The second most populous country of the "black" continent, Ethiopia is distinguished by significant ethno-cultural diversity. More than 90 million people live on its territory, representing over a hundred ethnic groups and nationalities. It is not surprising that there are also a great many dialects and dialects in the republic, but there is only one state language in Ethiopia - Amharic.
Some statistics and facts
- 89 languages and dialects are spoken on the territory of Ethiopia.
- Despite the status of the state language, Amharic is not the most common in Ethiopia. It is spoken only by about 25 million people, or 29% of all residents of the republic.
- The most common in the country are those who speak the Oromo language. Its speakers make up more than a third of all Ethiopian citizens.
- And in recent years, Amharic has ceased to be the language of primary school education in many territories of the republic. It was replaced by the same Oromo or another popular one - tigrinya. The mother tongue education system is an important achievement for a young democracy in Ethiopia.
From the store of antiquities
Ethiopians use Ge'ez or Ethiopian writing for writing. Interestingly, it is used as the primary spelling for several languages in the country. For the first time, Ethiopian writing appeared in the 5th century to record the Ge'ez language, which was widespread in the Aksun kingdom.
Today, Ethiopian writing is also the language of the liturgy of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of Ethiopia.
The beginnings of literature in Amharic began as early as the 14th century, when Ethiopians began to record war songs and keep historical records.
The exotic name of the Tigrinya language is consonant with the name of the province of Ethiopia, where the largest number of its speakers in the country live. In the province of Tigray, at least 7 million people speak Tigrinya. Another two million live in the neighboring state of Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
Note for tourists
The main and most widely spoken foreign language in Ethiopia is English. It is used for teaching in secondary schools and higher educational institutions of the country. In tourist places, menus in restaurants, maps, traffic patterns and even road signs are necessarily translated into English. In museums and attractions, it is better to use the services of an English-speaking guide.
