Tigrinya language

Tigrinya (sometimes written asTigrigna; ; ) is an Afroasiatic language of the Ethiopian Semitic branch. It is mostly spoken in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. There are approximately 6,915,000 total speakers of this language. There are approximately 4,320,000 in Ethiopia and approximately 2,540,000 in Eritrea. Tigrinya is also spoken by emigrants from these regions, including some Ethiopian Jews.

History and literature 
The earliest written example of Tigrinya is a text of local laws found in Logosarda district, Southern Region, Eritrea. It is from the 13th century.

Tigrinya is related to the Ethiopian Semitic language Ge'ez. However, Tigrinya has a different word order than Ge'ez, and there are some more differences in grammar. However, the two languages have similar phonology and morphology, which show they are related. Ge'ez has influenced Tigrinya literature, especially with words about Christian life. Until recent times, Ge'ez was used for writing more often than Tigrinya was. When the British ruled Eritrea, there was a newspaper written in Tigrinya.

Tigrinya was one of Eritrea's official languages while it was part of Ethiopia; in 1958 it was replaced with the language Amharic. During the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie (1930-1974), publications in Tigrinya were banned. When Selassie lost power, Amharic remained the standard language. In 1991, Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia. Tigrinya was the "working language" in Eritrea.

Speakers 
There are 6,915,000 total Tigrinya speakers. Of these, approximately 4,320,000 live in Ethiopia. Most Tigrinya speakers in Ethiopia live in the Tigray region. There are approximately 2,540,000 Tigrinya speakers in Eritrea. Most of these live in the southern and central areas of the country. There are also over 10,000 Beta Israel speakers of Tigrinya.

Tigrinya is the fourth most spoken language in Ethiopia after Amharic, Oromo, Somali and the most widely spoken language in Eritrea. It is also spoken by immigrants around the world. In Australia, Tigrinya is broadcast on public radio on the Special Broadcasting Service.

There are two dialects of Tigrinya: Northern and Southern.

Northern Dialect
 Eritrea (Hamasien, Seraye, Akele Guzay, Anseba)
 Ethiopia (Adwa, Axum, Shire, most areas of Agame)
Southern Dialect
 Ethiopia (Enderta, Tembien, Raya, some areas of Agame)

Phonology 
Tigrinya has a set of ejective consonants and seven vowels.

A Tigrinya syllable may have a consonant-vowel or a consonant-vowel-consonant sequence.

Writing system 
Tigrinya is written in the Ge'ez script (Ethiopic script), which was originally developed for the Ge'ez language. The Ge'ez script is an abugida. Each symbol represents a consonant+vowel syllable.

Note: Symbols falling into disuse in Tigrinya are shown with a dark gray background in the table.

References

Bibliography 
 Amanuel Sahle (1998) Säwasäsǝw Tǝgrǝñña bǝsäfiḥ. Lawrencevill, NJ, USA: Red Sea Press. 
 Dan'el Täxlu Räda (1996, Eth. Cal.) Zäbänawi säwasəw kʷ'ankʷ'a Təgrəñña. Mäx'älä
 Rehman, Abdel. English Tigrigna Dictionary: A Dictionary of the Tigrinya Language: (Asmara) Simon Wallenberg Press. Introduction Pages to the Tigrinya Language 
 Eritrean People's Liberation Front (1985) Dictionary, English-Tigrigna-Arabic. Rome: EPLF.
 ----- (1986) Dictionary, Tigrigna-English, mesgebe qalat tigrinya englizenya. Rome: EPLF.
 Kane, Thomas L. (2000) Tigrinya-English Dictionary (2 vols). Springfield, VA: Dunwoody Press.  
 Leslau, Wolf (1941) Documents tigrigna: grammaire et textes. Paris: Libraire C. Klincksieck.
 Mason, John (Ed.) (1996) Säwasǝw Tǝgrǝñña, Tigrinya Grammar. Lawrenceville, NJ, USA: Red Sea Press.   (, paperback)
 Praetorius, F. (1871) Grammatik der Tigriñasprache in Abessinien. Halle.  (1974 reprint)
 Täxästä Täxlä et al. (1989, Eth. Cal.) Mäzgäbä k'alat Təgrəñña bə-Təgrəñña. Addis Ababa: Nəgd matämiya dərəǧǧət.
 Ullendorff, E. (1985) A Tigrinya Chrestomathy. Stuttgart: F. Steiner.  
 Ze'im Girma (1983) Lǝsanä Ag’azi. Asmara: Government Printing Press.

Other websites 

 Tigrigna online, includes an online English-Tigrinya dictionary.
 teaches Tigrinya using Tigrinya words written in the English alphabet
 Sites with Tigrinya text or sound files (all require a Ge'ez Unicode font).
 Tigrina Learning and Playing Game Board - ]: It teaches the Ge'ez script in a playful way. [http://www.erikids.net

Semitic languages