Geʽez

Geʽez (/ˈɡiːɛz/;[6][7] ግዕዝ, Gəʿəz IPA: [ˈɡɨʕɨz]

( listen); referred to in some scholarly
literature as Classical Ethiopic) is an
ancient South Semitic language of the
Ethiopic branch. The language originates
from the region encompassing southern
Eritrea and northern Ethiopia regions in
the Horn of Africa.
 Geʽez
ግአዝ Gəʿəz

Pronunciation [ˈɡɨʕɨz]

Native to Eritrea, Ethiopia

Extinct Estimates range

from the 4th century
BC[1] to sometime
before the 10th
century.[2]
Remains in use as a
liturgical language.[3]
Language family Afro-Asiatic
Semitic
West Semitic
South Semitic
Ethiopic
North
Ethiopic
Geʽez
Writing system Geʽez script
Official status
Official language in Liturgical language
of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo
Church, Eritrean
Orthodox Tewahedo
Church, Ethiopian
Catholic Church,[3]
 Eritrean Catholic
Church and Beta
Israel[4]
Language codes

ISO 639-2 gez

ISO 639-3 gez

geez1241 [5]
Glottolog
This article contains Ethiopic text.
Without proper rendering support, you
may see question marks, boxes, or
other symbols instead of Ethiopic
characters.
Drawing of Mary, mother of Jesus, 'with her beloved
son,' from a Geʽez manuscript copy of Weddasé
Māryām, circa 1875

Today, Geʽez is used only as the main

liturgical language of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean
Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the
Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean
Catholic Church, and the Beta Israel
Jewish community. However, in Ethiopia,
Amharic or other local languages, and in
Eritrea and Ethiopia's Tigray Region,
Tigrinya may be used for sermons.
Tigrinya and Tigre are closely related to
Geʽez.[8][9]

The closest living languages to Geʽez are

Tigre and Tigrinya, with lexical similarity
at 71% and 68% respectively.[10] Some
linguists do not believe that Geʽez
constitutes a common ancestor of
modern Ethiosemitic languages, but that
Geʽez became a separate language early
on from another hypothetical unattested
language,[11] which can be seen as an
extinct sister language of Amharic, Tigre
and Tigrinya.[12][13]

Phonology

Vowels …

a /æ/ < Proto-Semitic *a; later e

u /u/ < Proto-Semitic *ū
i /i/ < Proto-Semitic *ī
 ā /aː/ < Proto-Semitic *ā; later a
e /e/ < Proto-Semitic *ay
ə /ɨ/ < Proto-Semitic *i, *u
o /o/ < Proto-Semitic *aw

In the transcription employed by the

Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, which is
widely employed in academia, the
contrast here represented as a/ā is
represented ä/a.

Consonants …
Transliteration …

Geʽez is transliterated according to the

following system:

translit. h l ḥ m ś r s ḳ b t ḫ n ʾ

Geʽez ሀ ለ ሐ መ ሠ ረ ሰ ቀ በ ተ ኀ ነ አ

translit. k w ʿ 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 (1997:244)
writes "The consonants corresponding to
the graphemes ś (Geʽez ሠ) and ḍ (Geʽez
ፀ) 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."
A similar problem is found for the
consonant transliterated ḫ. Gragg
(1997:245) notes that it corresponds in
etymology to velar or uvular fricatives in
other Semitic languages, but it was
pronounced exactly the same as ḥ 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. The chart below lists /
ɬ/ and /ɬʼ/ as possible values for ś (ሠ)
and ḍ (ፀ) respectively. It also lists /χ/ as
a possible value for ḫ (ኀ). These values
are tentative, but based on the
reconstructed Proto-Semitic consonants
that they are descended from.

Phonemes of Geʽez …

In the chart below, IPA values are shown.

When transcription is different from the
IPA, the character is shown in angular
brackets. Question marks follow
phonemes whose interpretation is
controversial (as explained in the
preceding section).

