Hawulti Obelisk is an ancient pre-Aksumite Obelisk located inMatara, Eritrea. The monument dates to the early Aksumite period and bears an example of the ancient Geʽez script.
In one study,Tigre was found to have a 71% lexical similarity to Geʽez, whileTigrinya had a 68% lexical similarity to Geʽez, followed byAmharic at 62%.[8] Most linguists believe that Geʽez does not constitute a common ancestor of modernEthio-Semitic languages but became a separate language early on from another hypothetical unattested common language.[9][10][11]
Historically,/ɨ/ has a basic correspondence with Proto-Semitic short*i and*u,/æ~ɐ/ with short*a, the vowels/i,u,a/ with Proto-Semitic long*ī, *ū, *ā respectively, and/e,o/ with the Proto-Semitic diphthongs*ay and*aw.[15][16] In Geʽez there still exist many alternations between/o/ and/aw/, less so between/e/ and/aj/, e.g.ተሎኩtaloku ~ተለውኩtalawku ("I followed").[17]
In the transcription employed by theEncyclopaedia Aethiopica, which is widely employed in academia, the contrast here represented as a/ā is represented as ä/a.
Geʽez is transliterated according to the following system (see the phoneme table below for IPA values):
translit.
h
l
ḥ
m
ś
r
s
q
b
t
ḫ
n
ʼ
Geʽez
ሀ
ለ
ሐ
መ
ሠ
ረ
ሰ
ቀ
በ
ተ
ኀ
ነ
አ
translit.
k
w
ʽ
z
y
d
g
ṭ
p̣
ṣ
ḍ
f
p
Geʽez
ከ
ወ
ዐ
ዘ
የ
ደ
ገ
ጠ
ጰ
ጸ
ፀ
ፈ
ፐ
Because Geʽez is no longer spoken in daily life by large communities, the early pronunciation of some consonants is not completely certain. Gragg writes that "[t]he consonants corresponding to the graphemesś (Geʽezሠ) andḍ (Geʽezፀ) have merged with ሰ and ጸ respectively in the phonological system represented by the traditional pronunciation—and indeed in all modern Ethiopian Semitic. ... There is, however, no evidence either in the tradition or in Ethiopian Semitic [for] what value these consonants may have had in Geʽez."[18]
A similar problem is found for the consonant transliteratedḫ. Gragg notes that it corresponds in etymology to velar or uvular fricatives in other Semitic languages, but it is pronounced exactly the same asḥ in the traditional pronunciation. Though the use of a different letter shows that it must originally have had some other pronunciation, what that pronunciation was is not certain.[19]
The chart below lists/ɬ/ and/t͡ɬʼ/ as possible values forś (ሠ) andḍ (ፀ) respectively. It also lists/χ/ as a possible value forḫ (ኀ). These values are tentative, but based on the reconstructedProto-Semitic consonants that they are descended from.
The following table presents theconsonants of the Geʽez language. The reconstructed phonetic value of aphoneme is given inIPA transcription, followed by its representation in the Geʽez script and scholarly transliteration.
Geʽez consonants have a triple opposition between voiceless, voiced, andejective (oremphatic) obstruents. The Proto-Semitic "emphasis" in Geʽez has been generalized to include emphaticp̣/pʼ/. Geʽez has phonologizedlabiovelars, descending from Proto-Semitic biphonemes. Geʽez śሠ Sawt (in Amharic, also calledśe-nigūś, i.e. these letter used for spelling the wordnigūś "king") is reconstructed as descended from a Proto-Semiticvoiceless lateral fricative[ɬ]. Like Arabic, Geʽez merged Proto-Semiticš ands inሰ (also calledse-isat: these letter used for spelling the wordisāt "fire"). Apart from this, Geʽez phonology is comparably conservative; the only other Proto-Semitic phonological contrasts lost may be the interdental fricatives andghayn.
