Harari language

Last updated
Harari
ሀረሪ (hăräri)
Native to Ethiopia
Region Harari Region
Ethnicity32,000 Harari (2007 census) [1]
Native speakers
27,000 (2007 census) [2] [3] [4]
Harari alphabet (Ge'ez script)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 har
Glottolog hara1271

Harari is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken by the Harari people of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 Ethiopian census, it is spoken by 25,810 people. Harari is closely related to the Eastern Gurage languages, Zay, and Silt'e, all of whom are believed to be linked to the now extinct Semitic Harla language. [5] [6] Locals or natives of Harar refer to their language as Gē Sinan or Gē Ritma'language of the City' ( is the word for how Harari speakers refer to the city of Harar, whose name is an exonym). [7] According to Wolf Leslau, Sidamo is the substratum language of Harari and influenced the vocabulary greatly. [8] He identified unique Cushitic loanwords found only in Harari and deduced that it may have Cushitic roots. [9]

Contents

Harari was originally written with a version of the Arabic script, then the Ethiopic script was adopted to write the language. Some Harari speakers in diaspora write their language with the Latin alphabet.

Phonology

Harari consonants
Labial Dental Alveolar Post-alv./

Palatal

Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal
plain emphatic
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop voiceless p t k q ʔ
voiced b d ɡ
ejective t’ tʃ’ k’
Fricative voiceless f θ s ʃ x ħ h
voiced v ð z ʒ ɣ ʕ
Trill r
Approximant l j w
Harari vowels
Front Central Back
shortlongshortlong
Close ɪ ɨ ʊ
Mid e o
Open æ

Grammar

Nouns

Number

Wolf Leslau discusses Harari–East Gurage phonology and grammar: [10] The noun has two numbers, singular and plural. The affix -ač changes singulars into plurals:

abōč'a man'; abōčač'men'
wandaq'a servant'; wandaqač'servants'
gar'a house'; garač'houses'

Nouns ending in a or i become plural without reduplicating this letter:

gafa'a slave'; gafač'slaves'
gubna'a harlot'; gubnač'harlots'
liğği'a son'; liğğač'sons'
mäqbärti'a grave'; mäqbärtač'graves'

/s/ alternates with /z/:

färäz'a horse'; färäzač'horses'
iraaz'toga'; iraazač'togas'

Gender

Masculine nouns may be converted into feminines by three processes. The first changes the terminal vowel into -it, or adds -it to the terminal consonant:

rágá'an old man'; rágít'an old woman'
buchí'male dog'; buchít'female dog'
wasíf'a slave boy'; wasífít'a slave girl'

Animals of different sexes have different names. and this forms the second process:

bárá'an ox'; lám'a cow'

The third and the most common way of expressing sex is by means of aboch'male or man' and inistí'woman, female', corresponding to English "he-" and "she-":

aboch faraz'a stallion'; inistí faraz'a mare'
aboch č̣abar'a he-mule'; inistí č̣abar'a she-mule'

Pronouns

EnglishIndependentObject pronoun suffixesPossessive
suffixes
DirectPrepositional
BenefactiveLocative/adversative
Iኣን
an
you (m. sg.)አኻኽ
äkhakh
you (f. sg.)አኻሽ
akhâsh
you (polite/formal)አኻኹ
akhâkhu
he/himአዝዞ
äzzo
she/herአዝዜ
äzze
s/he (polite/formal)አዝዚዩ
äzziyu
weኢኛች
ignâch
you (pl.)አኻኻች
akhâkhâch
theyአዝዚያች
äzziyach
Harari demonstrative pronouns
Number, GenderNearFar
SingularMasculine yi (i)የእ yäǝ
Feminineኢትተ ittäየትተ
yättä
Pluralዪያች yiyâchየኣች Ya’âch
PersonSingularPlural
1ÁnInnách or Inyách.
2AkhákhAkhákhách
3Azo(383)[ clarification needed ] Azziyách

The affixed pronouns or possessives attached to nouns are:

Singular.

1st Pers. – e, my or mine. : Gár-e, my house.
2nd Pers. – khá, thy or thine. Gár-khá, thy house.
3rd Pers. – zo, or – so, his. Gár-zo, his house.

Plural.

1st Pers. – zinya or sinya, our. : Gár-zinya, our house.
2nd Pers. – kho, your. Gár-kho, your house.
3rd Pers. – ziyu or siyu, their. Gár-ziyu, their house. (384)[ clarification needed ]

In the same way attached pronouns are affixed to verbs:

Sit-ayn: give (thou to) me.
Sit-ana: give (thou to) us.

The demonstrative pronouns are:

Sing. Yí, this.
Yá', that.
Plur. Yíách, these.
Yá'ách, those.