Consonants
Dental Velar, Uvular
Labial Palatal Pharyngeal Glottal
plain lateral plain labialized

Nasal m n

voiceless p t k kʷ ʔ ⟨ʼ⟩

Stop voiced b d ɡ ɡʷ

emphatic1 pʼ ⟨p̣⟩ tʼ ⟨ṭ⟩ kʼ ⟨ḳ⟩ kʷʼ ⟨ḳʷ⟩

Affricate emphatic t͡sʼ ⟨ṣ⟩

voiceless f s ɬ? ⟨ś⟩ χ? ⟨ḫ⟩ χʷ? ⟨ḫʷ⟩ ħ ⟨ḥ⟩ h

Fricative voiced z ʕ ⟨ʽ⟩

emphatic ɬʼ? ⟨ḍ⟩

Trill r

Approximant l j ⟨y⟩ w
 1. In Geʽez, emphatic consonants are
phonetically ejectives. As is the
case with Arabic, emphatic velars
may actually be phonetically uvular
([q] and [qʷ]).
Geʽez consonants in relation to Proto-
Semitic …

Geʽez consonants have a triple

opposition between voiceless, voiced,
and ejective (or emphatic) obstruents.
The Proto-Semitic "emphasis" in Geʽez
has been generalized to include
emphatic p̣. Geʽez has phonologized
labiovelars, descending from Proto-
Semitic biphonemes. Geʽez ś ሠ Sawt (in
Amharic, also called śe-nigūś, i.e. the se
letter used for spelling the word nigūś
"king") is reconstructed as descended
from a Proto-Semitic voiceless lateral
fricative [ɬ]. Like Arabic, Geʽez merged
Proto-Semitic š and s in ሰ (also called se-
isat: the se letter used for spelling the
word isāt "fire"). Apart from this, Geʽez
phonology is comparably conservative;
the only other Proto-Semitic phonological
contrasts lost may be the interdental
fricatives and ghayn.

Morphology

Nouns …

Geʽez distinguishes two genders,

masculine and feminine, which in certain
words is marked with the suffix -t. These
are less strongly distinguished than in
other Semitic languages, in that many
nouns not denoting persons can be used
in either gender: in translated Christian
texts there is a tendency for nouns to
follow the gender of the noun with a
corresponding meaning in Greek.[14]

There are two numbers, singular and

plural. The plural can be constructed
either by suffixing -āt to a word, or by
internal plural.
 Plural using suffix: ʿāmat – ʿāmatāt
'year(s)', māy – māyāt 'water(s)' (Note:
In contrast to adjectives and other
Semitic languages, the -āt suffix can be
used for constructing the plural of both
genders).
Internal plural: bet – ʾābyāt 'house,
houses'; qərnəb – qarānəbt 'eyelid,
eyelids'.

Nouns also have two cases: the

nominative, which is not marked, and the
accusative, which is marked with final -a
(e.g. bet, bet-a).

Internal plural …

Internal plurals follow certain patterns.

Triconsonantal nouns follow one of the
following patterns.
Patterns of internal plural for triconsonantal nouns.[2][15] (C=Consonant, V=Vowel)

Pattern Singular Meaning Plural

ləbs 'garment' ʾālbās

faras 'horse' ʾāfrās

ʾāCCāC bet 'house' ʾābyāt

ṣom 'fast' ʾāṣwām

səm 'name' ʾāsmāt

hagar 'country' ʾāhgur

ʾāCCuC
ʾādg 'ass' ʾāʾdug

rə's 'head' ʾārʾəst

ʾāCCəCt
gabr 'servant, slave' ʾāgbərt

bagʿ 'sheep' ʾabāgəʿ

ʾāCāCə(t)
gānen 'devil' ʾāgānənt

ʾəzn 'ear' ʾəzan

CVCaC
ʾəgr 'foot' ʾəgar

ʾəd 'hand' ʾədaw

CVCaw ʾāb 'father' ʾābaw

ʾəḫʷ 'brother' ʾāḫaw

Quadriconsonantal and some
triconsonantal nouns follow the following
pattern. Triconsonantal nouns that take
this pattern must have at least one long
vowel[2]

Patterns of internal plural for quadriconsonantal nouns.[2][15] (C=Consonant, V=Vowel)

