with that which it affects as suffix, serves to define the latter like a definite article. Thus : kū dream 1st sing. perf. dream accus. and as this dream its (1.) xalam Xělm α va kama z Xelm ū, I dreamed a dream and such was the dream.1 The genitive and its governor do not always coalesce as readily in Ethiopic as in Arabic and Hebrew, and when the substantives are thought with definiteness, the genitive may need to be connected with its governor by means of a possessive suffix to the latter to represent it in connection. The object of a verb also, if it be emphasised as object, either to distinguish it as such or to connect it as such because of its being partially detached by connection with a demonstrative or a genitive, may need to be represented with the verb by an object suffix, to express the sense of connection. When a governed word is thus represented by a suffix, it has the preposition la prefixed to itself. Thus: beginning 3d sing. fem. wisdom (2.) Qadām ī· hā latbak, the beginning of wisdom. and called 3d sing. obj. (3.) Vasamay и called the light day. see 1st pl. perf. him (4.) Rēķī God light day hegziḥabxēr la brěhān jelata, and God Lord our nā hū la ḥegziḥenā, we have seen our Lord; the first na lengthened by h. If there be more than one governed word the suffix may be such as will represent all or only the first.2 136. The accusative governed by a verb may define the latter adverbially (66); and its own verbal noun in the accusative may be used with a verb as in 66. A verb may be qualified adverbially by juxtaposition with another verb in the same tense, mood, number, and person 3 (87), or by being governed in the nominal infinitive by another verb 3 (87); or it may be defined by a verbal infinitive governed by it4 (92), or by an imperfect in juxtaposition with it 5 (74, Ex. 6). A verb may govern its own nominal infinitive and express thereby either continuance or intensity (66, 92), the infinitive generally preceding, but in the former use sometimes following, or it may govern the nominal infinitive of another verb constructed with its own object, as in 67.6 The subjunctive is used as in Arabic (55). It 137. A noun in the construct state is not thought in Ethiopic in such close connection with the genitive as in Arabic or Hebrew. is therefore not abbreviated, but preserved entire, and takes the relative element -a to connect it with the genitive; and thus constructed, it may govern an entire sentence in place of a genitive. Yet if it is to be affected with a possessive suffix, this must be attached to the genitive, as nothing can intervene between the construct noun and the genitive (88); and if it is to be expressed as plural, the plural 8 element is sometimes attached to the construct noun, and sometimes to the genitive1 (88). The genitive relation can be expressed by prefixing to the genitive the relative pronoun za, 'enta, 'ella, to represent the governing noun. This construction is used when the governing noun is a proper noun, or when it is defined by other words, or already governs another genitive, or when the genitive is a demonstrative or interrogative pronoun.2 2 138. Every plural substantive, of whatever form, can be connected with a plural adjective of the same gender as belongs to the substantive in the singular, or with a singular adjective which is then for the most part masculine (i.e., without an element of gender), but may be feminine; singular substantives with a collective meaning may have a plural adjective in the gender which belongs to the individual substantive object. Adjectives which have an inner plural are apt to use it when the substantive is an inner plural.3 When a noun has a cardinal number connected with it, it is generally singular, but may be plural." The pronoun of the third person is sometimes used to connect the subject as such with the predicate even when the subject is first or second person (70, 92). It has the gender and number of the subject. The verbs halava and kāna are both used in a sense more concrete than the copula, the former to be present, the latter to come to pass.5 The verb to have is expressed by a preposition governing the possessor (sum for habeo) 6 (74. 9). The agreement of the verb or predicate with the subject is as variable as that of the qualifying adjective with the substantive 7 (96). 