2006-09-11 23:17:09 · 6 answers · asked by teddy 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Over 84 languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Some are semitic, and others are Afro-Asiatic, and reflect that there are several ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian nation.
The Semitic languages of Ethiopia are related to both Hebrew and Arabic. The Ethiopian languages of this family are derived from Ge'ez, the language of the ancient Axumite Kingdom, which was also the language of the country's literature prior to the mid-nineteenth century, as well as part of most present-day church services.
Ethiopia's Semitic languages are today spoken mainly in the north and centre of the country. The most important of them in the north is Tigrinya, which is used throughout the Tigray region.
The principal Semitic language of northwestern and centre of the country is Amharic, which is the language of Gondar and Gojjam, as well as much of Wollo and Shewa. Moreover, Amharic is also the official language of the modern state, the language of administration, and the language of much modern Ethiopian literature.
Two other Semitic languages are spoken to the south and east of Addis Ababa: Guraginya, used by the Gurage in a cluster of areas to the south of the capital, and Adarinya, a tongue current only within the old walled city of Harar and used by the Adare, also known as Harari people.
Ethiopians had developed beautiful and perfect alphabets and have been using them for thousands of years. Unlike the ancient Egyptian and Chinese alphabets and its Japanese modifications where pictures were drawn to write down ideas, the ancient Ethiopians came up with a character for every possible sound.The Ethiopian alphabet is as simple as the Greek and its Latin derivatives. They are different from the Arabic and Hebrew alphabets and those of the English and other related alphabets. The Ethiopian and Greek alphabets share the lack of the Arabic "0" number probably because these alphabets were developed before the scientific significance of this number was realized.
As for religion the early Christian Church was allowed to develop in complete isolation in the ancient kingdom of Aksum, apart from the bickering and feuding of the early Christian churches in Europe, which came to represent the dominant form of Chrsitianity, ie the Catholic Church. It is one of the oldest forms of Christianity, and some same one of the purest forms in terms of the original messages of Christ.
Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar which is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of five or six days at the end of the year. The Ethiopian calendar is seven years and eight month behind than that of the Julian calendar. It is the same as was used by the Roman Empire throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, but was replaced in the west by Pope Gregory, by the Gregorian Calender, a modified version of which is still used today.
2006-09-11 23:30:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeap..and like 2 days ago u had your new year? 1999 right?
2006-09-13 13:24:03 · answer #2 · answered by pussura 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes
and do you know that i'm from Serbia
2006-09-12 06:54:00 · answer #3 · answered by purple carrot 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I didn't know you had your own calender. Is it lunar or solar?
2006-09-12 06:21:22 · answer #4 · answered by Acerus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nope, but I think your onto a good thing there!
2006-09-12 06:23:14 · answer #5 · answered by Mrs D 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah i knew it and now i want my ten points!
2006-09-12 09:08:20 · answer #6 · answered by maroc 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