Pattern Singular Meaning Plural

dəngəl 'virgin' danāgəl

masfən 'prince' masāfənt

kokab 'star' kawākəbt

maskot 'window' masākut < masakəwt

CaCāCəC(t) dorho 'chicken' darāwəh

lelit 'night' layāləy

bəḥer 'earth' baḥāwərt

wəḥiz 'river' waḥāyəzt

qasis 'priest' qasāwəst

Pronominal morphology …

Pronominal suffix
Number Person Isolated personal pronoun
With noun With verb

1. ʾana -ya -ni

2. masculine ʾanta -ka

Singular 2. feminine ʾanti -ki

3. masculine wəʾətu -(h)u

3. feminine yəʾəti -(h)a

1. nəḥna -na

2. masculine ʾantəmu -kəmu

Plural 2. feminine ʾantən -kən

3. masculine wəʾətomu / əmuntu -(h)omu

3. feminine wəʾəton / əmāntu -(h)on

Verb conjugation …
 Imperfect
Perfect
Person Indicative Jussive
qatal-nn
-qattəl -qtəl

1. qatal-ku ʾə-qattəl ʾə-qtəl

2. m. qatal-ka tə-qattəl tə-qtəl

Singular 2. f. qatal-ki tə-qattəl-i tə-qtəl-i

3. m. qatal-a yə-qattəl yə-qtəl

3. f. qatal-at tə-qattəl tə-qtəl

1. qatal-na nə-qattəl nə-qtəl

2. m. qatal-kəmmu tə-qattəl-u tə-qtəl-u

Plural 2. f. qatal-kən tə-qattəl-ā tə-qtəl-ā

3. m. qatal-u yə-qattəl-u yə-qtəl-u

3. f. qatal-ā yə-qattəl-ā yə-qtəl-ā

Syntax

Noun phrases …
Noun phrases have the following overall
order: (demonstratives) noun (adjective)-
(relative clause)

ba-zā hagar

in-this:f city

in this city

nəguś kəbur

king glorious

the glorious king

Adjectives and determiners agree with

the noun in gender and number:

zāti nəgəśt kəbərt

this:fem queen glorious:fem

this glorious queen

ʼəllu nagaśt kəburān

these:mpl kings glorious:pl

these glorious kings

Relative clauses are introduced by a

pronoun which agrees in gender and
number with the preceding noun:

bə'si za=qatal-əww-o la=wald-o

man which:masc=kill-3mp-3ms to=son=3ms

the man whose son they killed

As in many Semitic languages,

possession by a noun phrase is shown
through the construct state. In Geʽez, this
is formed by suffixing /-a/ to the
possessed noun, which is followed by the
possessor, as in the following examples
(Lambdin 1978:23):

wald-a nəguś

son-construct king

the son of the king

səm-a malʼak

name-construct angel

the name of the angel

Possession by a pronoun is indicated by

a suffix on the possessed noun, as seen
in the following table:
 Possessor affix

1sg 'my' -əya

2msg 'your (masc)' -əka

2fsg 'your (fem)' -əki

3msg 'his' -u

3fsg 'her' -ā

1pl 'our' -əna

2mpl 'your (masc. plur)' -əkəma

2fpl 'your (fem. plur)' -əkən

3mpl 'their (masc)' -omu

3fpl 'their (fem)' -on

The following examples show a few

nouns with pronominal possessors:

səm-əya səm-u

name-1sg name-3sg

my name his name

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' (Lambdin 1978:44):

səm-u la = neguś

name-3sg to = king

'the king's name; the name of the king'

Lambdin (1978:45) 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.

Prepositional phrases …

Geʽez is a prepositional language, as in

the following example (Lambdin
1978:16):

wəsta hagar

to city

to the city
There are three special prepositions,
/ba=/ 'in, with', /la=/ 'to, for', /ʼəm=/ 'from',
which always appear as clitics, as in the
following examples:

ʼəm=hagar

from=city

from the city

ba=hagar

in=city

in the city

əm=diba

from=on

down from

ba=zə bet

in=this house

in this house
These proclitic prepositions in Geʽez are
similar to the inseparable prepositions in
Hebrew.

Sentences …

The normal word order for declarative

sentences is VSO. Objects of verbs show
accusative case marked with the suffix /-
a/:

Takal-a bə'si ʿəḍ-a

plant-3ms man tree-acc

The man planted a tree

Questions with a wh-word ('who', 'what',
etc.) show the question word at the
beginning of the sentence:

ʼAyya hagar ḥanaṣ-u

which city flee-3pl

Which city did they flee?

