Harari language
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. Most of its speakers are multilingual in Amharic and/or Eastern Oromo. Harari is closely related to the Eastern Gurage languages, Zay, and Silt'e, all of whom are linked to the now extinct Semitic Harla language.[3][4] Locals or natives of Harar refer to it as Gēy Ritma or Gēy Sinan "language of the City" (Gēy is the word for how Harari speakers refer to Harar, whose name is an exonym).[5]
Harari | |
---|---|
Native to | Ethiopia |
Region | Harari Region |
Native speakers | 25,810 (2007 census)[1] |
Harari alphabet (Ge'ez script) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | har |
Glottolog | hara1271 [2] |
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.
Vowels
/æ, a, e, ai, ɪ, i/
Grammar
Nouns
Number
Wolf Leslau discusses Harari–East Gurage phonology and grammar:[6] The noun has two numbers, Singular and Plural. The affix -ač changes singulars into plurals:
- abōč, a man; abōčač, men.
- wandaq, a servant; wandaqač, servants.
- gar, a house; garač, houses.
Nouns ending in a or i become plural without reduplicating this letter:
- gafa, a slave; gafač, slaves.
- gubna, a harlot; gubnač, harlots.
- liğği, a son; liğğač, sons.
- mäqbärti, a grave; mäqbärtač, graves.
/s/ alternates with /z/:
- färäz, a horse; färäzač, horses.
- iraaz, toga; iraazač, togas.
Gender
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:
- rágá, an old man; rágít, an old woman.
- buchí, male dog; buchít, female dog
- wasíf, a slave boy; wasífít, a slave girl.
Animals of different sexes have different names. and this forms the second process:
- bárá, an ox; lám, a cow.
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-":
- aboch faraz, a stallion; inistí faraz, a mare.
- aboch č̣abar a he mule; inistí č̣abar, a she mule.
Pronouns
English | Independent | Object pronoun suffixes | Possessive suffixes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct | Prepositional | ||||
Benefactive | Locative/Adversative | ||||
I | አን än | ||||
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) | ያእ yaǝ |
Feminine | ሒየ hiyya, ኢትታ itta | የታ yetta | |
Plural | ዪያች yiyâch | ያኣች Ya’âch |
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
1 | Án | Innách or Inyách. |
2 | Akhákh | Akhákhách |
3 | Azo | (383) Azziyách |
The affixed pronouns or possessives attached to nouns are:--
Singular.
- 1st Pers. - e, my or mine. : Gár-e, my house.
- 2nd Pers. - khá, thy or thine. Gár-khá, thy house.
- 3rd Pers. - zo, or - so, his. Gár-zo, his house.
Plural.
- 1st Pers. - zinya or sinya, our. : Gár-zinya, our house.
- 2nd Pers. - kho, your. Gár-kho, your house.
- 3rd Pers. - ziyu or siyu, their. Gár-ziyu, their house. (384)
In the same way attached pronouns are affixed to verbs:
- Sit-ayn: give (thou to) me.
- Sit-ana: give (thou to) us.
The demonstrative pronouns are:
- Sing. Yí, this.
- Yá', that.
- Plur. Yíách, these.
- Yá'ách, those.
The interrogative pronouns are the following:
- Mántá: who?
- Mintá: what?
- Án atti'e hárkho: I myself went.
- Akhákh attikha hárkhí: thou thyself wentest.
- Azo attiizo hára: he himself went.
Verbs
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>). | 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.
- Sing. 1. I became: Án ikaní náarkho.
- 2. Thou becamest: Akhákh tikání nárkhí.
- 3. He became: Azo ikáni nárá.
- Plur. 1. We became: Innách nikání nárná.
- 2. Ye became: Akhákhách tikání nárkhú.
- 3. They became: Aziyách ikání nárú.
Present Tense.
- Sing. 1. I become: Án ikánákh.
- 2. Thou becomest: Akhákh tikánákh.
- 3. He becomes: Azo ikánál.
- Plur. 1. We become: Inyách nikánáná.
- 2. Ye become: Akhákhách tikánákhu.
- 3. They become: Aziyách yikánálú.
Imperative.
- Become thou, "Kanni". Become ye, "Kánnú".
Prohibitive.
- Sing. 2. Become not, ikánnumekh.