There is no evidence within the script of stress rules in the ancient period, but stress patterns exist within the liturgical tradition(s). Accounts of these patterns are, however, contradictory. One early 20th-century account[21] may be broadly summarized as follows:
primary stress only falls on the ultima (the last syllable) or the penult (the second-to-last syllable)
in finite verbs (including the imperative), stress falls on the penult:ቀተለትqatálat ("she killed"),ንግርnə́gər ("speak!", masculine singular), with the important exception of the 2nd-person feminine plural suffixክን-kə́n
in nouns and adjectives (in citation form), and most adverbs, stress falls on the ultima:ንጉሥnəgúś ("king"),ሀገርhagár ("city"),ግዕዝGə́ʽz ("Geʽez"),ጠቢብṭabíb ("wise"),ህየhəyyá ("there"); an exception among adverbs isዝየzə́ya ("here")
the suffix-a, marking the construct state or the accusative case (or both), is not stressed:ንጉሠnəgúśa,ሀገረhagára,ግዕዘGə́ʽza,ጠቢበṭabíba
cardinal numbers are stressed on the ultima, even in the accusative, e.g.ሠለስቱśalastú accusativeሠለስተśalastá ("three")
pronouns have rather unpredictable stress, so stress is learned for each form
various grammatical words (short prepositions, conjunctions) and short nouns in the construct state are unstressed
As one example of a discrepancy, a different late 19th-century account[22] says the masculine singular imperative is stressed on the ultima (e.g.ንግርnəgə́r, "speak!"), and that, in some patterns, words can be stressed on the third-, fourth- or even fifth-to-last syllable (e.g.በረከተbárakata).
Due to the high predictability of stress location in most words, textbooks, dictionaries and grammars generally do not mark it. Minimal pairs do exist, however, such asyənaggərā́ ("he speaks to her", with the pronoun suffix-(h)ā́ "her") vs.yənaggə́rā ("they speak", feminine plural), both writtenይነግራ.[16]
Geʽez distinguishes two genders, masculine and feminine, the latter of which is sometimes marked with the suffixት-t, e.g.እኅትʼəxt ("sister"). These are less strongly distinguished than in other Semitic languages, as many nouns not denoting humans can be used in either gender: in translated Christian texts there is even a tendency for nouns to follow the gender of the noun with a corresponding meaning in Greek.[23]
There are two numbers, singular and plural. The plural can be constructed either by suffixingኣት-āt to a word (regardless of gender, but oftenኣን-ān if it is a male human noun), or by using aninternal plural.[24]
Nouns also have two cases: the nominative, which is not marked, and the accusative, which is marked with final-a. As in other Semitic languages, there are at least two "states", absolute (unmarked) andconstruct (marked with-a as well).
Declension ofሊቅliq ("elder, chief")
Singular
Plural
Absolute state
Construct state
Absolute state
Construct state
Nominative
ሊቅliq
ሊቀliqa
ሊቃንliqān
ሊቃነliqāna
Accusative
ሊቀliqa
ሊቀliqa
ሊቃነliqāna
ሊቃነliqāna
As inClassical/Standard Arabic, singular and plural nouns often take the same final inflectional affixes for case and state, as number morphology is achieved via attaching a suffix to the stem and/or an internal change in the stem.
There is some morphological interaction between consonant-final nouns and a pronoun suffix (see the table of suffix pronouns below). For example, when followed byየ-ya ("my"), in both nominative and accusative the resulting form isሊቅየliqə́ya (i.e. the accusative isnot*ሊቀየ*liqáya), but withከ-ka ("your", masculine singular) there's a distinction between nominativeሊቅከliqə́ka and accusativeሊቀከliqáka, and similarly with-hu ("his") between nominativeሊቁliqú (<*liq-ə-hu) and accusativeሊቆliqó (<*liqa-hu).[25][26]
Internal plurals follow certain patterns. Triconsonantal nouns follow one of the following patterns.