Negation …

The common way of negation is the

prefix ʾi- which descends from ʾey- (which
is attested in Axum inscriptions) from ʾay
from Proto-Semitic *ʾal by
palatalization.[2] It is prefixed to verbs as
follows:

nəḥna ʾi-nəkl ḥawira

we (we) cannot go

we cannot go

Writing system
Genesis 29.11–16 in Geʽez

Geʽez is written with Ethiopic or the Geʽez

abugida, a script that was originally
developed specifically for this language.
In languages that use it, such as Amharic
and Tigrinya, the script is called Fidäl,
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 in Ethiopia and
Tigrinya in Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is also
used for Sebatbeit, Meʼen, Agew and
most other languages of Ethiopia. In
Eritrea it is used for Tigre, and it is often
used for Bilen, a Cushitic language. Some
other languages in the Horn of Africa,
such as Oromo, used to be written using
Geʽez but have switched to Latin-based
alphabets. It also uses four series of
consonant signs for labialized velar
consonants, which are variants of the
non-labialized velar consonants:

ḳ(a) ḫ(a) k(a) g(a)

Basic sign
ቀ ኀ ከ ገ
ḳʷ(a) ḫʷ(a) kʷ(a) gʷ(a)
Labialized variant
ቈ ኈ ኰ ጐ
History and literature

Example of Geʽez taken from a 15th-century

Ethiopian Coptic prayer book

Although it is often said that Geʽez

literature is dominated by the Bible
including the Deuterocanonical books, in
fact there are many medieval and early
modern original texts in the language.
Most of its important works are also the
literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church, which include
Christian liturgy (service books, prayers,
hymns), hagiographies, and Patristic
literature. For instance, around 200 texts
were written about indigenous Ethiopian
saints from the fourteenth through the
nineteenth century. This religious
orientation of Geʽez literature was a
result of traditional education being the
responsibility of priests and monks. "The
Church thus constituted the custodian of
the nation's culture", notes Richard
Pankhurst, and 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 the first
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 the Acts of the
Apostles were studied, while
certain prayers were also
learnt, and writing and
arithmetic continued. ... The
fourth stage began with the
study of the Psalms 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.[16]

However, works of history and

chronography, ecclesiastical and civil law,
philology, medicine, and letters were also
written in Geʽez.[17]
Significant collections of Ethiopian
manuscripts are found outside of
Ethiopia in France, Italy, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. The
collection in the British Library comprises
some 800 manuscripts dating from the
15th to the 20th centuries, notably
including magical and divinatory scrolls,
and illuminated manuscripts of the 16th
to 17th centuries. It was initiated by a
donation of 74 codices by the Church of
England Missionary Society in the 1830s
and 1840s, and substantially expanded
by 349 codices, looted by the British from
the Emperor Tewodros II's capital at
Magdala in the 1868 Expedition to
Abyssinia. The Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City has at least two
illuminated manuscripts in Geʽez .

Origins …
The Ezana Stone, engraved from AD 330 to 356, is
written in ancient Ge'ez, Sabaean and Greek.

The Geʽez language is classified as a

South Semitic language. It evolved from
an earlier proto-Ethio-Semitic ancestor
used to write royal inscriptions of the
kingdom of Dʿmt in the Epigraphic South
Arabian script. The Geʽez language is no
longer universally thought of, as
previously assumed, to be an offshoot of
Sabaean or Old South Arabian,[18] and
there is some linguistic (though not
written) evidence of Semitic languages
being spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia
since approximately 2000 BC.[19]
However, the Geʽez script later replaced
Epigraphic South Arabian in the Kingdom
of Aksum. Epigraphic South Arabian
letters were used for a few inscriptions
into the 8th century BCE, though not any
South Arabian language since Dʿmt. Early
inscriptions in Geʽez and Geʽez script
have been dated[20] to as early as the 5th
century BC, and in a sort of proto-Geʽez
written in ESA since the 9th century BC.
Geʽez literature properly begins with the
Christianization of Ethiopia (and the
civilization of Axum) in the 4th century,
during the reign of Ezana of Axum.[17]
5th to 7th centuries …

