Ge'ez (Ethiopic) syllabic script and the Amharic language (original) (raw)
The Ge'ez or Ethiopic script possibly developed from theSabaean/Minean script. The earliest known inscriptions in the Ge'ez script date to the 5th century BC. At first the script represented only consonants. Vowel indication started to appear in 4th century AD during the reign of king Ezana, though might have developed at a earlier date.
Notable Features
- Type of writing system: Abugida / Syllabic Alphabet (አቡጊዳ)
- Writing direction: left to right in horizontal lines.
- Each symbol represents a syllable consisting of a consonant plus a vowel. The basic signs are modified in a number of different ways to indicate the various vowels.
- There is no standard way of transliterating the Ge'ez script into the Latin alphabet.
Used to write
Ge'ez (ግዕዝ), the classical language of Ethiopia which is still used as a liturgical language by Ethiopian christians and the Beta Israel Jewish community of Ethiopia.
Amharic (ኣማርኛ), the national language of Ethiopia, has about 27 million speakers. It is spoken mainly in North Central Ethiopia. There are Amharic speakers in a number of other countries, particularly in Egypt, Israel and Sweden.
Also used to write: Argobba, Awngi,Blin, Chaha, Dizin, Harari, Inor, Silt'e, Tigre, Tigrinya and Xamtanga
The Ge'ez script for Ge'ez
Punctuation
Numerals
These numerals developed from the Greek alphabet, possibly via Coptic.
Source: https://zethio.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/numbers-in-geez.pdf
Download script charts for Ge'ez and other Ethiopic scripts (Excel)
Sample texts in Ge'ez
Translation
Word of blessing of Henok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders.
(The first sentence of the Book of Enoch)
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
ተወልዱ፡ኵሉ፡ሰብእ፡ግዑዛን፡ወዕሩያን፡በማዕረግ፡ወብሕግ።ቦሙ፡ኅሊና፡ወዐቅል፡ወይትጌበሩ፡አሐዱ፡ ምስለ፡አሀዱ፡በመንፈሰ፡እኍና።
Transliteration
tawaldu kwellu sab' ge'uzan wa 'erruyan bamaa'reg wahhegg. bomu hhhellinaa wa 'aql wa yetgebbaru 'ahadu mesla 'ahadu ba manfasa 'hewennaa
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sample videos in and about Ge'ez
Information about Ge'ez and the Ethiopic script | Numbers | Tower of Babel
Links
Information about the Ge'ez language and script
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ge'ez_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ge'ez_abugida
Information about the Amharic language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amharic_language
Dehai Blin Page - online Blin lessons
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~gasmerom/Eritrean_languages/blin/
Amharic-English dictionary
http://www.amharicdictionary.com
Ge'ez Transliteration
https://www.russki-mat.net/transGeez.html
Ge'ez / Ethiopic fonts
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Ethiopic.html
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/ethiopia/geez_fonts.html
Ge'ez keyboard mapping for Mac OS X, with free unicode font
http://newchelsea.net/papers/tigrinya.zip
Online radio in Amharic, Tigrinya and Afaan Oromo
http://www.ethiozena.net
http://www.ethiopianreporter.com
http://www.voanews.com/horn/amharic_audio.cfm
http://www.dwelle.de/amharic/
Semitic languages
Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic (Algerian),Arabic (Bedawi),Arabic (Chadian), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Gulf),Arabic (Hassaniya),Arabic (Hejazi),Arabic (Lebanese), Arabic (Modern Standard), Arabic (Moroccan), Arabic (Najdi),Arabic (Sudanese),Arabic (Syrian), Aramaic, Argobba, Assyrian / Neo-Assyrian,Canaanite, Chaha, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, Ge'ez, Hadhramautic, Harari, Hebrew, Himyaritic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Maltese, Mandaic, Nabataean, Neo-Mandaic,Phoenician, Punic, Qatabanic, Sabaean, Sabaic, Silt'e, Syriac, Tigre, Tigrinya, Turoyo, Ugaritic,Western Neo-Aramaic
Languages written with the Ethiopic (Ge'ez) script
Aari,Amharic, Argobba, Awngi,Bench,Blin, Chaha, Dizin, Ge'ez,Gumuz,Hamer(-Banna),Harari, Inor, Sidama,Silt'e, Tigre, Tigrinya, Xamtanga
Abugidas / Syllabic alphabets
Ahom,Aima,Arleng,Badagu,Badlit,Basahan,Balinese,Balti-A,Balti-B,Batak,Baybayin,Bengali,Bhaiksuki,Bhujimol,Bilang-bilang,Bima,Blackfoot,Brahmi,Buhid,Burmese,Carrier,Chakma,Cham,Cree,Dehong Dai,Devanagari,Dham Lipi,Dhankari / Sirmauri,Ditema,Dives Akuru,Dogra,Ethiopic,Evēla Akuru,Fox,Fraser,Gond,Goykanadi,Grantha,Gujarati,Gunjala Gondi,Gupta,Gurmukhi,Halbi Lipi,Hanifi,Hanuno'o,Hočąk,Ibalnan,Incung,Inuktitut,Jaunsari Takri,Javanese,Kaithi,Kadamba,Kamarupi,Kannada,Kawi,Kharosthi,Khema,Khe Prih,Khmer,Khojki,Khom Thai,Khudabadi,Kirat Rai,Kōchi,Kodava Lipi,Komering,Kulitan,Kurukh Banna,Lai Tay (Tai Yo),Lampung,Lanna,Lao,Leke,Lepcha,Limbu,Lontara/Makasar,Lota Ende,Magar Akkha,Mahajani,Malayalam,Meitei (Modern),Manpuri (Old),Marchen,Meetei Yelhou Mayek,Meroïtic,Masarm Gondi,Modi,Mon,Mongolian Horizontal Square Script,Multani,Nandinagari,Newa,New Tai Lue,Ojibwe,Odia,Ogan,Pahawh Hmong,Pallava,Phags-pa,Purva Licchavi,Qiang / Rma,Ranjana,Rejang (Kaganga),Sasak,Savara,Satera Jontal,Shan,Sharda,Sheek Bakrii Saphaloo,Siddham,Sinhala,Sorang Sompeng,Sourashtra,Soyombo,Sukhothai,Sundanese,Syloti Nagri,Tagbanwa,Tai Noi,Takri,Tamil,Tanchangya (Ka-Pat),Tani,Thaana,Telugu,Thai,Thirke,Tibetan,Tigalari,Tikamuli,Tocharian,Tolong Siki,Vatteluttu,Warang Citi
Page last modified: 15.01.25
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