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ግዕዝ
(Ethiopic)
The
Ethiopic Alphabet
By Dr. Aberra Molla (በዶ/ር
ኣበራ ሞላ)
Ethiopia
has its own ancient
alphabet. According to the beliefs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,
Ethiopic or Geez is one of the ancient alphabets and languages. The
first human to use the alphabet is believed to be Henoch of the Old
Testament. Henoch supposedly wrote the Book of Henoch in Ethiopic around
c. 3350 BC. In the
Ethiopian Orthodox view, the
Book of Enoch
(መጽሓፈ ሄኖክ) was written in Ethiopic by
Enoch, considered
the oldest book in any human language. The original forms of the letters
themselves were said to have been invented by the even earlier ancestral
figure,
Henos.
History
Ethiopic is an ebugida meaning that
each symbol represents a consonant and vowel combination. The symbols
are organized into classes and orders of similar symbols, which are
associated with similar sounds. The symbols are organized on the basis
of both the consonant and the vowel. Ethiopic is written left to right
across the page. These Ethiopic characters have evolved over time from
more ancient forms.
There is archeological evidence that
the proto-Geez alphabet existed before the 9th century BC
especially during the
D`mt (ደኣማት) Kingdom in Northern Ethiopia. The ancient
character set existed as the Heleheme series having only a first order.
The first and last syllographs of Geez, He
(ሀ)
to Pe (ፐ)
are relatively the
same in Ancient Egypt as the first and last main Hieroglyphs. The order
of the Geez system has remained the same for roughly 3000 years. Some
believe that the first character set was an ebugida. Others even claim
that the classic Ethiopic with its seven vowel expansions was in
existence before 3000 BC. Still others claim that Ethiopic is a Sabean
alphabet. It is thought by some that it was during the Axumite Kingdom
of around 340 AD that the alphabet gained the vowel forms and started to
be written from left to right. Each character has its own numeric value.

(From:
The Comparative Origin and Usage of the Ge’ez writing
system of Ethiopia, 2001)
Languages
Translation of Bible books into
Ethiopic, the ancient Semitic language, contributed to the development
of the syllabic alphabet. Gradually, the Geez language started to lose
its prominence and now remains primarily as a liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. Around the 13th century AD, Amharic became the
dominant language. As a result, more characters were added to Geez
primarily through the influence of the Hamitic languages. In the 1800's
the Bible was translated to Amharic and later to Tigrigna and Oromo
languages. Since then Ethiopic has added more characters as more
languages began using it.
Ethiopic, an
abjad
abugida
syllabary, has been in use by numerous
Ethiopian languages such as
Agew,
Amharic,
Bilen,
Geez,
Harari,
Me'en,
Sebat Bet Gurage,
Silte,
Tigre and
Tigrigna. The Bible, complete or in part,
has also been published in Ethiopic in most of
the above languages and others such as
Gedeo,
Hadiya,
Kembata,
Oromo,
Sidamo and
Welayta languages since 1513.
Character Sets
The Ethiopic character set has numerous subsets
with their own character sets.
Syllables
Syllables have their own names.
Symbols
Numerals
The digits have their own names.
Notation
Pronunciation
Ethiopic is a syllabic alphabet and
each character represents a separate sound. However, there are a few
characters that represent the same series of sound.
The characters are related
in three dimensions.
I. The first order characters have
simple or the basic character shapes.
II. The other order characters have dashes, circles, etc.
additions in almost a uniform pattern for
orders.
III. The pattern of the sound of the
characters is the same within an order.