The oldest known example of the old

Geʽez script is found on the Hawulti
obelisk in Matara, Eritrea. The oldest
surviving Geʽez manuscript is thought to
be the 5th or 6th century Garima
Gospels.[21][22] Almost all 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 Ethiopian
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 the Ascension of
Isaiah, Jubilees, Enoch, the Paralipomena
of Baruch, Noah, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Maccabees, and Tobit. 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 dates Qerlos, a

collection of Christological writings
beginning with the treatise of Saint Cyril
(known as Hamanot Reteʼet or De 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 Ethiopian Church. Included in
this collection is a translation of the
Apostolic Tradition (attributed to
Hippolytus of Rome, and lost in the
original Greek) for which the Ethiopic
version provides much the best surviving
witness. Another important religious
document is Serʼata Paknemis, a
translation of the monastic Rules of
Pachomius. Non-religious works
translated in this period include
Physiologus, a work of natural history
also very popular in Europe.[23]

13th to 14th centuries …

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 Coptic
Arabic religious works into Ge'ez.

While there is ample evidence that it had

been replaced by Amharic in the south
and by Tigrigna and Tigre in the north,
Geʽez remained in use as the official
written language until the 19th century,
its status comparable to that of Medieval
Latin in Europe.

Important hagiographies from this period

include:

the Gadle Samaʼetat "Acts of the

Martyrs"
 the Gadle Hawaryat "Acts of the
Apostles"
the Senkessar or Synaxarium,
translated as "The Book of the Saints
of the Ethiopian Church"
Other Lives of Saint Anthony, Saint
George, Saint Tekle Haymanot, Saint
Gabra Manfas Qeddus

Also at this time the Apostolic

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" ("Sefer Josippon") 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 of Amda
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 century
Kebra Nagast or "Glory of the Kings" by
the Neburaʼed Yeshaq of Aksum is
among the most significant works of
Ethiopian literature, combining history,
allegory and symbolism in a retelling of
the story of the Queen of Sheba (i.e.
Saba), King Solomon, and their son
Menelik I of Ethiopia. Another work that
began to take shape in this period is the
Mashafa Aksum or "Book of Axum".[24]
15th to 16th centuries …

The early 15th century Fekkare Iyasus

"The Explication of Jesus" contains a
prophecy of a king called Tewodros,
which rose to importance in 19th century
Ethiopia as Tewodros II chose this throne
name.

Literature flourished especially during the

reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob. Written by
the Emperor himself were Matsʼhafe
Berhan ("The Book of Light") and
Matshafe Milad ("The Book of Nativity").
Numerous homilies were written in this
period, notably Retuʼa Haimanot ("True
Orthodoxy") ascribed to John
Chrysostom. Also of monumental
importance was the appearance of the
Geʽez translation of the Fetha 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 a
modern 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") to
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, entitled
Anqasa Amin ("Gate of the Faith"), giving
his reasons for abandoning Islam,
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.[25]
During this period, Ethiopian writers
begin to address differences between the
Ethiopian and the Roman Catholic
Church in such works as the Confession
of Emperor Gelawdewos, Sawana Nafs
("Refuge of the Soul"), Fekkare Malakot
("Exposition of the Godhead") and
Haymanote Abaw ("Faith of the Fathers").
Around the year 1600, a number of works
were translated from Arabic into Geʽez
for the first time, including the Chronicle
of John of Nikiu and the Universal History
of George Elmacin.

Current usage in Eritrea, Ethiopia

and Israel
…

Geʽez is the liturgical language of

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Eritrean
Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Catholic
and Eritrean Catholic Christians, and is
used in prayer and in scheduled public
celebrations. It is also used liturgically by
the Beta Israel (Falasha Jews).