Patterns of internal plural for triconsonantal nouns[27][28] (C=Consonant, V=Vowel)
Pattern
Singular
Meaning
Plural
ʾaCCāC
ልብስləbs
'garment'
አልባስʾalbās
ፈረስfaras
'horse'
አፍራስʾafrās
ቤትbet
'house'
አብያትʾabyāt
ጾምṣom
'fast'
አጽዋምʾaṣwām
ስምsəm
'name'
አስማትʾasmāt
ʾaCCuC
ሀገርhagar
'country'
አህጉርʾahgur
አድግʾadg
'ass'
አእዱግʾaʾdug
ʾaCCəC(t)
በትርbatr
'rod'
አብትርʾabtər
ርእስrə's
'head'
አርእስትʾarʾəst
ገብርgabr
'servant, slave'
አግብርትʾagbərt
ʾaCāCəC(t)
በግዕbagʽ
'sheep'
አባግዕ’abāgəʽ
ጋንንgānən
'devil'
አጋንንት’agānənt
CVCaC
እዝን’əzn
'ear'
እዘን’əzan
እግር’əgr
'foot'
እገር’əgar
CVCaw
እድ’əd
'hand'
እደው’ədaw
አብ’ab
'father'
አበው’abaw
እኍ/እኅው’əḫʷ/’əḫəw
'brother'
አኀው’aḫaw
Quadriconsonantal and some triconsonantal nouns follow the following pattern. Triconsonantal nouns that take this pattern must have at least one "long" vowel (namely/ieou/).[27]
Patterns of internal plural for quadriconsonantal nouns[27][28] (C=Consonant, V=Vowel)
Suffix pronouns attach at the end of a noun, preposition or verb. The accusative/construct-a is lost when a plural noun with a consonant-final stem has a pronoun suffix attached (generally replaced by the added-i-, as in-i-hu, "his"), thereby losing the case/state distinction,[31] but the distinction may be retained in the case of consonant-final singular nouns. Furthermore, suffix pronouns may or may not attract stress to themselves. In the following table, pronouns without a stress mark (an acute) are not stressed, and vowel-initial suffixes have also been given the baseበ/b/ in the script.
As in many Semitic languages, possession by a noun phrase is shown through theconstruct state. In Geʽez, this is formed by suffixing the construct suffix-a to the possessed noun, which is followed by the possessor, as in the following examples:[35]
ወልደ
wald-a
son-construct
ንጉሥ
nəguś
king
ወልደ ንጉሥ
wald-a nəguś
son-construct king
the son of the king
ስመ
səm-a
name-construct
መልአክ
malʼak
angel
ስመ መልአክ
səm-a malʼak
name-construct angel
the name of the angel
Another common way of indicating possession by a noun phrase combines the pronominal suffix on a noun with the possessor preceded by the preposition /la=/ 'to, for':[36]
Lambdin[37] notes that in comparison to the construct state, this kind of possession is only possible when the possessor is definite and specific. Lambdin also notes that the construct state is the unmarked form of possession in Geʽez.
The common way of negation is the prefixኢʾi- which descends fromʾəy- (which is attested in Axum inscriptions), from earlier *ʾay, fromProto-Semitic*ʾal bypalatalization.[39] It is prefixed to verbs as follows:
Geʽez is written with Ethiopic or the Geʽezabugida, a script that was originally developed specifically for this language. In languages that use it, such as Amharic and Tigrinya, the script is calledFidäl, which means script or alphabet.
Geʽez is read from left to right.
