For autodidact students of Geʽez, the first thing to know about "the" is that Geʽez has no definite article. There is no word for "the", and no ending for it either. A bare noun can be "a king" or "the king", and the reader decides from the context: ንጉሥ (nəguś) is "king", "a king" or "the king".
Geʽez has, however, three tools that do the work of "the" when it matters, and this lesson teaches all three. The first is the headword.
ውእቱ (wəʾətu), "he, it; that". ውእቱ is the pronoun "he". Placed before a noun, it points back to something already mentioned, like English "that" or "the said": ውእቱ ብእሲ (wəʾətu bəʾsi), "that man, the man (we have been speaking of)". This is the nearest thing Geʽez has to an article, and it is the commonest way to say "the" in a story. It agrees with the noun:
- ውእቱ (wəʾətu): masculine singular — ውእቱ ንጉሥ, the king - ይእቲ (yəʾəti): feminine singular — ይእቲ ብእሲት, the woman - ውእቶሙ (wəʾətomu): masculine plural — ውእቶሙ ካህናት, the priests - ውእቶን (wəʾəton): feminine plural
ውእቱ is also "is". Placed after the predicate, the same pronoun joins a subject to what it is: ንጉሥ ውእቱ (nəguś wəʾətu), "he is king". A sentence can therefore hold ውእቱ twice, once as "the" and once as "is": ውእቱ ቤት ዐቢይ ውእቱ, "the house is great" (1.4). Its position tells you which it is.
The second tool: the anticipating suffix with ለ- (la-). When the object of a verb is definite, Geʽez can put a pronoun ending on the verb and then name the object with ለ- (la-), "to": ቀተሎ ለንጉሥ (qatalo la-nəguś), "he killed the king", word for word "he killed him, (namely) the king". The same pattern marks a definite owner: ወልዱ ለንጉሥ (waldu la-nəguś), "the king's son", word for word "his son, of the king".
The third tool: the construct. A noun followed by its owner takes the ending -a: ወልድ (wald), "son" → ወልደ ንጉሥ (walda nəguś), "the son of the king". The construct makes the first noun definite by naming whose it is.
Case. Geʽez nouns have an accusative in -a for the object: ንጉሥ (nəguś) → ንጉሠ (nəguśa); መጽሐፍ (maṣḥaf), "book" → መጽሐፈ (maṣḥafa). The ending shows that the noun is the object; it says nothing about "a" or "the". In the script, the -a is the first form of the last letter: ሥ (śə) becomes ሠ (śa), ፍ (fə) becomes ፈ (fa).
Word order. The verb usually comes first in a narrative sentence: መጽአ ውእቱ ብእሲ (maṣʾa wəʾətu bəʾsi), "came the man", that is, "the man came" (1.1).
This course teaches the classical language of the Ethiopic Bible and liturgy, as described in August Dillmann's Lexicon Linguae Aethiopicae (1865), Thomas O. Lambdin's Introduction to Classical Ethiopic (Geʽez) (1978) and Wolf Leslau's Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (1987).
Script note: ውእቱ is three letters: ው (wə), the sixth form of w; እ (ʾə), the sixth form of the glottal stop; and ቱ (tu), the second form of t. Every consonant has seven forms, one for each vowel, in the order a, u, i, ā, e, ə, o: ተ (ta), ቱ (tu), ቲ (ti), ታ (tā), ቴ (te), ት (tə), ቶ (to). The sixth form also stands for a consonant with no vowel at all. Geʽez is written from left to right. Manuscripts separate words with the sign ፡; this course separates them with a space, as many modern printings do, and ends each sentence with ።.