- Plur. 2. Become not ye, tikánnumekhu.
Past Tense.
(Affirmative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I went, Án letkho.
- 2. Thous wentest, Akhákh letkhí.
- 3. He went, Azo leta.
- Plur. 1. We went, Inyách letna.
- 2. Ye went, Akhákhách letkhú.
- 3. They went, Aziyách letú.
(Negative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I went not, Án alletkhúm.
- 2. Thou wentest not, Akbákh alletkhím.
- 3. He went not, Azo alletám.
- Plur. 1. We went not, Inyách aletnám.
- 2. Ye went not, Akhákách alletkhúm.
- 3. They went not, Azziyách alletúm.
Present Tense.
(Affirmative Form.)
- 1. I go, Án iletákh 1. Inyásh niletáná.
- 2. Thou goest, Akhákh tiletínakh 2. Akhákhách tiletákhú.
- 3. He goes, Azo yiletál 3. Azziyách yiletálú.
(Negative Form.)
- Sing. 1. I go not, Án iletumekh.
- 2. Thou goest not, Akhákh tiletumekh.
- 3. He goes not, Azo yiletumel.
- Plur. 1. We go not, Inyách niletumena.
- 2. Ye go not, Akhákhach tiletumekhú.
- 3. They go not, Azziyách iletuelú.
- Sing. 1. I will go, Án iletle halkho.
- 2. Thou wilt go, Akháhk tiletle halkhí.
- 3. He will go, Azo iletle hal.
- Plur. 1. We will go, Inyách niletle halns.
- 2. Ye will go, Akhákhách tiletle halkhú.
- 3. They will go, Azziyách niletle halns.
Numerals
- 1. Ahad
- 2. Ko'ot
- 3. Shi'ishti
- 4. Haret
- 5. Ham'misti
- 6. Siddisti
- 7. Sa'ati
- 8. Su'ut
- 9. Zahtegn
- 10. Asir
- 11. Asra ahad
- 12. Asra ko'ot
- 13. Asra shi'ishti
- 14. Asra haret
- 15. Asra ham'misti
- 16. Asra siddisti
- 17. Asra sa'ati
- 18. Asra su'ut
- 19. Asra zahtegn
- 20. Kuya
- 30. Saasa
- 40. Arbîn
- 50. Hamsein
- 60. Sit'tin
- 70. Sa'ati asir
- 80. Su'ut asir
- 90. Zahtana
- 100. Baqla
- 1,000. Kum
References
- Ethiopia 2007 Census, p. 115
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Harari". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- Gebissa, Eziekel (2004). Leaf of Allah. Ohio State University. p. 36. ISBN 9780852554807. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- Braukhamper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. LITverlag. p. 18. ISBN 9783825856717. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- Leslau 1959, p. 276.
- Leslau, Wolf (1999). Zway Ethiopic Documents: Grammar and Dictionary. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-04162-1.
Works cited
- Abdurahman Garad and Ewald Wagner. 1998. Harari-Studien : Texte mit Übersetzung, grammatischen Skizzen und Glossar. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03937-X.
- Cerulli, Enrico. “La lingua e la storia di Harar” in Studi Etiopici, vol. I, 1936 (Roma).
- Gardner, Simon and Ralph Siebert. 2001. "Sociolinguistic survey report of the Zay language area." SIL Electronic Survey Reports, 2002-024. PDF
- Cohen, Marcel. 1931. Etudes d'éthiopien méridional. Paris. pp. 243–354.
- Leslau, Wolf (1937). "Contributions a l'etude du harari (Abyssinie meridionale)". Journal Asiatique. 229.
- Leslau, Wolf. 1958. The verb in Harari : (South Ethiopic). Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Leslau, Wolf (1965). Ethiopians speak: studies in cultural background. University of California Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Leslau, Wolf (1959). "An Analysis of the Harari Vocabulary". Annales d'Ethiopie. 3 (1): 275–298. doi:10.3406/ethio.1959.1310.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Mondon-Vidailhet, François Marie Casimir. 1902. La langue Harari et les dialectes Ethiopies du Gouraghe. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
- Wagner, Ewald. 1983. Harari-Texte in arabischer Schrift : mit Übersetzung und Kommentar. Wiesbaden: F. Steiner.