Loading AI tools
Semitic language of eastern Ethiopia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harari is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken by the Harari people of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 Ethiopian census, it is spoken by 25,810 people. Harari is closely related to the Eastern Gurage languages, Zay, and Silt'e, all of whom are believed to be linked to the now extinct Semitic Harla language.[5][6] Locals or natives of Harar refer to their language as Gē Sinan or Gē Ritma 'language of the City' (Gē is the word for how Harari speakers refer to the city of Harar, whose name is an exonym).[7] According to Wolf Leslau, Sidamo is the substratum language of Harari and influenced the vocabulary greatly.[8] He identified unique Cushitic loanwords found only in Harari and deduced that it may have Cushitic roots.[9]
Harari was originally written with a version of the Arabic script, then the Ethiopic script was adopted to write the language. Some Harari speakers in diaspora write their language with the Latin alphabet.
Wolf Leslau discusses Harari–East Gurage phonology and grammar:[10] The noun has two numbers, singular and plural. The affix -ač changes singulars into plurals:
Nouns ending in a or i become plural without reduplicating this letter:
/s/ alternates with /z/:
Masculine nouns may be converted into feminines by three processes. The first changes the terminal vowel into -it, or adds -it to the terminal consonant:
Animals of different sexes have different names. and this forms the second process:
The third and the most common way of expressing sex is by means of aboch 'male or man' and inistí 'woman, female', corresponding to English "he-" and "she-":
English | Independent | Object pronoun suffixes | Possessive suffixes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct | Prepositional | ||||
Benefactive | Locative/adversative | ||||
I | ኣን an | ||||
you (m. sg.) | አኻኽ äkhakh | ||||
you (f. sg.) | አኻሽ akhâsh | ||||
you (polite/formal) | አኻኹ akhâkhu | ||||
he/him | አዝዞ äzzo | ||||
she/her | አዝዜ äzze | ||||
s/he (polite/formal) | አዝዚዩ äzziyu | ||||
we | ኢኛች ignâch | ||||
you (pl.) | አኻኻች akhâkhâch | ||||
they | አዝዚያች äzziyach | ||||
Number, Gender | Near | Far | |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Masculine | ዪ yi (i) | የእ yäǝ |
Feminine | ኢትተ ittä | የትተ yättä | |
Plural | ዪያች yiyâch | የኣች Ya’âch |
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
1 | Án | Innách or Inyách. |
2 | Akhákh | Akhákhách |
3 | Azo | (383)[clarification needed] Azziyách |
The affixed pronouns or possessives attached to nouns are:
Singular.
Plural.
In the same way attached pronouns are affixed to verbs:
The demonstrative pronouns are:
The interrogative pronouns are the following:
The following are the two auxiliary verbs:
Past | Present | Imperative | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affirmative | Negative | Affirmative | Negative | ||||
Person | (s) | 1 | Án narkhú. | Án alnárkhúm. | Án halkho. | Án elkhúm. | |
2 | Akhákh nárkhí. | Akhákh alnárkhím. | Akhákh halkhí. | Akhákh elkhím. | Hal. | ||
3 | Azo nárá. | Azo alnárum. | Azo hal (<A>[clarification needed]). | Azo elúm. | |||
(pl) | 1 | Inyách nárná. | Inyách alnárum. | Inyách halna. | Inyách elnám. | ||
2 | Akhákhách narkhú. | Akhákhách alnárkhúm. | Akhákhách halkhú. | Akhákhách elkhúm. | Halkhú. | ||
3 | Aziyách nárú. | Aziyách alnárúm. | Aziyách halú | Aziyásc elúm. |
Past tense
Present tense
Imperative
Prohibitive
Past tense
(Affirmative form)
(Negative form)
Present tense.