The interrogative pronouns are the following:

Mántá: who?
Mintá: what?
Án atti'e hárkho: I myself went.
Akhákh attikha hárkhí: thou thyself wentest.
Azo attiizo hára: he himself went.

Verbs

The following are the two auxiliary verbs:

'to be'
PastPresentImperative
AffirmativeNegativeAffirmativeNegative
Person(s)1Án narkhú.Án alnárkhúm.Án halkho.Án elkhúm.
2Akhákh nárkhí.Akhákh alnárkhím.Akhákh halkhí.Akhákh elkhím.Hal.
3Azo nárá.Azo alnárum.Azo hal (<A>[ clarification needed ]).Azo elúm.
(pl)1Inyách nárná.Inyách alnárum.Inyách halna.Inyách elnám.
2Akhákhách narkhú.Akhákhách alnárkhúm.Akhákhách halkhú.Akhákhách elkhúm.Halkhú.
3Aziyách nárú.Aziyách alnárúm.Aziyách halúAziyásc elúm.

Past tense

Sing. 1. I became: Án ikaní náarkho.
2. Thou becamest: Akhákh tikání nárkhí.
3. He became: Azo ikáni nárá.
Plur. 1. We became: Innách nikání nárná.
2. Ye became: Akhákhách tikání nárkhú.
3. They became: Aziyách ikání nárú.

Present tense

Sing. 1. I become: Án ikánákh.
2. Thou becomest: Akhákh tikánákh.
3. He becomes: Azo ikánál.
Plur. 1. We become: Inyách nikánáná.
2. Ye become: Akhákhách tikánákhu.
3. They become: Aziyách yikánálú.

Imperative

Become thou, "Kanni". Become ye, "Kánnú".

Prohibitive

Sing. 2. Become not, ikánnumekh.
Plur. 2. Become not ye, tikánnumekhu.

Past tense

(Affirmative form)

Sing. 1. I went, Án letkho.
2. Thous wentest, Akhákh letkhí.
3. He went, Azo leta.
Plur. 1. We went, Inyách letna.
2. Ye went, Akhákhách letkhú.
3. They went, Aziyách letú.

(Negative form)

Sing. 1. I went not, Án alletkhúm.
2. Thou wentest not, Akbákh alletkhím.
3. He went not, Azo alletám.
Plur. 1. We went not, Inyách aletnám.
2. Ye went not, Akhákách alletkhúm.
3. They went not, Azziyách alletúm.

Present tense.

(Affirmative form)

1. I go, Án iletákh 1. Inyásh niletáná.
2. Thou goest, Akhákh tiletínakh 2. Akhákhách tiletákhú.
3. He goes, Azo yiletál 3. Azziyách yiletálú.

(Negative form)

Sing. 1. I go not, Án iletumekh.
2. Thou goest not, Akhákh tiletumekh.
3. He goes not, Azo yiletumel.
Plur. 1. We go not, Inyách niletumena.
2. Ye go not, Akhákhach tiletumekhú.
3. They go not, Azziyách iletuelú.
Sing. 1. I will go, Án iletle halkho.
2. Thou wilt go, Akháhk tiletle halkhí.
3. He will go, Azo iletle hal.
Plur. 1. We will go, Inyách niletle halns.
2. Ye will go, Akhákhách tiletle halkhú.
3. They will go, Azziyách niletle halns.

Writing system

Harari was originally written in an unmodified and later modified Arabic Script. [11] [12] [13] The Ethiopic script was then adopted to write Harari. [14] There is a Latin version of the script used by the Harari diaspora. [15] [16]

Modified Arabic script

Romanization IPA Arabic Script Harari Letter
a / ' / ʔ ا
b b ب
p p پ
t t ت
θ ث
j ج
g g ݘ
h ħ ح
kh x خ
d d د
dh ð ذ
r r ر
z z ز
zh ʒ ژ
s s س
sh ʃ ش
ch ڛ
ص
ض
t' t’ ط
ż ظ
c tʃ’ ڟ
ȧ ʕ ع
gh ɣ غ
f f ف
v v ڤ
q q ق
k k ك
k' k’ ڬ
l l ل
m m م
n n ن
gn ɲ ڹ
h h ه
w w و
y j ي