The liturgical rite used by the Christian

churches is referred to as the Ethiopic
Rite[26][27][28] or the Geʽez Rite.[29][30][31][32]

Sample
The first sentence of the Book of Enoch:

ቃለ፡ በረከት፡ ዘሄኖክ፡ ዘከመ፡ ባረከ፡ ኅሩያነ፡

ወጻድቃነ፡ እለ፡ ሀለዉ፡ ይኩኑ፡
በዕለተ፡ ምንዳቤ፡ ለአሰስሎ፡ ኵሉ፡ እኩያን፡
ወረሲዓን።
Ḳāla barakat za-Henok zakama bāraka
ḫəruyāna waṣādəḳāna ʾəlla hallawu
yəkunu
baʿəlata məndābe laʾasassəlo kʷəllu
ʾəkuyān warasiʿān
"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."
See also
Ethiopian chant

Notes
1. De Lacy O'Leary, 2000 Comparative
grammar of the Semitic languages.
Routledge. p. 23.
2. Gene Gragg 1997. The Semitic
Languages. Taylor & Francis. Robert
Hetzron ed. ISBN 978-0-415-05767-
7.
3. "No longer in popular use, Geʽez has
always remained the language of the
Church", [CHA]
4. "They read the Bible in Geez"
(Leaders and Religion of the
Falashas); "after each passage,
recited in Geez, the translation is
read in Kailina" (Festivals). [PER].
Note the publication date of this
source.
5. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel,
Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds.
(2017). "Geez" . Glottolog 3.0. Jena,
Germany: Max Planck Institute for
the Science of Human History.
6. Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics
Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
7. "Geez" . Oxford English Dictionary
(3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
September 2005. (Subscription or UK
public library membership required.)
8. Bulakh, Maria; Kogan, Leonid (2010).
"The Genealogical Position of Tigre
and the Problem of North Ethio-
Semitic Unity". Zeitschrift der
Deutschen Morgenländischen
Gesellschaft. 160 (2): 273–302.
9. Demeke, Girma A. "The Ethio-Semitic
Languages (Re-Examining the
Classification)." Journal of Ethiopian
Studies, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 57–
93. JSTOR, JSTOR,
 https://www.jstor.org/stable/41966
122
10. Thompson, E. D. 1976. Languages of
Northern Eritrea. In Bender, M. Lionel
(ed.), The Non-Semitic Languages of
Ethiopia, 597-603. East Lansing,
Michigan: African Studies Center,
Michigan State University.
11. Connell, Dan; Killion, Tom (2010).
Historical Dictionary of Eritrea (2nd,
 illustrated ed.). Scarecrow Press.
p. 508. ISBN 978-0-8108-7505-0.
12. Haarmann, Harald (2002). Lexikon
der untergegangenen Sprachen
[Lexicon of extinct languages] (in
German) (2nd ed.). C.H. Beck. p. 76.
ISBN 978-3-406-47596-2.
13. Amsalu Aklilu, Kuraz Publishing
Agency, ጥሩ የአማርኛ ድርሰት እንዴት ያለ
ነው! p. 42
14. Lambdin, Thomas O. (1978).
15. Gene Gragg, 2008. "The Ancient
Languages of Mesopotamia, Egypt
and Aksum". Cambridge University
Press. Roger D. Woodard Ed.
16. [PAN], pp. 666f.; cf. the EOTC's own
account at its official website.
Church Teachings. Retrieved from
the Internet Archive on March 12,
2014.
17. "Ethiopic Language in the
International Standard Bible
 Encyclopedia" . International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online.
18. Weninger, Stefan, "Geʽez" in
Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha,
p.732.
19. Stuart, Munro-Hay (1991). Aksum:
An African Civilization of Late
Antiquity. Edinburgh: University
Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7486-0106-
6.
20. [MAT]
21. A conservator at work on the Garima
Gospels (2010-07-14). " "Discovery
of earliest illustrated manuscript,"
Martin Bailey, June 2010" .
Theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved
2012-07-11.
22. "The Arts Newspaper June 2010 –
Abuna Garima Gospels" .
Ethiopianheritagefund.org. Archived
from the original on 2012-05-01.
Retrieved 2012-07-11.
23. [BUD], pp. 566f.
24. [BUD], p. 574
25. [PAN03]
26. Bryan D. Spinks, The Sanctus in the
Eucharistic Prayer (Cambridge
University Press 2002 ISBN 978-0-
521-52662-3), p. 119
27. Anscar J. Chupungco, Handbook for
Liturgical Studies (Liturgical Press
1997 ISBN 978-0-8146-6161-1), p. 13
28. Archdale King, The Rites of Eastern
Christendom, vol. 1 (Gorgias Press
LLC 2007 ISBN 978-1-59333-391-1),
p. 533
29. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A
History of Ethiopia (C. Hurst & Co.
2000 ISBN 978-1-85065-393-6), p.
127
30. Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William
Bromiley (editors), The Encyclopedia
of Christianity, vol. 2 (Eerdmans
 1999 ISBN 978-90-04-11695-5), p.
158
31. David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky
(editors), Historical Dictionary of
Ethiopia (Scarecrow Press 2013), p.
93
32. Walter Raunig, Steffen Wenig
(editors), Afrikas Horn (Otto
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005,
ISBN 978-3-447-05175-0), p. 171