(Affirmative form)
(Negative form)
Harari was originally written in an unmodified and later modified Arabic Script.[11][12][13] The Ethiopic script was then adopted to write Harari.[11] There is a Latin version of the script used by the Harari diaspora.[12][14]
Romanization | IPA | Arabic Script Harari Letter |
---|---|---|
a / ' | ∅ / ʔ | ا |
b | b | ب |
p | p | پ |
t | t | ت |
ṫ | θ | ث |
j | dʒ | ج |
g | g | ݘ |
h | ħ | ح |
kh | x | خ |
d | d | د |
dh | ð | ذ |
r | r | ر |
z | z | ز |
zh | ʒ | ژ |
s | s | س |
sh | ʃ | ش |
ch | tʃ | ڛ |
ṡ | sˁ | ص |
ḋ | dˁ | ض |
t' | t’ | ط |
ż | zˁ | ظ |
c | tʃ’ | ڟ |
ȧ | ʕ | ع |
gh | ɣ | غ |
f | f | ف |
v | v | ڤ |
q | q | ق |
k | k | ك |
k' | k’ | ڬ |
l | l | ل |
m | m | م |
n | n | ن |
gn | ɲ | ڹ |
h | h | ه |
w | w | و |
y | j | ي |
Romanization | IPA | Vowel markings independent | Vowel combined with consonant ب (be) |
---|---|---|---|
a | /ˌæ/ | َ | بَ |
e | /ˌe/ | ٚ | بٚ |
i | /ˌɪ/ | ِ | بِ |
o | /o/ | ٛ | بٛ |
u | /u/ | ُ | بُ |
â | /aː/ | آ, َا | با |
ê | /eː/ | ٚي | بٚي |
î | /iː/ | ِي | بِي |
ô | /ˌoː/ | ٛو | بٛو |
û | /ˌuː/ | ُو | بُو |
ʼa | /ˈæ/ | َاٴْ | باٴْ |
ʼe | /ˈe/ | ٚيٴْ | بيٴْ |
ʼi | /ˈɪ/ | ِيٴْ | بيٴْ |
ʼo | /ˈo/ | ٛوٴْ | بوٴْ |
ʼu | /ˈʊ/ | ُوٴْ | بوٴْ |
ʼâ | /ˈaː/ | آءْ, َاءْ | باءْ |
ʼê | /ˈeː/ | ٚيءْ | بٚيءْ |
ʼî | /ˈiː/ | ِيءْ | بِيءْ |
ʼô | /ˈoː/ | ٛوءْ | بٛوءْ |
ʼû | /ˈuː/ | ُوءْ | بُوءْ |
Harari can be written in the unmodified Ethiopic script as most vowel differences can be disambiguated from context. The Harari adaptation of the Ethiopic script adds a long vowel version of the Ethiopic/Amharic vowels by adding a dot on top of the letter. In addition certain consonants are pronounced differently when compared to the Amharic pronunciation.
The table below shows the Harari alphasyllabary with the Romanized & IPA consonants along the rows and the Romanized vowel markings along the columns.
Romanization | IPA | a [æ] | â [aː] | u [ʊ] | û [uː] | i [ɪ] | î [iː] | e [e] | ê [eː] | o [o] | ô [oː] | ∅/ə [∅/ɨ] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
h | h | ሀ | ሃ | ሁ | ሁ፞ | ሂ | ሂ፞ | ሄ | ሄ፞ | ሆ | ሆ፞ | ህ |
l | l | ለ | ላ | ሉ | ሉ፞ | ሊ | ሊ፞ | ሌ | ሌ፞ | ሎ | ሎ፞ | ል |
ḣ | ħ | ሐ | ሓ | ሑ | ሑ፞ | ሒ | ሒ፞ | ሔ | ሔ፞ | ሖ | ሖ፞ | ሕ |
m | m | መ | ማ | ሙ | ሙ፞ | ሚ | ሚ፞ | ሜ | ሜ፞ | ሞ | ሞ፞ | ም |
ṫ | θ | ሠ | ሣ | ሡ | ሡ፞ | ሢ | ሢ፞ | ሤ | ሤ፞ | ሦ | ሦ፞ | ሥ |
r | r | ረ | ራ | ሩ | ሩ፞ | ሪ | ሪ፞ | ሬ | ሬ፞ | ሮ | ሮ፞ | ር |
s | s | ሰ | ሳ | ሱ | ሱ፞ | ሲ | ሲ፞ | ሴ | ሴ፞ | ሶ | ሶ፞ | ስ |
sh | ʃ | ሸ | ሻ | ሹ | ሹ፞ | ሺ | ሺ፞ | ሼ | ሼ፞ | ሾ | ሾ፞ | ሽ |
