05 Amharic Familiarization Course.pdf

Amharic Familiarization Course

Table of Contents

Introduction

Lesson 1

People and Geography

Lesson 2

Living and Working

Lesson 3

Days of the Week, Numbers, Ages of People

Lesson 4

Daily Activities

Lesson 5

Meeting the Family

Lesson 6

Around Town

Lesson 7

Shopping

106

Lesson 8

Eating Out

123

Lesson 9

Holidays, Customs, and Cultural Traditions

134

Lesson 10

Around the House

151

Lesson 11

Weather and Seasons

161

Lesson 12

Personal Appearance

174

Lesson 13

Transportation

188

Lesson 14

Travel

200

Lesson 15

At School

219

Lesson 16

Recreation and Leisure

230

Lesson 17

Health and the Human Body

244

Lesson 18

Political and International Events

256

Lesson 19

The Military

270

Lesson 20

In the Hospital

284

Developed for United States Special Operations Command

Special Operations Forces Language Office

By I Corps Foreign Language Training Center

VALIDATION COPY 1.0 JUNE 2007

VALIDATION COPY 1.0 JUNE 2007

INTRODUCTION TO ETHIOPIA

Capital: Addis Ababa

Official language: Amharic

Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Area: 426, 373 square miles.

Distance across at widest points: north to south 800 miles; east to west 1035 miles

Elevation: highest – Ras Dashen, 15,158 ft. above sea level. Lowest – Denakil

Depression, 381 feet below sea level

Population: 70 million

Chief products: Agriculture – coffee, corn, oilseed, sorghum, sugar cane, wheat.

Manufactured goods: cement, processed food, leather goods, textiles.

GEOGRAPHY

Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa, bordered by Sudan on the west, Somalia and

Djibouti to the east, Eritrea on the north and Kenya on the south. It covers an area of

approximately 444,000 square miles. The varied topography of the country generally

features rugged mountains, flat-topped plateaus, river canyons, rolling plains and

lowlands. The Great Rift Valley divides the Ethiopian highlands, as it spans the country

from north to south. The highlands feature alpine vegetation, while woodlands, savanna

and semi-arid conditions characterize the lowland. Ethiopia is a landlocked nation.

TOPOGRAPHY

The Ethiopian Plateau spreads out over about two-thirds of the country. It lies between

6,000 and 10,000 feet (1,800 and 3,000 meters) above sea level. Most of Ethiopia's

people live on the plateau, which has the country's best agricultural land. Most of the

plateau receives more than 40 inches (102 centimeters) of rain annually. Average

temperatures on the plateau range from about 72°F (22°C) in areas below 8,000 feet

(2,400 meters) to less than 60°F (16°C) at higher elevations. The Great Rift Valley,

which runs north and south through eastern Africa, divides the plateau into two large

sections. The sections are further divided by deep, spectacular river gorges and high

mountain ranges. Ethiopia's highest mountain, Ras Dashen, rises 15,158 feet (4,620

meters) above sea level on the plateau.

The lowlands

The Ethiopian Plateau slopes downward in all directions toward the lowland regions.

Most of the lowland areas have an average temperature of about 80°F (27°C) and receive

less than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain per year. The Denakil Depression in

northeastern Ethiopia, which lies below sea level, is one of the hottest places in the world.

Temperatures in the Denakil Depression sometimes rise above 120°F (49°C). The

lowlands are thinly populated because of the hot, dry climate and because the soil is poor

for farming.

Animal life and vegetation

A wide variety of animals live in Ethiopia. Some of these animals live nowhere else.

They include an antelope called the walia ibex and the Simien fox, also known as the

Simien jackal or Ethiopian wolf. Coffee originated in the forests of southwest Ethiopia.

Teff and several other types of crops also had their origins in the country. Forests cover

part of the southwest. The most common tree in Ethiopia is the eucalyptus, which was

imported from Australia in the 1890's.

Major Rivers

The major river basins include: the Blue Nile, Baro, Omo, Awash, Tekeze and Wabe

Shebele.

The BLUE NILE

HISTORY

Early history

Some of the oldest fossil fragments of human beings have been found in Ethiopia. They

date from about 2 million years ago. By 500 B.C., two major groups, speakers of Semitic

and Cushitic languages, inhabited the area. The plow was already the major agricultural

tool by that time, and there is evidence that Ethiopians controlled water and used

irrigation .

In 1973, Donald Johanson was in the Afar, part of the Hadar region of Ethiopia, with the

International Afar Research Expedition. He made a dramatic fossil find – the leg bones

of 3-million-year-old hominid.

The bones' size and shape indicated that this individual walked upright, making it the

oldest hominid on record to do so. This discovery continued and in 1974, 3.2 million-

year-old Lucy was found in the region of Afar.

The Aksum Kingdom was the first important state in what is now Ethiopia. It was well

established by the A.D. 200's. Its capital was the city of Aksum. The Aksum Kingdom

gained much wealth through trade with Arabia, Egypt, Greece, India, Persia and Rome.

The Aksumites exported gold, ivory and spices. Aksum reached its height of power in

the 300's under King Ezana. He made Christianity the official religion of Aksum. In the

late 600's, Aksum's power fell sharply after Muslims gained control of Arabia, the Red

Sea, and the coast of northern Africa. The Muslims, religious enemies of Christian

Aksum, put an end to the kingdom's foreign trade.

AKSUM OBELISK, 4 th –7 th Century AD

Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations. It is also Africa’s oldest independent country; with

the exception of the five-year occupation by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never been

colonized. According to tradition, the first emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik I, was the son

of the biblical Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel. Many later Ethiopian rulers

claimed to be direct descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Menelik II became emperor in 1889 and reunified the old Ethiopian empire by gaining

control of many small kingdoms. In 1896, at the battle of Adwa, he defeated the Italian

army that had occupied a part of Ethiopia called Eritrea.

The son of Menelik’s cousin, Ras Tafari, became the emperor in 1930. He took the title

Haile Selassie, continued the modernization of Ethiopia, like Menelik II, and drafted the

first constitution in 1931.

In 1972 and 1973, a severe drought led to famine in the northeast part of Ethiopia. Haile

Selassie was criticized for ignoring it. Widespread dissatisfaction with the low quality of

life and government corruption led to the takeover by a military government which

removed Haile Selassie in 1974.

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