The Geʽez script has been adapted to write other languages, usually ones that are also Semitic. The most widespread use is for Amharic inEthiopia and Tigrinya inEritrea and Ethiopia. It is also used forSebatbeit,Meʼen, Agew, and most other languages of Ethiopia. In Eritrea it is used for Tigre, and it is often used forBilen, aCushitic language. Some other languages in theHorn of Africa, such asOromo, used to be written using Geʽez but have switched toLatin-based alphabets.It also uses four series of consonant signs forlabialized velar consonants, which are variants of the non-labialized velar consonants:
Example of Geʽez taken from a 15th-century Ethiopian Coptic prayer book
In addition to theBible including theDeuterocanonical books there are many medieval and early modern original texts. Most important works are also the literature of theEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church andEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which include Christian liturgy (service books, prayers, hymns),hagiographies, andPatristic literature. For example, around 200 texts were written about indigenous Ethiopian saints from the fourteenth through the nineteenth century. Traditional education was the responsibility of priests and monks. "The Church thus constituted the custodian of the nation's culture", saysRichard Pankhurst, who describes the traditional education as follows:
Traditional education was largely biblical. It began with the learning of the alphabet, or more properly, syllabary... The student's second grade comprised the memorization of the first chapter of thefirst Epistle General of St. John in Geez. The study of writing would probably also begin at this time, and particularly in more modern times some arithmetic might be added. In the third stage theActs of the Apostles were studied, while certain prayers were also learnt, and writing and arithmetic continued. ... The fourth stage began with the study of thePsalms of David and was considered an important landmark in a child's education, being celebrated by the parents with a feast to which the teacher, father confessor, relatives and neighbours were invited. A boy who had reached this stage would moreover usually be able to write, and might act as a letter writer.[40]
However, works of history and chronography, ecclesiastical and civil law, philology, medicine, and letters were also written in Geʽez.[41]
The Geʽez language is classified as aSouth Semitic language, though an alternative hypothesis posits that the Semitic languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia may best be considered an independent branch of Semitic,[42] with Geʽez and the closely relatedTigrinya andTigre languages forming a northern branch whileAmharic, Argobba, Harari and the Gurage languages form the southern branch.[43]
Inscriptions dating to the mid-1st millennium BCE, written in theSabaean language in theepigraphic South Arabian script, have been found in the kingdom ofDʿmt, serving at least as a witness to a presence of speakers of Semitic languages in the region. There is some evidence of Semitic languages being spoken inEritrea since approximately 2000 BC.[44] Unlike previously assumed, the Geʽez language is now not regarded as an offshoot ofSabaean or any other forms ofOld South Arabian.[45][43]
Early inscriptions in Geʽez from theKingdom of Aksum (appearing varyingly in the epigraphic South Arabian script, and unvocalized or vocalized Ethiopic/Geʽez script[46]) have been dated to as early as the 4th century CE. The surviving Geʽez literature properly begins in the same century with the Christianization of the Aksum, during the reign ofEzana of Aksum.[41][46] The oldest known example of the Geʽez script, unvocalized and containing religiouslypagan references, is found on theHawulti obelisk inMatara, Eritrea.[47] There exist about a dozen long inscriptions dating to the 4th and 5th centuries, and over 200 short ones.[46]
The oldest surviving Geʽez manuscript is thought to be the second of theGarima Gospels, dating to the 5th or 6th century.[48][49] Almost all transmitted texts from this early "Aksumite" period are religious (Christian) in nature, and translated from Greek. Indeed, the range and scope of the translation enterprise undertaken in the first century of the new Axumite church has few parallels in the early centuries of Christian history. The outcome was an Ethiopic Bible containing 81 Books: 46 of the Old Testament and 35 of the New. A number of these Books are called "deuterocanonical" (or "apocryphal" according to certain Western theologians), such as theAscension of Isaiah,Jubilees,Enoch, theParalipomena of Baruch,Noah,Ezra,Nehemiah,Maccabees, andTobit. The Book of Enoch in particular is notable since its complete text has survived in no other language; and, for the other works listed, the Ethiopic version is highly regarded as a witness to the original text.
Also to this early period datesQerlos, a collection of Christological writings beginning with the treatise ofSaint Cyril (known asHamanot Reteʼet orDe Recta Fide). These works are the theological foundation of the Ethiopic Church. In the later 5th century, the Aksumite Collection—an extensive selection of liturgical, theological, synodical and historical materials—was translated into Geʽez from Greek, providing a fundamental set of instructions and laws for the developing Axumite Church. Included in this collection is a translation of theApostolic Tradition (attributed toHippolytus of Rome, and lost in the original Greek) for which the Ethiopic version provides much the best surviving witness. Another important religious document isSerʼata Paknemis, a translation of the monastic Rules ofPachomius. Non-religious works translated in this period includePhysiologus, a work of natural history also very popular in Europe.[50]
After the decline of the Aksumites, a lengthy gap follows; Some writers consider the period beginning from the 14th century an actual "Golden Age" of Geʽez literature—although by this time Geʽez was no longer a living language; in particular in the major enterprise of translating an extensive library of CopticArabic religious works into Geʽez.