ሀ
He - as in hurt
ሁ
Hu - as in hood
ሂ
Hi - as in hit
ሃ
Ha - as in hat
ሄ
Hie - as in hen
ህ
H - the "h" sound as in dahlia
ሆ
Ho - as in hot
ሇ
Hwo - as in whole

Some Ethiopic users have drifted from
these basic dimensions and problems have crept in to the usage of two
groups of first order characters. Characters involved in this error
are "ሀ", "ሐ", "ኀ", "አ" and "ዐ" as these glyphs erroneously share
the sound with their respective fourth order form varieties. Ethiopic
characters do not share sound across orders and thus "ሀ" and "ሃ" as well
as "አ" and "ኣ" do not share the same sound. The true sound of the Geez
"አ" is "ea" as in "earth". It is most likely confusion with the
wrong usage of "ሀ" as "ha" (instead of "HE") that forced Unicode to refer to "ሃ" as "HAA" to
differentiate it from "ሃ" or "HA". Another example is the
wrong spelling of
"Abeba" as "Ababa" probably on the assumption that "በ" should be spelt
as "ba" if the spelling of "ሀ" is "ha". The right spelling of
"Addis Abeba" is "ኣዲስ ኣበባ" in Amharic and "Addis Abeba" in English. This
is also the way I knew it in my geography lessons.. This misspelling has also metastasized and
an instance is "Asmera" spelt as "Asmara". In the near future
Ethiopic will take advantage of speech and character recognition. This
is thus the time to tackle the misunderstanding and rectify the Amharic
and English errors.

The Ethiopic Glyphs:
The glyphs are very close to the
Latin alphabet in shape and size. The set consists of syllables,
numerals, symbols and notation marks. There are typefaces, but no
capitalization.
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|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
|
1200 |
ሀ |
ሁ |
ሂ |
ሃ |
ሄ |
ህ |
ሆ |
ሇ |
ለ |
ሉ |
ሊ |
ላ |
ሌ |
ል |
ሎ |
ሏ |
|
1210 |
ሐ |
ሑ |
ሒ |
ሓ |
ሔ |
ሕ |
ሖ |
ሗ |
መ |
ሙ |
ሚ |
ማ |
ሜ |
ም |
ሞ |
ሟ |
|
1220 |
ሠ |
ሡ |
ሢ |
ሣ |
ሤ |
ሥ |
ሦ |
ሧ |
ረ |
ሩ |
ሪ |
ራ |
ሬ |
ር |
ሮ |
ሯ |
|
1230 |
ሰ |
ሱ |
ሲ |
ሳ |
ሴ |
ስ |
ሶ |
ሷ |
ሸ |
ሹ |
ሺ |
ሻ |
ሼ |
ሽ |
ሾ |
ሿ |
|
1240 |
ቀ |
ቁ |
ቂ |
ቃ |
ቄ |
ቅ |
ቆ |
ቇ |
ቈ |
|
ቍ |
ቋ |
ቌ |
ቊ |
|
|
|
1250 |
ቐ |
ቑ |
ቒ |
ቓ |
ቔ |
ቕ |
ቖ |
|
ቘ |
|
ቝ |
ቛ |
ቜ |
ቚ |
|
|
|
1260 |
በ |
ቡ |
ቢ |
ባ |
ቤ |
ብ |
ቦ |
ቧ |
ቨ |
ቩ |
ቪ |
ቫ |
ቬ |
ቭ |
ቮ |
ቯ |
|
1270 |
ተ |
ቱ |
ቲ |
ታ |
ቴ |
ት |
ቶ |
ቷ |
ቸ |
ቹ |
ቺ |
ቻ |
ቼ |
ች |
ቾ |
ቿ |
|
1280 |
ኀ |
ኁ |
ኂ |
ኃ |
ኄ |
ኅ |
ኆ |