Key Takeaways: - Geʽez has no article; a bare noun can mean "a king" or "the king" - ውእቱ before a noun means "that, the (one mentioned)": ውእቱ ብእሲ, the man - It agrees: ውእቱ (m.), ይእቲ (f.), ውእቶሙ (m. pl.), ውእቶን (f. pl.) - ውእቱ after the predicate means "is": ንጉሥ ውእቱ, he is king - A definite object can be marked with a suffix on the verb and ለ-: ቀተሎ ለንጉሥ, he killed the king - The construct in -a names the owner: ወልደ ንጉሥ, the son of the king - The accusative -a marks the object, not definiteness
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1.1a መጽአ came ውእቱ the ብእሲ man
1.1b maṣʾa (muhts'-uh) come.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M bəʾsi (bih-see) man
1.2a ንጉሥ king ውእቱ is
1.2b nəguś (nih-goos) king wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.3a ሖረት went ይእቲ the ብእሲት woman
1.3b ḥorat (hoh-ruht) go.PERF.3F yəʾəti (yih-ih-tee) that.F bəʾsit (bih-seet) woman
1.4a ውእቱ the ቤት house ዐቢይ great ውእቱ is
1.4b wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M bet (bayt) house ʿabiy (uh-beey) great.M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.5a ውእቱ the ካህን priest ሠናይ good ውእቱ is
1.5b wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest śanāy (suh-nigh) good.M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.6a ርእየ saw ውእቱ the ብእሲ man ንጉሠ a-king
1.6b rəʾya (rih-yuh) see.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M bəʾsi (bih-see) man nəguśa (nih-goo-suh) king-ACC
1.7a አንበበ read ውእቱ the ካህን priest መጽሐፈ a-book
1.7b ʾanbaba (uhn-buh-buh) read.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest maṣḥafa (muhts'-huh-fuh) book-ACC
1.8a ወሀበ gave ውእቱ the ንጉሥ king ማየ water ለብእሲት to-a-woman
1.8b wahaba (wuh-huh-buh) give.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M nəguś (nih-goos) king māya (mah-yuh) water-ACC la-bəʾsit (luh-bih-seet) to-woman
1.9a ነበረት dwelt ይእቲ the ብእሲት woman ውስተ in ቤት house
1.9b nabarat (nuh-buh-ruht) dwell.PERF.3F yəʾəti (yih-ih-tee) that.F bəʾsit (bih-seet) woman wəsta (wihs-tuh) in bet (bayt) house
1.10a ቀተሎ killed-him ውእቱ the ብእሲ man ለንጉሥ the-king
1.10b qatalo (k'uh-tuh-loh) kill.PERF.3M-3M.OBJ wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M bəʾsi (bih-see) man la-nəguś (luh-nih-goos) to-king
1.11a ርእዮ saw-him ውእቱ the ካህን priest ለወልደ the-son-of ንጉሥ king
1.11b rəʾyo (rih-yoh) see.PERF.3M-3M.OBJ wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest la-walda (luh-wuhl-duh) to-son.CSTR nəguś (nih-goos) king
1.12a ውእቱ the ብእሲ man ወልዱ his-son ለንጉሥ of-the-king ውእቱ is
1.12b wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M bəʾsi (bih-see) man waldu (wuhl-doo) son-3M.POSS la-nəguś (luh-nih-goos) to-king wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.13a በይእቲ on-that ዕለት day መጽአ came ውእቱ the ንጉሥ king ውስተ into ሀገር city
1.13b ba-yəʾəti (buh-yih-ih-tee) in-that.F ʿəlat (ih-luht) day maṣʾa (muhts'-uh) come.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M nəguś (nih-goos) king wəsta (wihs-tuh) into hagar (huh-guhr) city
1.14a ሖሩ went ውእቶሙ the ካህናት priests ውስተ into ቤተ house-of ክርስቲያን Christians
1.14b ḥoru (hoh-roo) go.PERF.3MPL wəʾətomu (wih-ih-toh-moo) that.MPL kāhənāt (kah-hih-naht) priest.PL wəsta (wihs-tuh) into beta (bay-tuh) house.CSTR krəstiyān (kris-tee-yahn) Christian.PL
