The East Gurage Alphabet

Q: What is "East Gurage"?

"East Gurage" is a typological label coined in Robert Hetzron's 1972 linguistic classification of Ethiopian Semitic languages [1] . It refers to a cluster of Transversal South Ethiopic languages — primarily Silte (Siltʼe), Wolane (Oo'atu), and Zay — spoken in the eastern part of the Gurage region of SNNPR, Ethiopia. Contemporary linguistics and Ethiopian government usage prefers "Silte" as the primary name for the dominant language of this cluster. The term "East Gurage" is still encountered in older bibliographic sources, particularly from the 1970s–1990s, and is used on this alias page to help users searching under historical names.

Q: What languages are included in the East Gurage cluster?

Hetzron's East Gurage cluster includes three main varieties [2] : Silte (Siltʼe) — by far the largest, with ~1 million speakers, now with its own administrative zone; Wolane (Oo'atu) — a related but distinct variety spoken in Wolane wereda of Oromia (Silte people reside there too); and Zay — a small variety once spoken on islands in Lake Ziway, with fewer speakers now living mainly on the lakeshore. All three varieties are Transversal South Ethiopic, predominantly Muslim, and written in the Ge'ez Fidel. The data on this page represents Silte, the largest and best-documented member of the cluster.

Q: Why is East Gurage no longer the preferred term?

The shift away from "East Gurage" happened for both linguistic and political reasons [1] . Linguistically, more detailed studies showed that the Silte cluster is better classified within the broader Transversal South Ethiopic sub-group rather than as a coherent "East Gurage" grouping. Politically, the Silte people distanced themselves from the "Gurage" ethnic label following the 2001 referendum that established Silte Zone as separate from Gurage Zone. The Silte community's Islamic identity and their preference for self-designation as "Silte" (not "Gurage") led to administrative recognition that has since been reflected in academic usage. ISO 639-3 uses "Silte" (stv) as the primary language name.

Q: Who was Robert Hetzron?

Robert Hetzron (1938–1997) was a Hungarian-born Semitic linguist who made major contributions to the classification of Ethiopian Semitic languages [1] . His 1972 monograph "Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification" established the systematic sub-grouping of Ethiopic languages into North, South, and Transversal branches — including the term "East Gurage" for the Silte cluster. Hetzron later moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he continued his Semitic linguistics research. He also edited the "Semitic Languages" handbook (Routledge, 1997). His Ethiopian Semitic classification framework remains foundational, though subsequent researchers have refined some of his groupings.

Q: What is the ISO code for Silte (East Gurage)?

The ISO 639-3 code is stv (Silte) [2] . "East Gurage" is not a separate ISO code — it is a historical typological label. On this site, the East Gurage, Selti, and Silte pages all use the same underlying phoneme data.

Q: What is CNRS's role in East Gurage research?

CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique — French National Centre for Scientific Research) has funded fieldwork and documentation of East Gurage and other Ethiopian Semitic languages through its linguistics laboratories [2] . French researchers have contributed descriptions of Silte/East Gurage phonology, morphology, and syntax as part of broader programmes on African Semitic languages. France has historically maintained strong ties with Ethiopian academic institutions, and CNRS-affiliated researchers at Paris universities (particularly Paris Diderot and Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle) have produced important linguistic documentation of South Ethiopian languages including the East Gurage cluster.

East Gurage Language at a Glance

"East Gurage" is a typological label from older linguistic literature (particularly Robert Hetzron's 1972 classification) for a cluster of Transversal South Ethiopic languages — primarily Silte (Siltʼe), Wolane, and Zay — spoken east of the main Gurage highland area in SNNPR, Ethiopia ^[1]
Modern linguistics and Ethiopian administrative usage prefers "Silte" as the primary name; the data on this page represents the Silte variety, the largest member of the East Gurage cluster with approximately 900,000–1,200,000 speakers ^[2]
All East Gurage languages use the Ge'ez Fidel — the Ethiopic abugida (syllabary) that encodes each consonant across seven vowel orders; the same script is used for Amharic, Tigrinya, Ge'ez, and other Ethiopian Semitic languages ^[1]
The East Gurage languages are predominantly spoken by Muslim communities — a defining cultural feature that differentiates them from most other South Ethiopic Semitic languages, whose speakers are predominantly Ethiopian Orthodox Christian ^[2]
Robert Hetzron's 1972 monograph "Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification" established the term "East Gurage" in scholarly usage; subsequent linguists including Grover Hudson (Michigan State), Ronny Meyer (Vienna), and researchers at University of Bergen have refined this classification ^[1]
CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research) has supported fieldwork and documentation of East Gurage languages through its Laboratoire de phonétique et phonologie and related Ethiopian linguistics programmes ^[2]

