Fidal script

writing system

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

The Ethiopic alphabet is a writing system used for Ge'ez, Amharic, Tigre, and Tigrinya languages in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It likely originated in the 4th century AD from the Sabaean script, a South Semitic alphabet.1

The Ethiopic alphabet has 26 letters, all representing consonants. These can be modified with vowel markings to form syllabic symbols. The script is written from left to right, possibly due to Greek influence, unlike other Semitic languages. Vocalization marks were likely added by a single individual, while the letters themselves evolved gradually from Sabaean.1

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Nilo-Saharan languages
Writing
An adapted form of the Fidal script, which was used for writing Amharic, has been developed for the orthographies of a number of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken in Ethiopia. Other orthographic traditions of writing for African languages generally are based on the Latin script, because it was mostly European missionaries who…
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An adapted form of the Fidal script, which was used for writing Amharic, has been developed for the orthographies of a number of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken in Ethiopia. Other orthographic traditions of writing for African languages generally are based on the Latin script, because it was mostly European missionaries who…
Read More