INTRODUCTION
Amharic for Beginners is intended for those who are taking the first steps in the study of the Amharic language.
The grammar is mainly based on The Fundamentals ofAmharic by C.H. Dawkins. Several passages have been quoted directly. Those who want to study this grammar in detail will find several references,abbreviated D.
We have also found much help inA Beginner's Amharic Grammar by D.M. Davies and C.F. Listeir.
Comments and exercises have been worked out through several years· of teaching Amharic, in constant cooperation with experienced Ethiopian informants.
The book may, to a certain extent, be used for self-study. For this purpose keys to the exercises are found at the end of the book.
We ask the student to use them with some common sense; that is, to try to work out the exercises on your own before looking up the keys.
The student is strongly advised to get help from an Amharic-speaking Ethiopian informant.Theory on grammar, drill and practice sentences are all of great help when learning a language, but the correct use of words and sentences is not enough to make oneself understood. Pronunciation, intonation, idioms and other features of the Amharic language can only be learnt from the Ethiopians themselves. That's why it is so important that students right from the beginning get used to imitating and listening to spoken Amharic.
Another valuable means of instruction is the tape recorder. Ask your Ethiopian informant to read slowly and distinctly, with pauses in between, so when listening to the recording, you will have time enough to repeat and imitate, or, write it down as dictation. Also, do some recording of your own reading so that you may hear your own pronunciation and mispronunciations.
As for the translation of sentences and short stories, it may to a certain extent be necessary for a beginner to translate word by word. But the more you get used to a language, the more you will notice that the same thoughts are often expressed in quite another way from that of your own language. Try therefore to free yourself more and more from thinking in your language, and try to express yourself more directly in the Amharic instead.
On the other hand, you should also translate the original meaning into a natural and free form when translating from the Amharic into your own language.
Thus, the stories at the end of the book may be of some help to you, as they have been translated rather freely into English.
M.F.&KS. |