ABSTRACT
Abyssinia was very early colonised by settlers from Yemen. Of this family, the languages longest settled in Africa are to be found in Abyssinia. The Abyssinians, as is well known, have been Christians since the fourth century. A number of inscriptions have been found there, both in Greek and Ethiopic, the latter being particularly interesting as showing different stages of the language. This Ethiopic character differs from both Hebrew and Arabic in being written from left to right, and also in another respect which will be mentioned later on. It is used for writing Amharic, which has been, since the end of the thirteenth century, the official language of the court and government. Other Semitic languages in this part of Africa are those of Harar and Gurague. The structure of the Semitic languages is—even apart from their literature, of which nothing can be said—full of interest.