1.15a ጸሐፈ wrote ካህን a-priest መጽሐፈ a-book ወውእቱ and-the መጽሐፍ book ሠናይ good ውእቱ is
1.15b ṣaḥafa (ts'uh-huh-fuh) write.PERF.3M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest maṣḥafa (muhts'-huh-fuh) book-ACC wa-wəʾətu (wuh-wih-ih-too) and-that.M maṣḥaf (muhts'-huhf) book śanāy (suh-nigh) good.M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
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1.1 መጽአ ውእቱ ብእሲ። (maṣʾa wəʾətu bəʾsi) "The man came." 1.2 ንጉሥ ውእቱ። (nəguś wəʾətu) "He is king." 1.3 ሖረት ይእቲ ብእሲት። (ḥorat yəʾəti bəʾsit) "The woman went." 1.4 ውእቱ ቤት ዐቢይ ውእቱ። (wəʾətu bet ʿabiy wəʾətu) "The house is great." 1.5 ውእቱ ካህን ሠናይ ውእቱ። (wəʾətu kāhən śanāy wəʾətu) "The priest is good." 1.6 ርእየ ውእቱ ብእሲ ንጉሠ። (rəʾya wəʾətu bəʾsi nəguśa) "The man saw a king." 1.7 አንበበ ውእቱ ካህን መጽሐፈ። (ʾanbaba wəʾətu kāhən maṣḥafa) "The priest read a book." 1.8 ወሀበ ውእቱ ንጉሥ ማየ ለብእሲት። (wahaba wəʾətu nəguś māya la-bəʾsit) "The king gave water to a woman." 1.9 ነበረት ይእቲ ብእሲት ውስተ ቤት። (nabarat yəʾəti bəʾsit wəsta bet) "The woman lived in the house." 1.10 ቀተሎ ውእቱ ብእሲ ለንጉሥ። (qatalo wəʾətu bəʾsi la-nəguś) "The man killed the king." 1.11 ርእዮ ውእቱ ካህን ለወልደ ንጉሥ። (rəʾyo wəʾətu kāhən la-walda nəguś) "The priest saw the king's son." 1.12 ውእቱ ብእሲ ወልዱ ለንጉሥ ውእቱ። (wəʾətu bəʾsi waldu la-nəguś wəʾətu) "The man is the king's son." 1.13 በይእቲ ዕለት መጽአ ውእቱ ንጉሥ ውስተ ሀገር። (ba-yəʾəti ʿəlat maṣʾa wəʾətu nəguś wəsta hagar) "On that day the king came into the city." 1.14 ሖሩ ውእቶሙ ካህናት ውስተ ቤተ ክርስቲያን። (ḥoru wəʾətomu kāhənāt wəsta beta krəstiyān) "The priests went into the church." 1.15 ጸሐፈ ካህን መጽሐፈ ወውእቱ መጽሐፍ ሠናይ ውእቱ። (ṣaḥafa kāhən maṣḥafa wa-wəʾətu maṣḥaf śanāy wəʾətu) "A priest wrote a book, and the book is good."
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1.1 መጽአ ውእቱ ብእሲ። 1.2 ንጉሥ ውእቱ። 1.3 ሖረት ይእቲ ብእሲት። 1.4 ውእቱ ቤት ዐቢይ ውእቱ። 1.5 ውእቱ ካህን ሠናይ ውእቱ። 1.6 ርእየ ውእቱ ብእሲ ንጉሠ። 1.7 አንበበ ውእቱ ካህን መጽሐፈ። 1.8 ወሀበ ውእቱ ንጉሥ ማየ ለብእሲት። 1.9 ነበረት ይእቲ ብእሲት ውስተ ቤት። 1.10 ቀተሎ ውእቱ ብእሲ ለንጉሥ። 1.11 ርእዮ ውእቱ ካህን ለወልደ ንጉሥ። 1.12 ውእቱ ብእሲ ወልዱ ለንጉሥ ውእቱ። 1.13 በይእቲ ዕለት መጽአ ውእቱ ንጉሥ ውስተ ሀገር። 1.14 ሖሩ ውእቶሙ ካህናት ውስተ ቤተ ክርስቲያን። 1.15 ጸሐፈ ካህን መጽሐፈ ወውእቱ መጽሐፍ ሠናይ ውእቱ።
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "the" in Geʽez.
There is no article. A bare noun is either indefinite or definite, and the context decides. In 1.15 ካህን (kāhən) is "a priest", because he is new to the sentence; in the Genre Section below, the same bare ካህን is "the priest" (1.21), because we already know him.
ውእቱ as "that, the". Before a noun, the third-person pronoun points back to someone or something known: ውእቱ ብእሲ (the man, 1.1), ውእቱ ንጉሥ (the king, 1.8, 1.13), ውእቱ ካህን (the priest, 1.5, 1.7), ውእቱ መጽሐፍ (the book, 1.15). It agrees with its noun in gender and number: - ውእቱ (wəʾətu): masculine singular — ውእቱ ቤት (1.4) - ይእቲ (yəʾəti): feminine singular — ይእቲ ብእሲት (1.3, 1.9), ይእቲ ዕለት (1.13) - ውእቶሙ (wəʾətomu): masculine plural — ውእቶሙ ካህናት (1.14) - ውእቶን (wəʾəton): feminine plural
The pronoun takes a prefixed preposition like any noun: በይእቲ ዕለት (ba-yəʾəti ʿəlat), "on that day" (1.13), and ወ- (wa-), "and": ወውእቱ መጽሐፍ, "and the book" (1.15).
