Amharic

Back to the Language Demos

Ejectives

"Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia is the Semitic language with the greatest number of speakers after Arabic."
(International Phonetic Association, 1999, p. 45ff)

Contrasts of ejective with voiceless pulmonary consonant. Note fricative (actually affricate) ejective in the alveolar series.


təkkələ
("he planted")
emu WebApp
kəbbəbə
("he encircled")
emu WebApp
tʼərrəgə
("he swept")
emu WebApp
kʼəddədə
("he tore something")
emu WebApp
sʼafə
("he wrote")
emu WebApp

See also:
Ultrasound videos of ejectives: alveolar plosive [tʼ], velar plosive [kʼ], alveolar fricative [sʼ]
For more audio examples click here (UCLA Website).


Secondary Articulations: Labialization in Amharic

Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia, has a large number of labialized consonants (although the available material does not provide any minimal pairs directly constrasting plain and labialized sounds).

tʼərrəgə
("he swept")
emu WebApp
tʷʼaf
("wax taper")
emu WebApp
kəbbəbə
("he encircled")
emu WebApp
kʷas
("ball")
emu WebApp
gərrəməɲ
("it suprised me")
emu WebApp
gʷaggʷa
("he became full of suspense")
emu WebApp
kʼəddədə
("he tore something")
emu WebApp
kʷʼakʷʼate
("whooping cough")
emu WebApp
hakim
("doctor")
emu WebApp
hʷala
("after")
emu WebApp



Audio Source:
Illustrations of the IPA.

References:
International Phonetic Association (1999): Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide To The Use Of The International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press.