Sosina Demissie

Period 1

Ms.Cunningham

February 10, 2019

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jordan , Sarah-Claire. “Languages of Ethiopia, Somalia & Kenya : Afroasiatic Languages.”

Alpha Omega Translations​, 20 Nov. 2018,

https://alphaomegatranslations.com/foreign-language/top-4-languages-of-ethiopia/

In this Article, Jordan explores languages of Ethiopia where the root come from Ethiopia was

founded in the ”horn” of Africa. Also, Ethiopia is the only country who defeated European

colonization in 1889. Ethiopia was the first believer in christianity as religion of state in the

world. Ethiopia is a country for the location of the oldest human like Lucy who is a female

human being and lived about 3.2 million years ago. Some of the languages spoken in Ethiopia

are Oromo, Amharic, Somali and Tigrigna. Oromo is the Cushitic Branch of the languages

family. It is spoken in Ethiopia as well as in Somalia and Kenya. The majority of Ethiopians

speak afan oromo. Amharic is the official language of the country and it is semitic language

related to Arabic. Tigrinya the least language spoken among the three in Ethiopia. Tigrinya is

spoken in northern Ethiopia and southern parts of Eritrea. Tigrinya in Eritrea it the official

language. This article made me to think or understand more about Ethiopian languages , their

origin and relationships to other languages spoken in nearby countries. I think the detail provided

by Jordan will enhance my upcoming project.

​“Traditional Music in Ethiopia.” ​Music In Africa​, 25 Jan. 2016,

https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/traditional-music-ethiopia

Music plays a big role in Ethiopian culture like as discussed in “Traditional Music in

Ethiopia”. The most popular music instruments in Ethiopia are ​masinko, the krar, the washing,

the begena, the kebero, a​ nd ​the tom-tom​.The ​masinko​ instrument is used in many parts of the

country including the Amhara, the Tigray and the Oromo people. The traditional music are

written like poems or lyrics so that the vocalist repeats the word for word to make it easy for

people to sing along. These Ethiopian traditional instruments play big part in war, religion,

wedding as well as for use in restaurants. During war time, they are used to motivate the people

and military reciting all previous victories, hopping for bright days. In religion, they are used to

express gratitude and adoration to God. Ethiopian traditional instrument require a person to have

a good voice as the instruments can not camouflage any shortcomings. Music is an important

cultural heritage which can be used during war times, happy days (wedding and partying) or

mourning. I think this website will help me to explore more about the Ethiopian music and its

role in the expression of feelings through listening or singing along.

​“Importance of a National Language.” ​Learn Chinese in Singapore | Learn Chinese

Singapore​, December 8 2016 .

https://www.lindamandarin.com.sg/blog/importance-of-a-national-language/

​Linda Mandarin gives example of the benefits for having a national language. A national

language is the way to tell about country, culture and history behind it. A understanding of
other country language is a great way to connect with people, to get respect and acceptance

within the society. Speaking other country native language will give you a chance to be

successful with business and making impacts on people. India uses the English language as

their official language which has both advantages and disadvantages. They are letting down

Malay and Hindi which could be used as primary national language instead of as a second

language. English is an international language which is now taking the role of many national

languages. But all Indians benefit by using the English both nationally and internationally. This

article reminds me the benefit that Ethiopians have by using two different languages: English and

Amharic. Educated persons will speak both Amharic and the English language even these are not

their mother tongue languages. This reference made me understand the history behind national

languages including advantages and disadvantages. Languages act like a bridge on a road to

connect people from different backgrounds.

“In Pictures: Ethiopians Drum for Unity.” ​BBC News,​ BBC, 13 Dec. 2018,

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46508070

One of best occasion to witness ethiopian clothing is during the celebration of the Nations and

Nationalities Day which is celebrated annually to reflect Ethiopia's more than 80 nationalities and ethnic

groups. Various groups representing their local area come with traditional dress and playing their cultural

instruments such as flute and horn, or "shambeko" and "trumba". Women wear clothes known as "tilfi" in

Tigrinya, they clap and dance to the rhythm of the music. Similarly, peoples from the Afar region come to

demonstrate their cultural heritage such as hair style, clothing, swords, etc. The largest ethnic group, the

Oromos, show also clothing and styles reflecting their culture and symbolizing their status and power.

Similarly, the remainder ethnic groups demonstrate their culture and tradition as shown on this website.

The Amharas are the second ethnic group whose mother tongue language is also used as a national
working language. I believe this page will help me to understand more about the traditional clothing and

reasoning behind the celebration for this capstone bridge​.

“Architecture of Ethiopia.” ​Wikipedia​, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Sept. 2018,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Ethiopia

​ Ethiopia’s architecture varies from region to region and also over historical time. As an

example during the D’mt time which shows ashlar masonry which was a style for monumental

structures at the time. The D’mt is “a ruined 8th-century BC multi-story tower at ​Yeha​ in

Ethiopia​”. This is followed by the more magnificent and UNESCO heritage architecture such as

the Akusmite, Zagwe Dynasty and Gondarine architectures. During the Zagwe Dynasty, the

Ethiopian states started to expand and the architecture started incorporating other new

traditions beyond the Aksumite style such as more wood and rounder structures. The Aksumite

architecture persisted for many years with its strongest influence in the early medieval and

Zagwe periods during which the Lalibela churches were carved. The Gonderine architecture is a

reflection of the early modern period that began with the arrival of the Portuguese Jesuit

missionaries. Castles were later built as the next architectural type such as Fasil Ghebbi or

Fasilides (royal enclosure of castles) but their relevance to protection from enemies was not that

much important because these rugged mountainous area (ambas) proved to be difficult for

outside invaders such as Adal and Ottoman Empire.