Amharic

Amharic is the national language of Ethiopia. It is spoken in the vicinity of the capital, Addis Ababa, and the area just to the north. Its speakers number 20 million, about one-third of Ethiopia's population.

Amharic is one of the Semitic languages. Together with a number of the lesser languages of Ethiopia it constitutes the Ethiopic branch of this family. All the Ethiopic languages are descended from Geez, the ancient literary and ecclesiastic language of Ethiopia.

It is generally believed that the Semitic languages were introduced into Ethiopia from the Arabian Peninsula sometime in the first millennium B.C. The Ethiopic alphabet used in Amharic is also believed to have had its ultimate origin in Arabia. Originally written from right to left, it eventually switched, probably under Greek influence, from left to right. Two dots are placed after each word to separate it from the next.