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Tigrinya, often written as Tigrigna 〔Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh〕 () is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken by ethnic Tigray-Tigrinya people in the Horn of Africa. Tigrigna speakers primarily inhabit the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia (57%), where its speakers are called ''Tigrawot'' (feminine ''Tigrāweyti'', male ''Tigraway'', plural ''Tegaru''), as well as the contiguous borders of southern and central Eritrea (43%), where speakers are known as the Tigrigna. Tigrigna is also spoken by groups of emigrants from these regions, including some Beta Israel. Tigrigna should not be confused with the related Tigre language. The latter Afro-Asiatic language is spoken by the Tigre people, who inhabit the lowland regions of Eritrea to the north and west of the Tigrigna speech area. == History and literature == Although it differs markedly from the classical Ge'ez language - for instance, in having phrasal verbs, and in using a word-order that places the main verb last instead of first in the sentence, there is a strong influence of Ge'ez on Tigrigna literature, especially with terms that relate to Christian life, Biblical names, and so on.〔The Bible in Tigrigna, United Bible society, 1997〕 Ge'ez, because of its status within Ethiopian culture, and possibly also because of its inherently simple construction, acted as a literary medium until relatively recent times.〔Edward Ullendorff, The Ethiopians, Oxford University Press 1960〕 The earliest written example of Tigrigna is a text of local laws found in Logosarda district, Southern Region, Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia, which dates from the 13th century during the reign of the Zagwe Dynasty c. 900 until the 13th century.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 UCLA Language Materials Project Language Profiles Page: Tigrinya )〕 During the British administration of Eritrea, the Ministry of Information put out a weekly newspaper in Tigrinya that cost 5 cents and sold 5000 copies weekly. It was reported to be the first of its kind.〔Ministry of Information (1944) ''The First to be Freed—The record of British military administration in Eritrea and Somalia, 1941-1943''. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.〕 Tigrigna along with Arabic was one of Eritrea's official languages during its short-lived federation with Ethiopia; in 1958 it was replaced with the Southern Ethiopian language Amharic prior to its annexation. Upon Eritrea's independence in 1991, Tigrinya retained the status of working language in the country, the only state in the world to date to award Tigrinya recognition on a national level. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tigrinya language」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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