While there is ample evidence that it had been replaced by Amharic in the south and by Tigrinya and Tigre in the north, Geʽez remained in use as the official written language until the 19th century, its status comparable to that ofMedieval Latin in Europe.
At this time a lot of works of theBeta Israel had been turned into Hebraized (i.e. written in theHebrew alphabet) Geʽez, which made the gradual process of Geʽez being the liturgical language of the Beta Israel.[51]
Also at this time theApostolic Constitutions was retranslated into Geʽez from Arabic. Another translation from this period is Zena ʼAyhud, a translation (probably from an Arabic translation) of Joseph ben Gurion's "History of the Jews" ("SeferJosippon") written in Hebrew in the 10th century, which covers the period from the Captivity to the capture of Jerusalem by Titus.Apart from theological works, the earliest contemporary Royal Chronicles of Ethiopia are date to the reign ofAmda Seyon I (1314–44). With the appearance of the "Victory Songs" of Amda Seyon, this period also marks the beginning of Amharic literature.The 14th centuryKebra Nagast or "Glory of the Kings" by theNeburaʼed Yeshaq of Aksum is among the most significant works of Ethiopian literature, combining history, allegory and symbolism in a retelling of the story of theQueen of Sheba (i.e., Saba),King Solomon, and their sonMenelik I of Ethiopia. Another work that began to take shape in this period is theMashafa Aksum or "Book of Axum".[51]
The early 15th centuryFekkare Iyasus "The Explication of Jesus" contains a prophecy of a king calledTewodros, which rose to importance in 19th century Ethiopia asTewodros II chose this throne name.
Literature flourished especially during the reign of EmperorZara Yaqob. Written by the Emperor himself wereMatsʼhafe Berhan ("The Book of Light") andMatshafe Milad ("The Book of Nativity"). Numerous homilies were written in this period, notablyRetuʼa Haimanot ("True Orthodoxy") ascribed toJohn Chrysostom. Also of monumental importance was the appearance of the Geʽez translation of theFetha Negest ("Laws of the Kings"), thought to have been around 1450, and ascribed to one Petros Abda Sayd — that was later to function as the supreme Law for Ethiopia, until it was replaced by amodern Constitution in 1931.
By the beginning of the 16th century, the Islamic invasions put an end to the flourishing of Ethiopian literature.A letter of Abba ʼEnbaqom (or "Habakkuk") toAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, entitledAnqasa Amin ("Gate of the Faith"), giving his reasons for abandoningIslam, although probably first written in Arabic and later rewritten in an expanded Geʽez version around 1532, is considered one of the classics of later Geʽez literature.[52] During this period, Ethiopian writers begin to address differences between the Ethiopian and the Roman Catholic Church in such works as theConfession of EmperorGelawdewos,Sawana Nafs ("Refuge of the Soul"),Fekkare Malakot ("Exposition of the Godhead") andHaymanote Abaw ("Faith of the Fathers"). Around the year 1600, a number of works were translated from Arabic into Geʽez for the first time, including theChronicle ofJohn of Nikiu and theUniversal History ofGeorge Elmacin.
"Word of blessing ofHenok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders."
^Gragg 1997b, p. 242, "Ge‘ez disappeared as a spoken language probably some time before the tenth century CE."
^De Lacy O'Leary, 2000Comparative grammar of the Semitic languages. Routledge. p. 23.
^abChain 1909, "No longer in popular use, Geʽez has always remained the language of the Church".
