From Soweto to Ethiopia: My fascination with Amharic and its cultural treasures

As a young boy, I used to marvel at my father’s knowledge of what are now our official languages.

While I’ve never heard him speak isiSwati or Tshivenda, I am pretty confident he was well-versed in them. My mother, too.

In addition to the Sotho languages (Sepedi, Sesotho and Setswana) she was quite proficient in isiNdebele.

I remember being in awe as she spoke to the Ndebele women peddling their wares in Soweto.

Leaning Amharic

I am taking it a step further… I have decided to learn Amharic, which is what the English call Amarinya – a language spoken in the Horn of Africa.

It is the official language of Ethiopia, but is also spoken by many in neighbouring Eritrea and Somalia.

Why Amharic?

I am fascinated by Ethiopia, its history – which goes as far back as the 2nd century AD – and its peoples.

While I’m still to get the hang of their music, I already have relished their national dish, the doro wot (spicy chicken stew), which is served with some vegetables on injera (a sour, fermented flat bread).

And, of course, their coffee.

There are many Ethiopians in South Africa, certainly in Joburg and Soweto, where they run spaza shops on almost every corner.

So, I thought, why not give it shot?

Similarities

I now know their greetings, the days of the week, some everyday phrases and the numbers, which like in Bantu languages, have 10+1 for 11 and 20+1 instead of 21, etc.

A South Ethio-Semetic language, Amharic is not related to the Bantu languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of which have more similarities than dissimilarities.

For instance, a tongue or language is leleme in Sesotho and Sepedi, lolweme in Setswana, ulimi in IsiZulu (and Kiswahili of East Africa), rurimi in Shona of Zimbabwe, and lilime in Chichewa of Malawi …

“Who teach (sic) you,” is the reaction I get when I greet an unsuspecting Ethiopian trader with “salamne… anideminehi… dehina neny” (hello, how are you, I’m fine).

And those I’ve encountered have been willing to help.

An adventure

Which reminds me of Nelson Mandela’s famous quote:

“Talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

What an adventure.