139. The arrangement of the words is much freer than in the other Syro-Arabian languages, almost as free as in Greek. The genitive, which is formed with a relative prefix, is as little confined in its position as any Indo-European genitive. And the adjective, though tending to follow its substantive, has similar freedom of position, especially if it has a possessive suffix to represent the substantive.10 The normal order of the sentence is verb, subject, object'; but any member of the sentence may get precedence from emphasis, and is attracted by members of the sentence or by relative clauses which define it.11 140. Relative sentences which, without using a relative pronoun, refer to a word in the principal sentence, are rarer in Ethiopic than in the other Syro-Arabian languages. 12 The relative pronoun may involve a demonstrative in its meaning (he who), and it then distinguishes gender and number, its case being that which the demonstrative should have.13 Ethiopic likes to bring the antecedent or an adjective which agrees. with it into the relative sentence (as in classical attraction).1 Usually the relative pronoun, though it takes the gender and number of the antecedent, does not stand in the relation which belongs to the antecedent in the relative sentence unless this be subject, but the antecedent is represented in that relation by a demonstrative element. The relative pronoun can also be constructed as in Indo-European in the proper relation, and may even be followed by a preposition like quocum.2 The relative construction is much used in Ethiopic. It supplies participles and adjectives, and connects adjectives with substantives, and subsidiary defining elements with a noun.3 AMHARIC. 141. The Amharic language is that Abyssinian dialect which is spoken by the greater part of the population of Abyssinia. It prevails in all the provinces of Abyssinia lying between the Taccaze and the Abay or Abyssinian Nile, and in the kingdom of Shoa. Its nearest cognate is the Tigré language; and both Amharic and Tigré are modifications of the ancient Ethiopic. But the Tigré has preserved a greater similarity to the Ethiopic, and received much less mixture from other languages than the Amharic.4 The Amharic consonants have a still more African character than the Ethiopic. From k, t, d, z, n, have arisen softer consonants uttered with the tongue in a more relaxed condition, and which co-exist in the language with those consonants, viz., k, t, d, z, n. The old t, which was uttered strongly with pressure of breath from the chest, has come to be uttered with mere strength of pressure of the tongue, and an interval between it and the breath of the following vowel (120). In the same manner t, t, p, and q are uttered, there being also a tuttered with breath, and followed without interval by the vowel; and, as in Ethiopic, q, X, k, and g may take w before the following vowel. There are, as in Hebrew, two letters uttered s, and an s besides, the vau is w in Amharic; h, x, and x are pronounced alike, and g like', but in Tigré these consonants retain their true utterance.5 The written vowels i, u, and o, which are long in Ethiopic, may be long or short in Amharic; e is sometimes sounded, sometimes not.6 The African tendency to utter consonants without pressure of breath from the chest led to the insertion of w after a long vowel to close the jet of breath 7 (I. 57). 142. Nouns with two radicals and ending in u correspond to Ethiopic verbal adjectives (126. 5); those which end in i generally signify an agent.8 Nouns of the form fag'ali are active substantives or adjectives; those of the form fèg'ali are passive; fegālē, abstract nouns of quality; fég él, essence, quality, action, or concrete substance; fag'ěl, quality, concrete substantive, adjective; fej'ul, passive participial adjective.1 Compound nouns are formed from the Ethiopic status constructus, and also from Amharic words, combining noun with noun, or with any other part of speech.2 Adjective stems of intenser meaning are formed by repetition of any of the radicals. The prefix ma- is used for infinitives, and retained in nouns derived therefrom. The addition of am to substantive stems forms adjectives and substantives of fulness, intenseness, &c. Substantives are also formed by -mā. By -na, -an, are formed substantives of quality from verbs. By -nā, -nat, are formed abstract substantives from adjectives, substantives, and particles. By na substantives of office, habit, or quality, are formed from adjectives and substantives. By -āwī similar substantives are formed, and also Gentile nouns. By -ya joined to infinitives or simple roots are formed nouns of agency, instrument, locality, object, &c.3 There is no adjectival expression of degrees of comparison.