Amharic

Ethiopia. My mother wanted my first language to be English, so I would not struggle in school, but my father had another agenda. Although he also wanted me to learn English first, he was determined to teach me Amharic as well, the national language spoken in Ethiopia. He taught me how to speak, read, and write Amharic. After a couple of months, I became fluent in the language. Although I was fluent in Amharic, I never really spoke it much. I only spoke it to my parents, but even then they would mostly speak English to me. It was not until I went to Ethiopia about twelve years ago that I really used the language. I was seven years old when I went and spoke nothing but Amharic there, but that all changed when we came back. I stopped speaking Amharic completely. I stopped because there was no one I spoke the…

capital city of Ethiopia, I learned to speak, read and write the official language of Ethiopia called Amharic. Although, I took English as a second language, but I rarely had an encouragement for creative writing. Attaining how to read, speak and write was the ultimate goal. Lots of my writing experience at school was limited to the simplest form of writing. My birthplace and where I grew up considerably impacted my English writing literacy, but it embellished me with a unique frame of…

Recently, I found myself helping someone who only spoke Amharic apply for Medicaid. I don’t speak Amharic, and she didn’t speak English, but she was pregnant and she needed insurance. We made it work using hand signals, nods and a little laughter. This woman’s experience resonated with me because I too have experienced what it feels like to be an outsider and not be understood. After moving from Germany to America at age 7, I couldn’t fathom why kids thought I was strange and didn’t want to be…

There are a lot of ways to describe people like us. Sometimes, they describe us as “too African for the Westerners, but too Western for the Africans.” As an Ethiopian-Canadian-American attending university in the nation’s capital, one might think navigating my identity would be easy, considering that the DC area contains the highest Ethiopian population outside of East Africa. For me, it is anything but easy. Despite never being given the opportunity to visit Ethiopia, Amharic (Ethiopia’s…

The second persecution was from 1898 to 1935 in relation to evangelism work started at Boojjii Karkarroo (western Oromiya Region) in 1898. Rev. Gebre Ewostateos from the Orthodox Church learned Afan Oromo from Onesimos in Eritrea. Since he had been a priest of the Orthodox Church, he was conducting the worship service on Sundays and holidays at Bojjii St. Mary’s Orthodox Church. During the worship service, he served the Orthodox priests who came from Gojjam in Amharic language and the local…

was in the U.S. I had some trouble with English. After two years I moved back because I wasn't able to get used to the drastic change in lifestyle. Trying to form the first letter of what seemed to be the never ending notes on the board, it took a good five minutes to write the first sentence. That was when my Ethiopian science teacher was mad at me because I was a slow writer. He picked on me knowing that I was putting a lot of effort to adapt. My situation seemed understandable that it would…

Over 70 different languages are spoken in Ethiopia every day. Under the country’s constitution, all local languages have official state recognition in Ethiopia. The Semitic languages, such as Amharic, have their own unique script, and have over 200 characters that represent syllables rather than letters. Amharic is used as the language of communication and is also used by the government. English is taught in schools from secondary-school level and upwards. Christianity came to Ethiopia in the…

because of the horrific stories that were circulating about the brutality of the Belgians in Congo. Currently we have about 5 family members serving in the military. Two of them are high ranking officers in the air force and navy. Only few people have had a chance to attend college in my family. Most of my relatives graduated from high school and went on to work as plumbers, construction workers, bus drivers, or military personnel. I and two other relatives are the only ones who had a chance…

capture Addis Ababa, which means Col Mengistu must leave the country. Two years later, Eritrea becomes an independent once again. Most recently, in 1999-2000, Ethiopia and Eritrean began a boarder war (BBC). Major religions of Ethiopia include Christianity and Islam. A large percent of the population are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has been a leading part of the Ethiopian culture since the 4th Century. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church can be compared to the Roman Catholic…

Introduction Tesfaye* was born and raised in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When he was 26 he moved to the U.S. after winning the DV lottery visa program. He is now 35 years old and all his immediate family members live in Ethiopia. He is a college graduate and work as a department manager at a Home depot store. In addition, he is fluent in both Amharic and English languages. I know Tesfaye for about 7 years now and consider him to be one of my best friends. Similarly, my immediate…