References
[BUD] Budge, E. A. Wallis. 1928. A
History of Ethiopia: Nubia and
Abyssinia, Oosterhout, the
Netherlands: Anthropological
Publications, 1970.
CHA Chain, M. Ethiopia transcribed by:
Donahue M. in The Catholic
Encyclopedia, Volume V. Published
1909. New York: Robert Appleton
Company. Nihil Obstat, May 1, 1909.
Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +
John M. Farley, Archbishop of New
York
[DIR] Diringer, David. 1968. The
Alphabet, A Key To The History of
Mankind.
[KOB] Kobishchanov, Yuri M. 1979.
Axum, edited by Joseph W. Michels;
translated by: Lorraine T. Kapitanoff.
University Park, Pennsylvania:
University of Pennsylvania. ISBN 978-
0-271-00531-7.
MAT Matara Aksumite & Pre-Aksumite
City Webpage
[MUN] Munro-Hay Stuart. 1991.
Aksum: An African Civilization of Late
Antiquity . Edinburgh: University Press.
ISBN 978-0-7486-0106-6.
[PAN68] Pankhurst, Richard K.P.
1968.An Economic History of Ethiopia,
1800–1935, Addis Ababa: Haile
Selassie I University Press.
 PAN03 Pankhurst, Richard K.P. A
Glimpse into 16th. Century Ethiopian
History Abba ʼEnbaqom, Imam Ahmad
Ibn Ibrahim, and the "Conquest of
Abyssinia". Addis Tribune. November
14, 2003.
PER Perruchon, J. D. and Gottheil,
Richard. "Falashas" in The Jewish
Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.

Further reading
Grammar …

Aläqa Tayyä, Maṣḥafa sawāsəw. Monkullo:

Swedish Mission 1896/7 (= E.C. 1889).
Chaîne, Marius, Grammaire éthiopienne.
Beyrouth (Beirut): Imprimerie catholique
1907, 1938 (Nouvelle édition). (electronic
version at the Internet Archive)
Cohen, Marcel, "la pronunciation
traditionelle du Guèze (éthiopien
classique)", in: Journal asiatique (1921) Sér.
11 / T. 18 (electronic version in Gallica
digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale
de France PDF).
Dillmann, August; Bezold, Carl, Ethiopic
Grammar, 2nd edition translated from
German by James Crichton, London 1907.
ISBN 978-1-59244-145-7 (2003 reprint).
(Published in German: ¹1857, ²1899).
(Online version at the Internet Archive)
Gäbrä-Yohannəs Gäbrä-Maryam, Gəss –
Mäzgäbä-ḳalat – Gəʽəz-ənna Amarəñña; yä-
Gəʽəz ḳʷanḳʷa mämmariya (A Grammar of
Classical Ethiopic). Addis Ababa
2001/2002 (= E.C. 1994)[1]
Gene Gragg "Geʽez Phonology," in:
Phonologies of Asia and Africa (Vol 1), ed.
A. S. Kaye & P. T. Daniels, Eisenbrauns,
Winona Lake, Indiana (1997).
Kidanä Wäld Kəfle, Maṣḥafa sawāsəw
wagəss wamazgaba ḳālāt ḥaddis ("A new
grammar and dictionary"), Dire Dawa:
Artistik Matämiya Bet 1955/6 (E.C. 1948).
Lambdin, Thomas O., Introduction to
Classical Ethiopic, Harvard Semitic Studies
24, Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press 1978.
ISBN 978-0-89130-263-6.
Mercer, Samuel Alfred Browne, "Ethiopic
grammar: with chrestomathy and glossary"
1920 (Online version at the Internet
Archive)
Ludolf, Hiob, Grammatica aethiopica.
Londini 1661; 2nd ed. Francofurti 1702.
Praetorius, Franz, Äthiopische Grammatik,
Karlsruhe: Reuther 1886.
Prochazka, Stephan, Altäthiopische
Studiengrammatik, Orbis Biblicus Et
Orientalis – Subsidia Linguistica (OBO SL)
2, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Verlag 2005. ISBN 978-3-525-26409-6.
Qeleb, Desie (2010). The Revival of Geez.
MPID 3948485819.
Tropper, Josef, Altäthiopisch: Grammatik
der Geʽez mit Übungstexten und Glossar,
Elementa Linguarum Orientis (ELO) 2,
Münster: Ugarit-Verlag 2002. ISBN 978-3-
934628-29-8
Vittorio, Mariano, Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae
linguae institutiones, Rome 1548.
Weninger, Stefan, Geʽez grammar, Munich:
LINCOM Europa, ISBN 978-3-929075-04-5
(1st edition, 1993), ISBN 978-3-89586-604-3
(2nd revised edition, 1999).
 Weninger, Stefan, Das Verbalsystem des
Altäthiopischen: Eine Untersuchung seiner
Verwendung und Funktion unter
Berücksichtigung des Interferenzproblems",
Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2001. ISBN 978-3-
447-04484-4.
Wemmers, J., Linguae aethiopicae
institutiones, Rome 1638.