ውእቱ as "is". After the predicate, the same pronoun is the copula: ንጉሥ ውእቱ, "he is king" (1.2); ሠናይ ውእቱ, "(it) is good" (1.5, 1.15). A noun sentence has no tense of its own: ንጉሥ ውእቱ can be "he is king" or "he was king", as the context requires. In 1.4, 1.5 and 1.12 ውእቱ stands both before the subject ("the") and at the end ("is").
ዝንቱ (zəntu), "this". When the speaker points at something near, Geʽez uses ዝንቱ, "this", before or after the noun: ዝንቱ መጽሐፍ, "this book" (1.23 below).
The anticipating suffix and ለ-. A definite object can be announced by a pronoun suffix on the verb and then named with ለ-: - ቀተለ (qatala), "he killed" → ቀተሎ (qatalo), "he killed him" → ቀተሎ ለንጉሥ, "he killed the king" (1.10) - ርእየ (rəʾya), "he saw" → ርእዮ (rəʾyo), "he saw him" → ርእዮ ለወልደ ንጉሥ, "he saw the king's son" (1.11)
The suffix -o (ending ሎ, ዮ, ቦ: the seventh form of the last letter) is "him, it". The construction is used only for a definite object; an indefinite object stands in the accusative with no suffix: ርእየ ንጉሠ, "he saw a king" (1.6).
The same with an owner. ወልዱ ለንጉሥ (waldu la-nəguś), "his son, of the king", is "the king's son" (1.12). The suffix -u (ዱ: the second form) is "his".
The construct. The possessed noun takes -a and the owner follows: ወልደ ንጉሥ (walda nəguś), "the son of the king" (1.11); ቤተ ክርስቲያን (beta krəstiyān), "the house of Christians", that is, "the church" (1.14).
The accusative. The object of a verb ends in -a: ንጉሠ (1.6), መጽሐፈ (1.7, 1.15), ማየ (1.8). After a preposition the noun has no ending: ውስተ ቤት (1.9), ውስተ ሀገር (1.13), ለብእሲት (1.8).
The verb agrees with its subject. The perfect (past) forms in this lesson: - he: መጽአ (came), ሖረ (went), ርእየ (saw), ቀተለ (killed), አንበበ (read), ወሀበ (gave), ጸሐፈ (wrote) - she: ሖረት (went, 1.3), ነበረት (dwelt, 1.9) — ending -at - they (m.): ሖሩ (went, 1.14) — ending -u
Common Mistakes: - Looking for a word for "the" in every sentence. Most Geʽez nouns are bare; ውእቱ is used when the noun points back to something already named. - Reading ውእቱ always as "he". Before a noun it is "that, the"; after a predicate it is "is". - Using ውእቱ before a feminine noun. Say ይእቲ ብእሲት, not \*ውእቱ ብእሲት. - Taking the accusative -a for an article. ንጉሠ is "king" as object, "a king" or "the king". - Putting ለ- before an indefinite object. ርእየ ንጉሠ, "he saw a king"; ርእዮ ለንጉሥ, "he saw the king". - Writing ለ-, በ- or ወ- as separate words. ለንጉሥ, በይእቲ, ወውእቱ are each one word.
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Geʽez is no longer anyone's mother tongue, but it has never stopped being read aloud. It is the language of the liturgy of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches and of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches, and of the prayers of the Beta Israel. A learner of Geʽez is learning the language of the Ethiopic Bible, of the lives of the saints and of the Kebra Nagast, and will hear it still in church.
The lack of an article is old Semitic inheritance, and the daughter languages have solved it in different ways. Amharic made an article out of the possessive suffix: Geʽez ቤቱ (betu) is "his house", and Amharic ቤቱ (betu) is "the house". The anticipating construction of this lesson, ወልዱ ለንጉሥ, "his son, of the king", is one of the Geʽez patterns in which the possessive suffix already points to a known person. The linguist Aaron Rubin has written on how the Amharic article grew out of the possessive suffix, and on its forerunners in Geʽez. A learner who knows Amharic should therefore read ቤቱ in Geʽez as "his house", not "the house".
