

After the BaS1C Sentences have been thoroughly memorlzed the students take part and act out the dlalogues. The lnstructor may take one of the parts the flrst tlme or two. ThlS drl11 lS to be contlnued untll any student can take part and go through the dlalogue 11ke an actor.

2. Substltutlon, Correlatlon and Transformatl0n Drl11s are to be used In accordance wlth the lnstructlons glven at the beglnnlng of each drlll.

3.

Model Transform Drll1s should be drllled ln the same way as other Transformatlon Drllls.

4.

Questl0ns and Answers.

The questlons and answers are to be drllled as speclfled below, but they should not be consldered complete. Any questlon WhlCh lS wlthln the 11mlts of the students' grammar and vocabulary can be asked.

Some questlons requlre lnformatlonal answers some others slmply 'yes' or 'no' answers.

xvii

AMHARIC

Quest10ns requ1r1ng 1nformat10nal answers are to be dr1lled as follows:

The 1nstructor asks each student a quest10n. The student repeats the quest10n and g1ves an answer. Any answer g1ven by the student 1S cons1dered correct 1f 1t 1S good Amhar1c. The answer 1S corrected by the 1nstructor, 1f necessary. The student repeats the corrected answer. The 1nstructor then g1ves the student the answer wh1ch 1S wr1tten 1n the book and the student repeats 1t as a further dr1l1.

Quest10ns requ1r1ng 'yes' or 'no' answers should be dr1lled 1n the same way, 1.e. the student repeats the quest10n after the 1nstructor and g1ves h1m e1ther an aff1rmat1ve or a negat1ve answer (or both 1f so requested by the 1nstructor).

5.

Narrat1ve

The 1nstructor goes through the sentences (1f any) 1llustrat1ng new vocabulary 1tems, ln the same way as he d1d for BaS1C Sentences. After the students have thus fam1l1ar1zed themselves w1th the new words the 1nstructor reads through the whole Narrat1ve at a natural speed. The students l1sten

~ i,...IJ - ,

for comprehens10n, books closed. The students summar1se 1n Eng11sh as much as they understood of the Narrat1ve. The 1nstructor reads each sentence aga1n for each student, each of whom repeats after h1m. Each student trans- lates the sentence he repeated. Th1s drIll 1S cont1nued unt1l the students are thoroughly fam1l1ar w1th the mater1al. The 1nstructor then asks ques- t10ns l1sted at the end of each Narrat1ve and the students answer them as completely as poss1ble uS1ng words conta1ned 1n the Narrat1ve. In add1t10n to the quest10ns l1sted 1n the book the 1nstructor may ask any quest10n pert1nent to the Narrat1ve w1th1n the llm1ts of the students' grammar and vocabulary. The students me~or1ze the Narrat1ve by l1sten1ng to the tape and relate the story to the 1nstructo~ the next day.

students must keep 1n m1nd that there 1S no one correct way of speak1ng Amhar1c. Due to the poor system of commun1cat1ons 1n Eth1op1a Amhar1c has

developed var10US local d1alects. There 1S an espec1ally marked d1fference 1n pronunc1at10n, 1n vocabulary, and even 1n grammar between the northern GOJJam1 and the southern Showa d1alects. The purpose of th1s Course 1S to teach the language as 1t 1S spoken 1n the cap1tal of Eth10p1a, Add1S Ababa.

Add1s Ababa Amhar1c conta1ns elements of a var1ety of d1alects. The student should have th1s 1n m1nd and should always follow the manner of speech of h1S 1nstructor even 1f h1s (or her) speech var1es somewhat from what 1S 1nd1cated 1n th1S book.

xviii

BASIC COURSE

Symbols Used In ThlS Course

UNIT 1

On the Engllsh slde, parentheses and quotatlon marks are used together (t •••• t) when a more Ilteral translatlon 1S glven 1n add1t1on to the ordlnary Engl1sh equ1valent.

Brackets [ ] are used to 1ndlcate words 1n the Engllsh equlvalent Wh1Ch do not have an equlvalent 1n the Amharlc.

Parentheses ( ) 1nd1cate words WhlCh are In the Amhar1c but not In a normal Engllsh equlvalent. The Engllsh slde lS not necessarlly a Ilteral translatlon but what lS ordlnarlly sald 1n thlS sltuatlon. The use of parentheses and brackets as explalned above should make the sltuatlon clear In each case.

On the Amhar1c slde, parentheses are used to lndlcate sounds WhlCh are somet1mes omltted. Brackets are used to lndlcate a more formal pronunclatlon to be used In more del1berate speech or whlle readlng texts ~rltten 1n Amharlc characters. Alternate pronunclatlons of the same word or alternate words are glven after a slant llnel

I.

The accent mark used lS

I 'I.

ThlS lndlcates the loudest syllable In a word or phrase. Secondary stresses are not marked.

As Amharlc has an almost even d1strlbutlon of stress on each syllable, 1t 1S somet1mes extremely dlfflcult to detect where the prlnc1pal stress of a part1cular word lles. In thlS Course phrase stress wlll be marked In the BaS1C Sentences, but words In the bUlldups wlll be left unmarked unless the stress 1S clearly dlstlnct1ve.

An arrow

I

t

I

lS used to 1ndlcate sharply rlslng pltch.

A perlod

I . I

lS used to 1ndlcate the end of a phrase accompanled by fall1ng pltch. It mayor may not correspond to an Engllsh perlod.

A comma

I ' I

lnd1cates that the precedlng tone 1S carrled on evenly to the comma and that a new pltch contour beglns followlng the comma. The syllables lmmed1ately before

I , I

are Sllghtly lengthened. There mayor may not be a break or pause after

I ' I.

In the Notes slant llnes are used to set off Amharlc sounds or words w1thln an EngllSh text. Engllsh letters and words are underllned when used as examples.

1