• Zerezghi Haile, Learn Basic Geez

Grammar (2015) for Tigrinya readers
available at:
https://uwontario.academia.edu/WedGd
mhra

Literature …

Adera, Taddesse, Ali Jimale Ahmed (eds.),

Silence Is Not Golden: A Critical Anthology
of Ethiopian Literature, Red Sea Press
(1995), ISBN 978-0-932415-47-9.
Bonk, Jon, Annotated and Classified
Bibliography of English Literature Pertaining
to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Atla
Bibliography Series, Scarecrow Pr (1984),
ISBN 978-0-8108-1710-4.
Charles, Robert Henry, The Ethiopic version
of the book of Enoch. Oxford 1906. (Online
version at the Internet Archive)
Dillmann, August, Chrestomathia
Aethiopica. Leipzig 1866. (Online version
at the Internet Archive)
Dillmann, August, Octateuchus Aethiopicus.
Leipzig 1853. (The first eight books of the
Bible in Geʽez. Online version )
Dillmann, August, Anthologia Aethiopica,
Herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort
versehen von Ernst Hammerschmidt.
Hildesheim: Olms Verlag 1988, ISBN 978-3-
487-07943-1 .
The Royal Chronicles of Zara Yaqob and
Baeda Maryam – French translation and
edition of the Geʽez text Paris 1893
(electronic version in Gallica digital library
of the Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Ethiopic recension of the Chronicle of John
of Nikiû – Paris 1883 (electronic version )
in Gallica
Dictionaries …

Dillmann, August, Lexicon linguæ

Æthiopicæ cum indice Latino, Lipsiae 1865.
(Online version at the Internet Archive)
Leslau, Wolf, Comparative Dictionary of
Geez (Classical Ethiopic): Geez--English,
English--Geez, with an Index of the Semitic
Roots, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1987.
ISBN 978-3-447-02592-8.
Leslau, Wolf, Concise Dictionary of Ge‘ez
(Classical Ethiopic), Wiesbaden:
 Harrassowitz 1989. ISBN 978-3-447-02873-
8.
Ludolf, Hiob, Lexicon Aethiopico-Latinum,
Ed. by J. M. Wansleben, London 1661.
Wemmers, J., Lexicon Aethiopicum, Rome
1638.

External links
J. M.Harden, An Introduction to
Ethiopic Christian Literature (1926)
Unicode Chart
 Researcher identifies second-oldest
Ethiopian manuscript in existence in
HMML's archives (13 July 2010)
Library of Ethiopian Texts

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Geʽez&oldid=947691486"

Last edited 3 days ago by GreenC bot

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless
otherwise noted.