The three tools of this lesson belong to the high style of biblical narrative, where sentences are joined by ወ- (wa-), "and", and a person, once introduced, is taken up again with ውእቱ. The Genre Section below is written in that style.
The script carries the language. Fidel came into Amharic and Tigrinya from Geʽez, and its letters are still ordered as in Geʽez. Traditional readers pronounce Geʽez in the Ethiopian manner, in which several letters that were once different sounds are now pronounced alike: ሀ, ሐ and ኀ are all h; ሰ and ሠ are both s; አ and ዐ are both a glottal stop. The spelling keeps the old distinctions, and the romanisation of this course follows the spelling.
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John 1:1, in the Geʽez Bible (ወንጌል ዘዮሐንስ, the Gospel of John)
The text, as printed:
ቀዳሚሁ ቃል ውእቱ ወውእቱ ቃል ኀበ እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ወእግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል።
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a ቀዳሚሁ in-the-beginning ቃል word ውእቱ was
F.1b qadāmihu (k'uh-dah-mee-hoo) beginning-3M.POSS qāl (k'ahl) word wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
F.2a ወውእቱ and-that ቃል word ኀበ with እግዚአብሔር God ውእቱ was
F.2b wa-wəʾətu (wuh-wih-ih-too) and-that.M qāl (k'ahl) word ḫaba (huh-buh) with ʾƎgziʾabəḥer (ihg-zee-ah-bih-hayr) God wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
F.3a ወእግዚአብሔር and-God ውእቱ was ቃል word
F.3b wa-ʾƎgziʾabəḥer (wuh-ihg-zee-ah-bih-hayr) and-God wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M qāl (k'ahl) word
F-B: Original and Translation
ቀዳሚሁ ቃል ውእቱ ወውእቱ ቃል ኀበ እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ወእግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል።
"In the beginning was the Word, and that Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
ቀዳሚሁ ቃል ውእቱ ወውእቱ ቃል ኀበ እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ወእግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል።
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The verse uses the headword four times, and in both of its roles. Three times it is the copula, standing after what is said about the subject: ቃል ውእቱ, "(the) Word was"; ኀበ እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ, "was with God"; እግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል, "God was the Word" or "the Word was God". Once it is the pointing word: ወውእቱ ቃል, "and that Word", the Word just named. This is "the" in Geʽez: not an article, but a pronoun that takes the reader back to what has already been said. English translations of the Greek say "the Word" every time; the Geʽez says ውእቱ ቃል only where the Word is taken up again.
The first ቃል (qāl), "word", is bare, and so is the last. Both are definite in English, because the reader knows which Word is meant; Geʽez, without an article, does not need to mark it. In the last clause, ወእግዚአብሔር ውእቱ ቃል, the order of the words is "and God is the Word", with the copula between the two nouns; which noun is the subject is decided by the Greek original and the tradition of reading, not by any ending.
ቀዳሚሁ (qadāmihu) is ቀዳሚ (qadāmi), "first, beginning", with the suffix -hu, "his, its": "its beginning", used here as an adverb, "in the beginning". ኀበ (ḫaba) is "with, at, beside". እግዚአብሔር (ʾƎgziʾabəḥer), "God", literally "Lord of the land", is written as one word. ወ- (wa-), "and", is written on the front of the next word, as in ወውእቱ and ወእግዚአብሔር. The tense "was" is supplied by English: the Geʽez noun sentence has none.
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A short story in the style of biblical narrative, with the verb first and the sentences joined by ወ- (wa-), "and". Watch each person and thing come in bare, and be taken up again with ውእቱ or with the suffix and ለ-.