ኇ |
ኈ |
|
ኊ |
ኋ |
ኌ |
ኍ |
|
|
|
1290 |
ነ |
ኑ |
ኒ |
ና |
ኔ |
ን |
ኖ |
ኗ |
ኘ |
ኙ |
ኚ |
ኛ |
ኜ |
ኝ |
ኞ |
ኟ |
|
12A0 |
አ |
ኡ |
ኢ |
ኣ |
ኤ |
እ |
ኦ |
ኧ |
ከ |
ኩ |
ኪ |
ካ |
ኬ |
ክ |
ኮ |
ኯ |
|
12B0 |
ኰ |
|
ኲ |
ኳ |
ኴ |
ኵ |
|
|
ኸ |
ኹ |
ኺ |
ኻ |
ኼ |
ኽ |
ኾ |
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|
12C0 |
ዀ |
|
ዂ |
ዃ |
ዄ |
ዅ |
|
|
ወ |
ዉ |
ዊ |
ዋ |
ዌ |
ው |
ዎ |
|
|
12D0 |
ዐ |
ዑ |
ዒ |
ዓ |
ዔ |
ዕ |
ዖ |
|
ዘ |
ዙ |
ዚ |
ዛ |
ዜ |
ዝ |
ዞ |
ዟ |
|
12E0 |
ዠ |
ዡ |
ዢ |
ዣ |
ዤ |
ዥ |
ዦ |
ዧ |
የ |
ዩ |
ዪ |
ያ |
ዬ |
ይ |
ዮ |
ዯ |
|
12F0 |
ደ |
ዱ |
ዲ |
ዳ |
ዴ |
ድ |
ዶ |
ዷ |
ዸ |
ዹ |
ዺ |
ዻ |
ዼ |
ዽ |
ዾ |
ዿ |
|
1300 |
ጀ |
ጁ |
ጂ |
ጃ |
ጄ |
ጅ |
ጆ |
ጇ |
ገ |
ጉ |
ጊ |
ጋ |
ጌ |
ግ |
ጎ |
ጏ |
|
1310 |
ጐ |
|
ጒ |
ጓ |
ጔ |
ጕ |
|
|
ጘ |
ጙ |
ጚ |
ጛ |
ጜ |
ጝ |
ጞ |
ጟ |
|
1320 |
ጠ |
ጡ |
ጢ |
ጣ |
ጤ |
ጥ |
ጦ |
ጧ |
ጨ |
ጩ |
ጪ |
ጫ |
ጬ |
ጭ |
ጮ |
ጯ |
|
1330 |
ጰ |
ጱ |
ጲ |
ጳ |
ጴ |
ጵ |
ጶ |
ጷ |
ጸ |
ጹ |
ጺ |
ጻ |
ጼ |
ጽ |
ጾ |
ጿ |
|
1340 |
ፀ |
ፁ |
ፂ |
ፃ |
ፄ |
ፅ |
ፆ |
ፇ |
ፈ |
ፉ |
ፊ |
ፋ |
ፌ |
ፍ |
ፎ |
ፏ |
|
1350 |
ፐ |
ፑ |
ፒ |
ፓ |
ፔ |
ፕ |
ፖ |
ፗ |
ፙ |
ፘ |
ፚ |
፟ |
|
|
|
|
|
1360 |
፠ |
፡ |
። |
፣ |
፤ |
፥ |
፦ |
፧ |
፨ |
፩ |
፪ |
፫ |
፬ |
፭ |
፮ |
፯ |
|
1370 |
፰ |
፱ |
፲ |
፳ |
፴ |
፵ |
፶ |
፷ |
፸ |
፹ |
፺ |
፻ |
፼ |
|
|
|
|
1380 |
ᎀ |
ᎁ |
ᎂ |
ᎃ |
ᎄ |
ᎅ |
ᎆ |
ᎇ |
ᎈ |
ᎉ |
ᎊ |
ᎋ |
ᎌ |
ᎍ |
ᎎ |
ᎏ |
|
1390 |
᎐ |
᎑ |
᎒ |
᎓ |
᎔ |
᎕ |
᎖ |
᎗ |
᎘ |
᎙ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2D80 |
ⶀ |
ⶁ |
ⶂ |
ⶃ |
ⶄ |
ⶅ |
ⶆ |
ⶇ |
ⶈ |
ⶉ |
ⶊ |
ⶋ |
ⶌ |
ⶍ |
ⶎ |
ⶏ |
|
2D90 |
ⶐ |
ⶑ |
ⶒ |
ⶓ |
ⶔ |
ⶕ |
ⶖ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2DA0 |
ⶠ |
ⶡ |
ⶢ |
ⶣ |
ⶤ |
ⶥ |
ⶦ |
|
ⶨ |
ⶩ |
ⶪ |
ⶫ |
ⶬ |
ⶭ |
ⶮ |
|
|
2DB0 |
ⶰ |
ⶱ |
ⶲ |
ⶳ |
ⶴ |
ⶵ |
ⶶ |
|
ⶸ |
ⶹ |
ⶺ |
ⶻ |
ⶼ |
ⶽ |
ⶾ |
|
|
2DC0 |
ⷀ |
ⷁ |
ⷂ |
ⷃ |
ⷄ |
ⷅ |
ⷆ |
|
ⷈ |
ⷉ |
ⷊ |
ⷋ |
ⷌ |
ⷍ |
ⷎ |
|
|
2DD0 |
ⷐ |
ⷑ |
ⷒ |
ⷓ |
ⷔ |
ⷕ |
ⷖ |
|
ⷘ |
ⷙ |
ⷚ |
ⷛ |
ⷜ |
ⷝ |
ⷞ |
|
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The Ethiopic Character Set, 2002
ግዕዝ
ethiopic.com ኣበራ ሞላ 8/30/08 |

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The Sorting Order
The Ethiopic Printing Press
The introduction of the printing
press around 1900 encouraged the proliferation of books. Books and
newspapers were printed using type-setting technology. Type-setting
provided a fairly faithful reproduction of the Ethiopic characters,
which prior to the introduction of the printing press, were written by
