Amharic language - Tena Ystilign!

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(Lukas writing) Ethiopia has 80 different languages. The official language is Amharic. Ethiopia uses the Arabic alphabet so we can’t read it. It’s really hard to learn Amharic so we are mainly trying to learn how to speak the language.

In school Vasara and Rytas are learning how to write the letters in Amharic, but for Amharic they don’t use letters for the alphabet, they use 2 sounds. Their alphabet is pa-pe-pi-po etc. For example there is something that looks like a P, and there is something else that looks exactly the same except that this one has a line, and they are total different letters. In some of their words they have a clicking “K” that really stand out of the word.

Ethiopians use a lot of non verbal language. For example they- nod, lifting eyebrows, sudden intake of breath, etc. They also have a lot of slang words, they have so much slang words that you have to learn all their slang words after you learn the language. An example is instead of “what” they say “wa”. Another example is when you take a line taxi home they say “Howlet” instead of “Haya Hoolet”

If you come to Ethiopia there is one word that you absolutely must know, you must know the word ieshee. They use it like we use OK. You can pretend to know the language if you know ieshee.

I think it’s funny that people say goodbye here by using the Italian word, “Ciao.”

Ciao!

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