1.16a ሀሎ there-was ብእሲ a-man ውስተ in ሀገር a-city
1.16b hallo (huhl-loh) be-present.3M bəʾsi (bih-see) man wəsta (wihs-tuh) in hagar (huh-guhr) city
1.17a ወውእቱ and-the ብእሲ man ካህን priest ውእቱ was
1.17b wa-wəʾətu (wuh-wih-ih-too) and-that.M bəʾsi (bih-see) man kāhən (kah-hihn) priest wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.18a ወሀሎ and-there-was ህየ there ንጉሥ a-king
1.18b wa-hallo (wuh-huhl-loh) and-be-present.3M həyya (hihy-yuh) there nəguś (nih-goos) king
1.19a ወውእቱ and-the ንጉሥ king ጸሐፈ wrote መጽሐፈ a-book
1.19b wa-wəʾətu (wuh-wih-ih-too) and-that.M nəguś (nih-goos) king ṣaḥafa (ts'uh-huh-fuh) write.PERF.3M maṣḥafa (muhts'-huh-fuh) book-ACC
1.20a ወወሀበ and-gave መጽሐፈ the-book ለካህን to-the-priest
1.20b wa-wahaba (wuh-wuh-huh-buh) and-give.PERF.3M maṣḥafa (muhts'-huh-fuh) book-ACC la-kāhən (luh-kah-hihn) to-priest
1.21a ወአንበቦ and-read-it ካህን the-priest ለመጽሐፍ the-book
1.21b wa-ʾanbabo (wuh-uhn-buh-boh) and-read.PERF.3M-3M.OBJ kāhən (kah-hihn) priest la-maṣḥaf (luh-muhts'-huhf) to-book
1.22a ወይቤ and-said ካህን the-priest
1.22b wa-yəbe (wuh-yih-bay) and-say.PERF.3M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest
1.23a ሠናይ good ውእቱ is ዝንቱ this መጽሐፍ book
1.23b śanāy (suh-nigh) good.M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M zəntu (zihn-too) this.M maṣḥaf (muhts'-huhf) book
1.24a ወሰምዐ and-heard ንጉሥ the-king ቃሎ his-word ለካህን of-the-priest
1.24b wa-samʿa (wuh-suhm-uh) and-hear.PERF.3M nəguś (nih-goos) king qālo (k'ah-loh) word.ACC-3M.POSS la-kāhən (luh-kah-hihn) to-priest
1.25a ወይቤ and-said ንጉሥ the-king
1.25b wa-yəbe (wuh-yih-bay) and-say.PERF.3M nəguś (nih-goos) king
1.26a አነ I ጸሐፍክዎ wrote-it ለውእቱ that መጽሐፍ book
1.26b ʾana (uh-nuh) I ṣaḥafkəwwo (ts'uh-huhf-kihw-woh) write.PERF.1SG-3M.OBJ la-wəʾətu (luh-wih-ih-too) to-that.M maṣḥaf (muhts'-huhf) book
1.27a ወአንከረ and-marvelled ካህን the-priest
1.27b wa-ʾankara (wuh-uhn-kuh-ruh) and-marvel.PERF.3M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest
1.28a ወሖረ and-went ውእቱ the ካህን priest ውስተ into ቤቱ his-house
1.28b wa-ḥora (wuh-hoh-ruh) and-go.PERF.3M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) that.M kāhən (kah-hihn) priest wəsta (wihs-tuh) into betu (bay-too) house-3M.POSS
1.29a ወበይእቲ and-on-that ዕለት day ሰምዑ heard ሕዝብ the-people ቃለ the-word-of ንጉሥ the-king
1.29b wa-ba-yəʾəti (wuh-buh-yih-ih-tee) and-in-that.F ʿəlat (ih-luht) day samʿu (suhm-oo) hear.PERF.3MPL ḥəzb (hihzb) people qāla (k'ah-luh) word.CSTR nəguś (nih-goos) king
1.30a ወውእቱ and-the ቃል word ሠናይ good ውእቱ was
1.30b wa-wəʾətu (wuh-wih-ih-too) and-that.M qāl (k'ahl) word śanāy (suh-nigh) good.M wəʾətu (wih-ih-too) COP.3M