hand. Type-setting is similar to utilizing the a, b, c...characters
except for the use of the ሀ, ሁ, ሂ... characters.
Ethiopic Computerization
With the advent of computer
technology, it became possible to efficiently produce printed documents
having Ethiopic characters without the use of the a printing press.
Dr, Aberra Molla developed a method
of rendering a greater variety of Ethiopic characters in the 80's. A single Ethiopic
or Geez set was distributed on character sets equivalent to more than
eight English character sets. Dr. Molla's method included using
the function keys to alter the font in which a default character is
rendered. The different fonts indicated, by convention, that different
character orders were specified. Two new layouts were presented to go along
with his novel use of the computer. One was close to the Amharic typewriter
layout while the characters were Ethiopic. The other was somewhat similar to the Ethiopic character sound of the
English keyboard characters. The first Ethiopic publisher for DOS with
which Ethiopic was computerized was released in 1987 as
ModEth. In 1993
the concept was moved to
EthioWord, an add-on to Microsoft Word for
Windows.
The Amharic character set has some redundant series with
similar sound. These redundant characters were assigned to the symbol keys until
they were recently moved to the vowel keys. Each
of the more than 564 glyphs are typed with no more than two keystrokes.
The set includes the Latin symbols of the keyboard and novel glyphs.
The Amharic Typewriter
Unicode
Novel Glyphs

The Ethiopic
Keyboard
Ethiopic
has 47 primary characters. It looks like the 47 keys of the
computer were custom-made for Ethiopic a few decades ago. An
example is shown below.
Ethiopic Typing
An
example is available at:
http://freetyping.geezedit.com
Ethiopic Search
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References
Gabriella F. Scelta,
The Comparative Origin and Usage of the Ge’ez writing system of Ethiopia
(2001)
Computer Writing and Printing Using Ethiopian and Universal
Alphabets, 1990
Dr. Aberra Molla
http://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/wg2/docs/n1846.pdf
Renne, P.J. (2004)
Ancient Numerals and Mathematics
Under
construction
1/7/08
9/2/09
2/3/10
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