Introducing Amharic: An Interactive Workbook (GlossaHouse Modern Languages Series)

I have tried to learn Amharic for many years but have always been stymied by difficulties learning fidel (the Amharic writing system). One of the problems is that is difficult to learn to read Amharic without an idea of how the words actually sound, because there are quirks in the system, as there are in every language. This book has audio files (which can be purchased separately) that give both examples of a native speaker and an American speaker reading through the vocabulary used in the book. One of the hurdles I had in the past was with the shape patterns of the vowels. I cannot emphasize how helpful it was for me to have the audio files to assist in committing the vowel shapes to memory. This is a terrific resource for anyone looking to make a start with Amharic and I really hope the author continues the series.

Nice for learning the alphabet, though the font that they use makes it hard to learn how to write the letters like an actual person would. Imagine trying to learn to write our letters by reading them in script. When I ask my Ethiopian relatives how they write the letters, they're much simpler.

The sounds listed for some of these symbols are not accurate. I found myself having to go on the internet to get the right sound for some of the symbols. In addition, the vocabulary words are not on point in that some of the senses are skewed. I also did not receive the CD I purchased two months ago. It would be great if the author works along with a linguist to ensure accuracy. Otherwise, it is helpful as a starter.

Great book on writing the language of Amharic! Well worth the price plus the audio! The author even emailed me about my feed back.

I'm actually learning and remembering things! It's a good start to learning a beautiful, ancient language.

Really great tool. I'm learning so much and am excited to finish.

very good book for a beginner

great

A mediocre resource for learning the Amharic fidel. There are 2 very noticeable typos in the text. In the Tables, Glossary and Works Consulted portion of the book, the 'ñ' row is mistakenly marked with 'cheh' characters. Very confusing for beginners. An ENTIRE ROW of the fidel characters have been duplicated and labelled with the wrong English transliterations. This mistake actually occurs at least twice, which is concerning because if there are going to be typos it should not be in the reference. Impacts the integrity of the resource. Would not recommend.