q | q | ቀ | ቃ | ቁ | ቁ፞ | ቂ | ቂ፞ | ቄ | ቄ፞ | ቆ | ቆ፞ | ቅ |
b | b | በ | ባ | ቡ | ቡ፞ | ቢ | ቢ፞ | ቤ | ቤ፞ | ቦ | ቦ፞ | ብ |
v | v | ቨ | ቫ | ቩ | ቩ፞ | ቪ | ቪ፞ | ቬ | ቬ፞ | ቮ | ቮ፞ | ቭ |
t | t | ተ | ታ | ቱ | ቱ፞ | ቲ | ቲ፞ | ቴ | ቴ፞ | ቶ | ቶ፞ | ት |
ch | tʃ | ቸ | ቻ | ቹ | ቹ፞ | ቺ | ቺ፞ | ቼ | ቼ፞ | ቾ | ቾ፞ | ች |
gh | ɣ | ኀ | ኃ | ኁ | ኁ፞ | ኂ | ኂ፞ | ኄ | ኄ፞ | ኆ | ኆ፞ | ኅ |
n | n | ነ | ና | ኑ | ኑ፞ | ኒ | ኒ፞ | ኔ | ኔ፞ | ኖ | ኖ፞ | ን |
gn | ɲ | ኘ | ኛ | ኙ | ኙ፞ | ኚ | ኚ፞ | ኜ | ኜ፞ | ኞ | ኞ፞ | ኝ |
'/a | ∅ / ʔ | አ | ኣ | ኡ | ኡ፞ | ኢ | ኢ፞ | ኤ | ኤ፞ | ኦ | ኦ፞ | እ |
k | k | ከ | ካ | ኩ | ኩ፞ | ኪ | ኪ፞ | ኬ | ኬ፞ | ኮ | ኮ፞ | ክ |
kh | x | ኸ | ኻ | ኹ | ኹ፞ | ኺ | ኺ፞ | ኼ | ኼ፞ | ኾ | ኾ፞ | ኽ |
w | w | ወ | ዋ | ዉ | ዉ፞ | ዊ | ዊ፞ | ዌ | ዌ፞ | ዎ | ዎ፞ | ው |
ȧ | ʕ | ዐ | ዓ | ዑ | ዑ፞ | ዒ | ዒ፞ | ዔ | ዔ፞ | ዖ | ዖ፞ | ዕ |
z | z | ዘ | ዛ | ዙ | ዙ፞ | ዚ | ዚ፞ | ዜ | ዜ፞ | ዞ | ዞ፞ | ዝ |
zh | ʒ | ዠ | ዣ | ዡ | ዡ፞ | ዢ | ዢ፞ | ዤ | ዤ፞ | ዦ | ዦ፞ | ዥ |
y | j | የ | ያ | ዩ | ዩ፞ | ዪ | ዪ፞ | ዬ | ዬ፞ | ዮ | ዮ፞ | ይ |
d | d | ደ | ዳ | ዱ | ዱ፞ | ዲ | ዲ፞ | ዴ | ዴ፞ | ዶ | ዶ፞ | ድ |
k' | k’ | ዸ | ዻ | ዹ | ዹ፞ | ዺ | ዺ፞ | ዼ | ዼ፞ | ዾ | ዾ፞ | ዽ |
j | dʒ | ጀ | ጃ | ጁ | ጁ፞ | ጂ | ጂ፞ | ጄ | ጄ፞ | ጆ | ጆ፞ | ጅ |
g | g | ገ | ጋ | ጉ | ጉ፞ | ጊ | ጊ፞ | ጌ | ጌ፞ | ጎ | ጎ፞ | ግ |
t' | t’ | ጠ | ጣ | ጡ | ጡ፞ | ጢ | ጢ፞ | ጤ | ጤ፞ | ጦ | ጦ፞ | ጥ |
c | tʃ’ | ጨ | ጫ | ጩ | ጩ፞ | ጪ | ጪ፞ | ጬ | ጬ፞ | ጮ | ጮ፞ | ጭ |
ḋ | dˁ | ጰ | ጳ | ጱ | ጱ፞ | ጲ | ጲ፞ | ጴ | ጴ፞ | ጶ | ጶ፞ | ጵ |
ṡ | sˁ | ጸ | ጻ | ጹ | ጹ፞ | ጺ | ጺ፞ | ጼ | ጼ፞ | ጾ | ጾ፞ | ጽ |
dh | ð | ፀ | ፃ | ፁ | ፁ፞ | ፂ | ፂ፞ | ፄ | ፄ፞ | ፆ | ፆ፞ | ፅ |
f | f | ፈ | ፋ | ፉ | ፉ፞ | ፊ | ፊ፞ | ፌ | ፌ፞ | ፎ | ፎ፞ | ፍ |
p | p | ፐ | ፓ | ፑ | ፑ፞ | ፒ | ፒ፞ | ፔ | ፔ፞ | ፖ | ፖ፞ | ፕ |
ż | zˁ | ⶰ | ⶳ | ⶱ | ⶱ፞ | ⶲ | ⶲ፞ | ⶴ | ⶴ፞ | ⶶ | ⶶ፞ | ⶵ |
Romanization | IPA | a [æ] | â [aː] | u [ʊ] | û [uː] | i [ɪ] | î [iː] | e [e] | ê [eː] | o [o] | ô [oː] | ∅/ə [∅/ɨ] |
Latin Harari script capital letter | Latin Harari script small letter | International phonetic alphabet |
---|---|---|
A | a | æ |
 | â | aː |
Ȧ | ȧ | ʕ |
B | b | b |
C | c | tʃ’ |
Ch | ch | tʃ |
D | d | d |
Dh | dh | ð |
Ḋ | ḋ | dˁ |
E | e | e |
Ê | ê | eː |
F | f | f |
G | g | g |
Gh | gh | ɣ |
Gn | gn | ɲ |
H | h | h |
Ḣ | ḣ | ħ |
I | i | ɪ |
Î | î | iː |
J | j | dʒ |
K | k | k |
Kh | kh | x |
L | l | l |
M | m | m |
N | n | n |
O | o | o |
Ô | ô | oː |
P | p | p |
Q | q | q |
R | r | r |
S | s | s |
Sh | sh | ʃ |
Ṡ | ṡ | sˁ |
T | t | t |
Ṫ | ṫ | θ |
U | u | ʊ |
Û | û | uː |
V | v | v |
W | w | w |
X | x | x |
Xh | xh | k’ |
Y | y | j |
Z | z | z |
Zh | zh | ʒ |
Ż | ż | zˁ |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.