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Brief history of #Amharic
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(I kinda did this during my sophomore year for a Linguistics paper so...... “just trust me bro”
)
#Ethiopia
Thread
(I kinda did this during my sophomore year for a Linguistics paper so...... “just trust me bro”
)#Ethiopia
During the #Axumite Kingdom, the official language was Ge’ez, an ancient Ethio-Semitic language. Despite reaching vast areas (upto Yemen) during its heyday, Axum proper was considered to range from Northern #Eritrea in the north to #Shewa in the south
In the 10th century, #Axum was destroyed and replaced by the Cushitic-speaking #Zagwe kingdom, led by #Agaws. Ge’ez speakers were separated north and south with the Agaws taking up the territory in between. Worth noting that Agaw is called “Bilen” in #Eritrea.
As #Agaw language grew it started influencing Ge’ez north and south. Finally under pressure, the northern Ge’ez became #Tigrinya while the southern became #Amharic. Another language, #Tigre, was formed in the far north. Btw the Zagwe is known for the famous #Lalibela churches.
In 1270, the Zagwe kingdom was defeated and #Amharic speakers replaced it; they made Amharic and Ge’ez the major languages of the empire. Worth noting is that Amharic did not have considerable #Cushitic influence during this time...it was more like Ge’ez with just a little tweak
Following 16th century, #Amharic was adopted as a second/trade language by various Cushitic-speaking groups in southern 
, & in order to accommodate them, modifications were made, such as loss of glottal sounds (still found in Tigrinya today) and switch from VSO grammar to SOV.
, & in order to accommodate them, modifications were made, such as loss of glottal sounds (still found in Tigrinya today) and switch from VSO grammar to SOV.
In 1855, #Tewodros reunited the #Ethiopia under his realm but he never aggressively spread #Amharic. Instead it was #Yohannes IV who de facto declared Amharic as the official language of Ethiopia, despite Tigrinya being his native tongue. He believed that the language was
crucial in uniting the country. Even in the then-capital #Mekele, #Amharic was made the official language for courts; Yohannes also wrote his letters to foreign powers in Amharic. Unlike most other languages, Amharic wasn’t divided based on dialect; it was arguably the single
largest language in the Horn. During Menelik II, as technology poured in and literacy improved, Amharic became even more dominant. Haile Selassie believed the only way #Ethiopian|s could be on equal terms was by using one language, and thus made #Amharic the language of schooling
across the country. #Derg was dominated by non-Amharas but continued the tradition of using Amharic. In 1995, #EPRDF replaced Amharic with regional languages @ regional level but maintained Amharic as the central working language. Today, #Amharic is a topic of political debate;
Some see it as a language that has unfairly “dominated” their own, while others argue that it’s medieval spread, writing system and lack of unnecessary dialects made it crucial to unite the country. It’s closely related to other #Ethio-semitic languages, especially #Argobba.
There are many hypotheses on the origin of Amharic but research has shown that this is prolly the most plausible 
I actually have 16th century Amharic poems somewhere; I’ll make sure to post when I find em.
I actually have 16th century Amharic poems somewhere; I’ll make sure to post when I find em.
Like I mentioned, the history of #Ethiopa|n languages is still debated among linguists. But it seems this theory is generally more accepted. One reference is the book below...but I highly suggest looking into many references as all present their own theories and evidences