Vowel markings table

Romanization IPA Vowel markings independentVowel combined with consonant ب (be)
a/ˌæ/َبَ
e/ˌe/ٚبٚ
i/ˌɪ/ِبِ
o/o/ٛبٛ
u/u/ُبُ
â/aː/آ, َابا
ê/eː/ٚيبٚي
î/iː/ِيبِي
ô/ˌoː/ٛوبٛو
û/ˌuː/ُوبُو
ʼa/ˈæ/َاٴْباٴْ
ʼe/ˈe/ٚيٴْبيٴْ
ʼi/ˈɪ/ِيٴْبيٴْ
ʼo/ˈo/ٛوٴْبوٴْ
ʼu/ˈʊ/ُوٴْبوٴْ
ʼâ/ˈaː/آءْ, َاءْباءْ
ʼê/ˈeː/ٚيءْبٚيءْ
ʼî/ˈiː/ِيءْبِيءْ
ʼô/ˈoː/ٛوءْبٛوءْ
ʼû/ˈuː/ُوءْبُوءْ

Modified Ge'ez script

Harari can be written in the unmodified Ethiopic script as most vowel differences can be disambiguated from context. The Harari adaptation of the Ethiopic script adds a long vowel version of the Ethiopic/Amharic vowels by adding a dot on top of the letter. In addition certain consonants are pronounced differently when compared to the Amharic pronunciation.

The table below shows the Harari alphasyllabary with the Romanized & IPA consonants along the rows and the Romanized vowel markings along the columns.

Harari writing system
Romanization IPA a [æ]â [aː]u [ʊ]û [uː]i [ɪ]î [iː]e [e]ê [eː]o [o]ô [oː]∅/ə [∅/ɨ]
h h ሁ፞ሂ፞ሄ፞ሆ፞
l l ሉ፞ሊ፞ሌ፞ሎ፞
ħ ሑ፞ሒ፞ሔ፞ሖ፞
m m ሙ፞ሚ፞ሜ፞ሞ፞
θ ሡ፞ሢ፞ሤ፞ሦ፞
r r ሩ፞ሪ፞ሬ፞ሮ፞
s s ሱ፞ሲ፞ሴ፞ሶ፞
sh ʃ ሹ፞ሺ፞ሼ፞ሾ፞
q q ቁ፞ቂ፞ቄ፞ቆ፞
b b ቡ፞ቢ፞ቤ፞ቦ፞
v v ቩ፞ቪ፞ቬ፞ቮ፞
t t ቱ፞ቲ፞ቴ፞ቶ፞
ch ቹ፞ቺ፞ቼ፞ቾ፞
gh ɣ ኁ፞ኂ፞ኄ፞ኆ፞
n n ኑ፞ኒ፞ኔ፞ኖ፞
gn ɲ ኙ፞ኚ፞ኜ፞ኞ፞
'/a / ʔ ኡ፞ኢ፞ኤ፞ኦ፞
k k ኩ፞ኪ፞ኬ፞ኮ፞
kh x ኹ፞ኺ፞ኼ፞ኾ፞
w w ዉ፞ዊ፞ዌ፞ዎ፞
ȧ ʕ ዑ፞ዒ፞ዔ፞ዖ፞
z z ዙ፞ዚ፞ዜ፞ዞ፞
zh ʒ ዡ፞ዢ፞ዤ፞ዦ፞
y j ዩ፞ዪ፞ዬ፞ዮ፞
d d ዱ፞ዲ፞ዴ፞ዶ፞
k' k’ ዹ፞ዺ፞ዼ፞ዾ፞
j ጁ፞ጂ፞ጄ፞ጆ፞
g g ጉ፞ጊ፞ጌ፞ጎ፞
t' t’ ጡ፞ጢ፞ጤ፞ጦ፞
c tʃ’ ጩ፞ጪ፞ጬ፞ጮ፞
ጱ፞ጲ፞ጴ፞ጶ፞
ጹ፞ጺ፞ጼ፞ጾ፞
dh ð ፁ፞ፂ፞ፄ፞ፆ፞
f f ፉ፞ፊ፞ፌ፞ፎ፞
p p ፑ፞ፒ፞ፔ፞ፖ፞
ż ⶱ፞ⶲ፞ⶴ፞ⶶ፞
Romanization IPA a [æ]â [aː]u [ʊ]û [uː]i [ɪ]î [iː]e [e]ê [eː]o [o]ô [oː]∅/ə [∅/ɨ]

Modified Latin script

Latin Harari script capital letterLatin Harari script small letter International phonetic alphabet
Aa æ
Ââ
Ȧȧ ʕ
Bb b
Cc tʃ’
Chch
Dd d
Dhdh ð
Ee e
Êê
Ff f
Gg g
Ghgh ɣ
Gngn ɲ
Hh h
ħ
Ii ɪ
Îî
Jj
Kk k
Khkh x
Ll l
Mm m
Nn n
Oo o
Ôô
Pp p
Qq q
Rr r
Ss s
Shsh ʃ
Tt t
θ
Uu ʊ
Ûû
Vv v
Ww w
Xx x
Xhxh k’
Yy j
Zz z
Zhzh ʒ
Żż

Numerals

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Works cited