Language/Amharic/Grammar/Fidel-and-Syllables
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Amharic is an ancient Semitic language that is spoken mainly in Ethiopia. It is one of the official languages of Ethiopia and has been in use for over 2,000 years. Amharic has its own unique script known as the Ge'ez script or Fidel, which is used to write the language. In this lesson, you will learn about the Amharic Fidel and how it is used to form syllables.
Consider exploring these related pages after completing this lesson: Using Phrasal Verbs in Amharic & Expressing Obligation or Necessity.
The Amharic Fidel
The Amharic Fidel consists of 33 basic characters, each representing a consonant and a vowel combination. These characters come in seven different shapes, a square, rectangle, triangle, circle, diamond, pentagon, and hexagon. By modifying some of these shapes, additional characters can be formed.
The Fidel is written from left to right and does not have separate capital and lowercase forms. It is used to write Amharic, as well as other Ethiopian languages such as Tigrinya and Gurage. The Fidel is also used for religious texts in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Below is a table showing the Amharic Fidel characters and their transliteration:
| Amharic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| ሀ | ha | h |
| ሁ | hu | hu |
| ሂ | hi | hi |
| ሃ | haa | ha |
| ሄ | hee | he |
| ህ | hə | hə |
| ሆ | ho | ho |
| ለ | lǝ | l |
| ሉ | lu | lu |
| ሊ | li | li |
| ላ | laa | la |
| ሌ | lee | le |
| ል | lə | lə |
| ሎ | lo | lo |
| ሐ | ha | h |
| ሑ | hu | hu |
| ሒ | hi | hi |
| ሓ | haa | ha |
| ሔ | hee | he |
| ሕ | hə | hə |
| ሖ | ho | ho |
| መ | ma | m |
| ሙ | mu | mu |
| ሚ | mi | mi |
| ማ | maa | ma |
| ሜ | mee | me |
| ም | mə | mə |
| ሞ | mo | mo |
| ሟ | sho | sh |
| ሠ | su | su |
| ሡ | si | si |
| ሢ | sa | sa |
| ሣ | saa | sa |
| ሤ | se | se |
| ሥ | sə | sə |
In addition to these basic characters, there are also characters that represent syllable-ending vowels and a few special characters that represent specific sounds.
It's important to remember that each character in the Fidel represents a consonant and a vowel. Unlike English, where vowels can be written on their own, in Amharic, each vowel sound is always accompanied by a consonant sound.
Forming Syllables
To form a syllable in Amharic, you simply combine a consonant character and a vowel character. The vowel character is written either above, below or beside the consonant character, depending on the vowel sound.
For example, let's take the word "ሀሳይ" (hasay) which means "the horse". The Fidel characters used are "ሀ" (ha), "ሳ" (sa), and "ይ" (yi). In this word, "ha" is the consonant sound and "a" is the first vowel sound. To represent the "a" sound, the vowel character "አ" (a) is written below the consonant character. The character "ሳ" (sa) represents the consonant sound "s" and the vowel sound "a". Finally, the character "ይ" (yi) represents the consonant sound "y" and the vowel sound "i".
In Amharic, a syllable can have up to three sounds, one consonant and two vowels. The second vowel sound is often a neutral vowel sound that is represented by the character "እ" (ǝ).
For example, the word "በልዶም" (beldom) which means "he/she arrived" consists of four Fidel characters: "በ" (be), "ል" (le), "ዶ" (do), and "ም" (m). In this word, "be" is the consonant sound, "e" is the first vowel sound, and "do" is the second consonant sound. The second vowel sound is a neutral vowel sound and is represented by the character "እ" (ǝ). Finally, "m" represents the consonant sound and vowel sound "ə". Thus, the syllables in this word are "bel", "do", and "mǝ".
It's important to note that not all consonant and vowel combinations are possible in Amharic. Each consonant character has a limited set of vowel characters that can be combined with it to form a syllable.
Practice
Now that you have learned about the Amharic Fidel and how syllables are formed, it's time to practice. Here are a few exercises to help you get started:
- Write the Amharic characters and transliteration for the following words: "hello", "goodbye", "thank you", "yes", "no", "please", "water", "food".
- Write the Amharic characters and transliteration for the following words: "teacher", "student", "book", "school", "pen", "paper", "desk", "chair".
- Write the Amharic characters and transliteration for the following words: "mother", "father", "sister", "brother", "grandmother", "grandfather", "aunt", "uncle".
Summary
In this lesson, we learned about the Amharic Fidel and how it is used to form syllables. We also learned that each character in the Fidel represents a consonant and a vowel combination, and that a syllable is formed by combining a consonant character and a vowel character. Finally, we practiced writing some basic Amharic words using the Fidel. In the next lesson, we will learn about Amharic pronunciation and phonetics.
Other Lessons
- Basic Prepositions and Adverbs
- Conjugation of the verb መኖር “to live” (present tense)
- Adjectives and Adverbs
- Conditional Mood
- Comparatives and Superlatives
- Noun Gender and Articles
- Give your Opinion
- Making Suggestions Using “Let”
- Time Adverbs
- 0 to A1 Course
Sources
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