^"They read the Bible in Geez" (Leaders and Religion of the Beth Israel); "after each passage, recited in Geez, the translation is read in Kailina" (Festivals). [PER], publication date 1901–1906.
Cohen 1921, p. 217,«il vaut mieux préciser enéthiopien classique ou employer le nom indigène; celui-ci estግእዝ፡, c’est-à-dire en prononciation restituéegə‘əz ougə‘z, etgəəz dans la prononciation abyssine actuelle»[it is worth it to be precise usingClassical Ethiopic or the indigenous name, which isግእዝ፡, that is (in reconstructed pronunciationgə‘əz orgə‘z, andgəəz {i.e. IPA[ˈgɨʔɨz] with a glottal stop} in today's Abyssinian pronunciation]
^Bender, M. L. (May 1971). "The Languages of Ethiopia: A New Lexicostatistic Classification and Some Problems of Diffusion".Anthropological Linguistics.13 (5): 173.JSTOR30029540.
^Lambdin 1978, p. 41: "Plural noun. All plural nouns have a suffix -i- added to the stem before the pronominal suffixes. [...] There are no distinct accusative forms."
^Pankhurst 1968, pp. 666f; cf. the EOTC's own account atits official website. "Church Teachings". Retrieved from the Internet Archive on March 12, 2014.
Chaîne, Marius,Grammaire éthiopienne. Beyrouth (Beirut): Imprimerie catholique 1907, 1938 (Nouvelle édition). (electronic version at the Internet Archive)
Gragg, Gene (1997a). "Ge'ez Phonology". In Kaye, Alan (ed.).Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Vol. 1. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. pp. 169–186.ISBN1-57506-017-5.
Gragg, Gene (1997b). "Ge'ez (Ethiopic)". In Hetzron, Robert (ed.).The Semitic Languages. London & New York: Routledge. pp. 242–260.ISBN0-415-05767-1.
Gragg, Gene (2008). "Ge'ez". In Woodard, Roger (ed.).The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-56256-0.
Kidanä Wäld Kəfle,Maṣḥafa sawāsəw wagəss wamazgaba ḳālāt ḥaddis ("A new grammar and dictionary"), Dire Dawa: Artistik Matämiya Bet 1955/6 (E.C. 1948).
Prochazka, Stephan,Altäthiopische Studiengrammatik, Orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis – Subsidia Linguistica (OBO SL) 2, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag 2005.ISBN978-3-525-26409-6.
Tropper, Josef,Altäthiopisch: Grammatik der Geʽez mit Übungstexten und Glossar, Elementa Linguarum Orientis (ELO) 2, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag 2002.ISBN978-3-934628-29-8
Tropper, Josef (2021).Classical Ethiopic: A Grammar of Gǝˁǝz. Translated by Hasselbach-Andee, Rebecca. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.ISBN978-1-57506-841-1.
Weninger, Stefan,Das Verbalsystem des Altäthiopischen: Eine Untersuchung seiner Verwendung und Funktion unter Berücksichtigung des Interferenzproblems, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2001.ISBN978-3-447-04484-4.
Adera, Taddesse, Ali Jimale Ahmed (eds.),Silence Is Not Golden: A Critical Anthology of Ethiopian Literature, Red Sea Press (1995),ISBN978-0-932415-47-9.
Bonk, Jon,Annotated and Classified Bibliography of English Literature Pertaining to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Atla Bibliography Series, Scarecrow Pr (1984),ISBN978-0-8108-1710-4.
Dillmann, August,Anthologia Aethiopica, Herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort versehen von Ernst Hammerschmidt. Hildesheim: Olms Verlag 1988,ISBN978-3-487-07943-1 .
The Royal Chronicles ofZara Yaqob andBaeda Maryam – French translation and edition of the Geʽez text Paris 1893 (electronic version in Gallica digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Leslau, Wolf (1987).Comparative Dictionary of Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopic): Geez—English, English—Geez, with an Index of the Semitic Roots. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.ISBN978-3-447-02592-8.
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