1.16 ሀሎ ብእሲ ውስተ ሀገር። (hallo bəʾsi wəsta hagar.) "There was a man in a city." 1.17 ወውእቱ ብእሲ ካህን ውእቱ። (wa-wəʾətu bəʾsi kāhən wəʾətu.) "And the man was a priest." 1.18 ወሀሎ ህየ ንጉሥ። (wa-hallo həyya nəguś.) "And there was a king there." 1.19 ወውእቱ ንጉሥ ጸሐፈ መጽሐፈ። (wa-wəʾətu nəguś ṣaḥafa maṣḥafa.) "And the king wrote a book." 1.20 ወወሀበ መጽሐፈ ለካህን። (wa-wahaba maṣḥafa la-kāhən.) "And he gave the book to the priest." 1.21 ወአንበቦ ካህን ለመጽሐፍ። (wa-ʾanbabo kāhən la-maṣḥaf.) "And the priest read the book." 1.22 ወይቤ ካህን፦ (wa-yəbe kāhən:) "And the priest said:" 1.23 ሠናይ ውእቱ ዝንቱ መጽሐፍ። (śanāy wəʾətu zəntu maṣḥaf.) "This book is good." 1.24 ወሰምዐ ንጉሥ ቃሎ ለካህን። (wa-samʿa nəguś qālo la-kāhən.) "And the king heard the priest's word." 1.25 ወይቤ ንጉሥ፦ (wa-yəbe nəguś:) "And the king said:" 1.26 አነ ጸሐፍክዎ ለውእቱ መጽሐፍ። (ʾana ṣaḥafkəwwo la-wəʾətu maṣḥaf.) "I wrote that book." 1.27 ወአንከረ ካህን። (wa-ʾankara kāhən.) "And the priest marvelled." 1.28 ወሖረ ውእቱ ካህን ውስተ ቤቱ። (wa-ḥora wəʾətu kāhən wəsta betu.) "And the priest went to his house." 1.29 ወበይእቲ ዕለት ሰምዑ ሕዝብ ቃለ ንጉሥ። (wa-ba-yəʾəti ʿəlat samʿu ḥəzb qāla nəguś.) "And on that day the people heard the word of the king." 1.30 ወውእቱ ቃል ሠናይ ውእቱ። (wa-wəʾətu qāl śanāy wəʾətu.) "And the word was good."
1.16 ሀሎ ብእሲ ውስተ ሀገር። 1.17 ወውእቱ ብእሲ ካህን ውእቱ። 1.18 ወሀሎ ህየ ንጉሥ። 1.19 ወውእቱ ንጉሥ ጸሐፈ መጽሐፈ። 1.20 ወወሀበ መጽሐፈ ለካህን። 1.21 ወአንበቦ ካህን ለመጽሐፍ። 1.22 ወይቤ ካህን፦ 1.23 ሠናይ ውእቱ ዝንቱ መጽሐፍ። 1.24 ወሰምዐ ንጉሥ ቃሎ ለካህን። 1.25 ወይቤ ንጉሥ፦ 1.26 አነ ጸሐፍክዎ ለውእቱ መጽሐፍ። 1.27 ወአንከረ ካህን። 1.28 ወሖረ ውእቱ ካህን ውስተ ቤቱ። 1.29 ወበይእቲ ዕለት ሰምዑ ሕዝብ ቃለ ንጉሥ። 1.30 ወውእቱ ቃል ሠናይ ውእቱ።
"A" first, "the" after. Each person and thing comes into the story bare and is taken up again as known: - ብእሲ (a man, 1.16) → ወውእቱ ብእሲ (and the man, 1.17) - ንጉሥ (a king, 1.18) → ወውእቱ ንጉሥ (and the king, 1.19) - መጽሐፈ (a book, 1.19) → መጽሐፈ (the book, 1.20) → ለመጽሐፍ (the book, 1.21) → ለውእቱ መጽሐፍ (that book, 1.26) - ቃሎ (his word, 1.24), ቃለ ንጉሥ (the word of the king, 1.29) → ወውእቱ ቃል (and the word, 1.30)
The bare noun can be definite. In 1.20 መጽሐፈ is the same book as in 1.19, and it has no mark: the English "the" comes from the story. ካህን and ንጉሥ are bare in 1.21–1.27 and are always "the priest" and "the king", because there is only one of each in the story.
Three ways to say "the book". 1.20 uses the bare accusative, መጽሐፈ; 1.21 uses the suffix and ለ-: ወአንበቦ ... ለመጽሐፍ, "and he read it, the book"; 1.26 uses both the suffix and ውእቱ: ጸሐፍክዎ ለውእቱ መጽሐፍ, "I wrote it, that book". The more the speaker wants to point, the more marking there is.
"There was": ሀሎ. ሀሎ (hallo) is "he is (there), there is", and in a story it is "there was" (1.16, 1.18). ህየ (həyya) is "there".