* 143. Gender is either masculine or feminine. The names of females and of female ranks and offices are feminine, also those of the moon, the earth, countries, towns, &c., plants, collectives, and several abstracts; the sun and the stars are masculine. Feminines are formed by -t, -tā, -tu, also by -nā and -nat.5 The plural ending is -ōt; there is no dual. Sometimes the Ethiopic ending -ān is used, and -āt for feminine; derivatives in -an and some others make plural in -āt. An accusative case is formed by adding -n, a genitive by prefixing ya-, which is relative pronoun. The genitive is also expressed by the status constructus, the governing noun adding a to a final consonant, and giving up its accent so as to compound with the genitive.7 144. For the personal pronouns and affixes see table (51). The demonstrative of the near is yěh singular, hělzih or hĕnzih plural. That of the remote is ya singular, helziyā plural. The interrogatives are man singular, helman plural, who? which? what sort of men, what? yat, what? mĕndĕr, what? The nouns bālahēt, rās, and nafes are used for self.8 145. The verb has nine derived forms corresponding to those of Ethiopic and Arabic, besides other variations of stems with repetition of radicals. The Arabic forms which it has are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, and 11. The only passive is the reflexive. For the person elements, suffixed and prefixed, see table (51). calls the contingent, 3 Ibid. p. 32-35. Ibid. pp. 38, 39. 9 Ibid. p. 53-55. having become in this language an abstract verbal conception, in which the subjective process is so reduced that it often needs to be supplemented by external verbal elements. Its vocalisation, as that of the Ethiopic imperfect, is a, e, ě. That of the jussive, which in Ethiopic is ě, ě, è for transitives, and ě, a, è for intransitives, is in Amharic ě, a, ě; and, as in Ethiopic, the imperative stem is the same as the jussive. But several verbs in Amharic have no jussive, and use the imperfect for it. The infinitive (a, ě, ě), with possessive suffixes of the subject, is used as a gerund, as in Ethiopic (128); it takes a before the suffixes, which unites with u in o, and is dropped before other vowels; and it changes third singular feminine from -awā to -ā, third plural from -āt' awě to -awe, first plural from -āt'en to -an, and second singular reverential from -awo to -awě. A more nominal infinitive is formed by the prefix ma-, and the vocalisation ě, a, ě, or ă, a, ě. There is an active participle (a, ā, ī) which may govern its object either as a genitive or an accusative, and a passive participle (ě, ā, î). But the more verbal participles are supplied, as in Ethiopic, by the relative prefixed to the verb in its various persons, ya- to the perfect, and yamě to the imperfect. These formations may be declined not only by taking prepositions, but even by taking the accusative ending -n. Whereas a noun ending in a consonant takes u before this -n, probably to represent the substance, a relative participle ending in a consonant takes a before n to express the life of the person, and this is closed euphonically by w before -en. If the relative participle ends in u this belongs to the person, and is to be distinguished from the substance; so t is inserted before -en to express the substance.2 1 The passive reflexive forms drop t after a personal prefix of the subject, the passive or intransitive nature showing itself by a with second radical.3 The Amharic language has developed greatly with the auxiliary verbs hala and nabara, the Ethiopic constructions with the imperfect and verbal infinitive of another verb (125, 136). The verb, hala, is translated is (Ethiopic, halava vorhanden ist), nabara, was; nabara remains distinct as an auxiliary verb; but halu coalesces into one word with the imperfect and suffixed infinitive of the principal verb; hala and nabara are both used only in the perfect, and they follow the verb with which they are used.4 The simple perfect of the verb is used as in the Syro-Arabian languages generally.5 The simple imperfect has so lost sense of subjective process that it is used only when governed by a conjunction or turned into a participle by yam- prefixed to it. To state a fact it needs the help of hala; and it is to be observed that in the third singular masculine, hala drops the final a, as if its subjective process were in some degree taken up by the principal verb. When hala is subjoined to the suffixed infinitive it is reduced to hal, not only in the third singular 1 Isenberg, p. 65-73. VOL. II. 2 Ibid. p. 169. 3 Ibid. p. 79. G |