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Ge'ez script

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Revision as of 15:23, 23 December 2018 by Deborahjay (talk | changes) (categories; DEFAULTSORT)

The Ge'ez script (Ge'ez: ግዕዝ, Gəʿəz), also known as Ethiopic, is a writing system native to Eastern Africa. It can be found in languages for several languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Form

Ge'ez script is used as an abugida (alphasyllabary) for languages including Amharic and Tigrinya. It originally was an abjad (consonant-only alphabet). In Amharic and Tigrinya, the script is often called fidäl (ፊደል), meaning "script" or "alphabet".

Distribution

Ge'ez script was first used to write the Ge'ez language. In modern times this is the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Beta Israel, the Jewish community in Ethiopia.