Classical Ethiopic

A translation and revision of Josef Tropper’s Altäthiopisch: Grammatik des Geʿez mit Übungstexten und Glossar, providing a comprehensive grammar of Classical Ethiopic, the historical language of Ethiopian Christianity. Uses both the Ethiopian script and transliterations to aid the reader’s understanding of the language.

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Upon its publication in 2002, Josef Tropper’s Altäthiopisch: Grammatik des Gəˁəz mit Übungstexten und Glossar was quickly recognized as the best modern grammar of Classical Ethiopic in any language. Now Eisenbrauns makes Tropper’s grammar available for the first time in English, in this revised and expanded edition by Josef Tropper and Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee.

Gəˁəz literature is diverse and of major importance for the study of early Christianity, Judaism, and the history of eastern Africa. The language of this rich literature, however, has been difficult to access until now. Designed to help language learners acquire competency with the script from the start, Classical Ethiopic provides a comprehensive treatment of Gəˁəz grammar, with detailed chapters on the language’s writing system, phonology, morphology, morphosyntax, and syntax. Numerous example sentences illustrate the grammatical concepts discussed, and each example is presented in Ethiopic script, transliteration, and English translation. The grammar concludes with an appendix presenting sample texts to be used as exercises, an English-Gəˁəz glossary, and an updated bibliography that takes into account the developments that have occurred in the study of Gəˁəz in the nearly two decades since Tropper’s original publication.

Appropriate for the classroom and for independent study, Classical Ethiopic is sure to become the standard reference in English for the study of the language.