Ethiopic SyllaBet

The Ethiopian SyllaBet is sometimes falsely called an "alphabet". However the Feedel' (syllables) or Syllablic Sounds and Tones are used to write Amharic, Tigrinya and other Ethiopian languages. It was originally adapted from the Ge'ez syllabet. The syllabet is made up of characters representing syllables (a consonant followed by a vowel) and single vowels. There are 33 basic characters, each of which has seven forms that correspond to each short vowel sound (see page 12). As with Roman script, the characters run from left to right across the page. Traditionally, punctuation has been used to signal the end of words, longer sentences, and paragraphs. There is now a move away from this, particularly with typeset work. As well as helping you to read public signs, notices, and displays, the Amharic script in this book will also help you to communicate. If you can't pronounce something, just point to the script.