ውእቱ and ዝንቱ. ውእቱ points back to what has been said; ዝንቱ (zəntu), "this", points to what is in front of the speaker. The priest holds the book and says ዝንቱ መጽሐፍ, "this book" (1.23); the king, speaking of the book he gave away, says ለውእቱ መጽሐፍ, "that book" (1.26).
The copula in the past. ካህን ውእቱ (1.17) and ሠናይ ውእቱ (1.30) are "was" because the story is in the past; the same words in 1.23 are "is". The noun sentence has no tense.
The owner and the object. ቃሎ ለካህን (1.24) is "his word, of the priest": the priest's word. ቃል (qāl), "word", is the object of ሰምዐ, "heard", and with the suffix "his" the accusative ending -a and the suffix -u combine as -o: ቃሎ (qālo). In 1.29 the construct ቃለ ንጉሥ (qāla nəguś) says "the word of the king" without a suffix.
Verbs with an object suffix. አንበበ (he read) → አንበቦ (he read it, 1.21). ጸሐፍኩ (ṣaḥafku), "I wrote" → ጸሐፍክዎ (ṣaḥafkəwwo), "I wrote it" (1.26).
Punctuation. The sign ፦ (1.22, 1.25) introduces direct speech, like the English colon.
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The romanisation in this course follows the usual scholarly transliteration of Geʽez. The vowels are a, u, i, ā, e, ə, o, the seven forms of every letter in the order of the fidel chart. The respellings in parentheses follow the traditional Ethiopian reading of Geʽez, as it is heard in church. In them "uh" is the vowel of "but", "ih" is a short, central vowel between the "i" of "bit" and the "u" of "put", "ah" is the vowel of "father", "ay" is the vowel of "say", "oh" the vowel of "go" and "oo" the vowel of "moon". The respellings are in lower case, and this course does not mark stress. A doubled letter in the romanisation, as in hallo, is a long consonant.
a — /ə/ — the first form of every letter, as in ነ (na); a mid central vowel, like the "a" of "about". The traditional reading pronounces it like Amharic ä. ā — /a/ — the fourth form, as in ቃ (qā); the "a" of "father". ə — /ɨ/ — the sixth form, as in ት (tə); a short, central vowel. It is often not pronounced at all, as at the end of ንጉሥ (nəguś). q, ṭ, ṣ — /k'/, /t'/, /t͡s'/ — the ejective consonants, written with ቀ, ጠ and ጸ (also ፀ). They are made with the glottis closed and released with a sharp pop. ቀ (q) is a different letter and a different sound from ከ (k). ʾ, ʿ — /ʔ/ — the letters አ and ዐ. In the traditional reading both are a glottal stop, the catch in the throat in the middle of "uh-oh". The respellings do not show it; make a slight break at that point: ውእቱ (wəʾətu), wih-ih-too. ḥ, ḫ, h — /h/ — the letters ሐ, ኀ and ሀ. They were three different sounds in ancient times; the traditional reading pronounces all three as h. ś — /s/ — the letter ሠ, as in ንጉሥ (nəguś) and ሠናይ (śanāy). In the traditional reading it is s, like ሰ.
ውእቱ (wəʾətu) — IPA: /wɨʔɨtu/ — two short central vowels around the glottal stop, then a clear "too". ይእቲ (yəʾəti) — IPA: /jɨʔɨti/ — as ውእቱ, with y at the start and "tee" at the end. ንጉሥ (nəguś) — IPA: /nɨgus/ — the final ሥ is said as plain s. ቃል (qāl) — IPA: /k'al/ — the ejective k, then a long open a. ብእሲት (bəʾsit) — IPA: /bɨʔsit/ — a glottal stop before the s. ቀተሎ (qatalo) — IPA: /k'ətəlo/ — the ejective k, then two short central vowels. መጽሐፍ (maṣḥaf) — IPA: /mət͡s'həf/ — the ejective /t͡s'/ is followed at once by h. ዐቢይ (ʿabiy) — IPA: /ʔəbij/ — the word begins with a glottal stop. ኀበ (ḫaba) — IPA: /həbə/ — ኀ is said as plain h in the traditional reading. እግዚአብሔር (ʾƎgziʾabəḥer) — IPA: /ʔɨgziʔabɨher/ — a glottal stop at the start and another before a; ሔ is h with e.
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