Siltʼe Consonants (Ethiopic Fidel):

ሀ

[ha]

ለ

[la]

ሐ

[ħa]

መ

[ma]

ረ

[ra]

ሰ

[sa]

ሸ

[ʃa]

ቀ

[qa]

በ

[ba]

ተ

[ta]

ቸ

[tʃa]

ነ

[na]

አ

[a]

ከ

[ka]

ወ

[wa]

ዐ

[ʕa]

ዘ

[za]

የ

[ja]

ደ

[da]

ጀ

[dʒa]

ገ

[ga]

ጠ

[tˤa]

ጨ

[tʃʼa]

ጸ

[sˤa]

ፈ

[fa]

ፐ

[pa]

ሀ

[ha]

Ha /h/ — voiceless glottal fricative; the first consonant in the Ethiopic Fidel ordering

ለ

[la]

La /l/ — voiced alveolar lateral approximant; very common in Siltʼe

ሐ

[ħa]

Ħa /ħ/ — voiceless pharyngeal fricative; preserved in Siltʼe, an archaic South Semitic consonant lost in Amharic

መ

[ma]

Ma /m/ — voiced bilabial nasal; very frequent in Siltʼe morphology

ረ

[ra]

Ra /r/ — voiced alveolar flap or trill; frequent in Siltʼe verb stems

ሰ

[sa]

Sa /s/ — voiceless alveolar fricative; common in Siltʼe

ሸ

[ʃa]

Ša /ʃ/ — voiceless postalveolar fricative; present in Siltʼe

ቀ

[qa]

Qa /q/ — voiceless uvular plosive; distinct phoneme in Siltʼe

በ

[ba]

Ba /b/ — voiced bilabial plosive; common in Siltʼe

ተ

[ta]

Ta /t/ — voiceless alveolar plosive; very common in Siltʼe

ቸ

[tʃa]

Ča /tʃ/ — voiceless postalveolar affricate; present in Siltʼe

ነ

[na]

Na /n/ — voiced alveolar nasal; very frequent in Siltʼe morphology

አ

[a]

Aleph /ʔ/ or vowel carrier; word-initial vowels in Siltʼe often begin with this letter

ከ

[ka]

Ka /k/ — voiceless velar plosive; very common in Siltʼe

ወ

[wa]

Wa /w/ — voiced bilabial approximant; present in Siltʼe

ዐ

[ʕa]

Ayin /ʕ/ — voiced pharyngeal fricative; preserved in Siltʼe unlike in Amharic

ዘ

[za]

Za /z/ — voiced alveolar fricative; present in Siltʼe

የ

[ja]

Ya /j/ — voiced palatal approximant; present in Siltʼe

ደ

[da]

Da /d/ — voiced alveolar plosive; common in Siltʼe

ጀ

[dʒa]

Ja /dʒ/ — voiced postalveolar affricate; present in Siltʼe

ገ

[ga]

Ga /g/ — voiced velar plosive; present in Siltʼe

ጠ

[tˤa]

Ṭa /tˤ/ — ejective alveolar plosive; characteristic Ethiopian Semitic consonant

ጨ

[tʃʼa]

Č'a /tʃʼ/ — ejective postalveolar affricate; characteristic of Ethiopian Semitic

ጸ

[sˤa]

Ṣa /sˤ/ — emphatic (ejective) alveolar fricative; Proto-Semitic emphatic preserved in Siltʼe

ፈ

[fa]

Fa /f/ — voiceless labiodental fricative; present in Siltʼe

ፐ

[pa]

Pa /p/ — voiceless bilabial plosive; present in Siltʼe primarily in loanwords

Core Ethiopic Vowel Orders:

አ

[a]

ኡ

[u]

ኢ

[i]

ኣ

[aa]

ኤ

[e]

እ

[ə]

ኦ

[o]

አ

[a]

First vowel order (ግዕዝ) — the open central vowel /a/; serves as vowel carrier in the Ethiopic Fidel

ኡ

[u]

Second vowel order (ካዕብ) — the close back rounded vowel /u/

ኢ

[i]

Third vowel order (ሣልስ) — the close front unrounded vowel /i/

ኣ

[aa]

Fourth vowel order (ራብዕ) — long open /aː/ vowel; important in Siltʼe morphology (verbal and nominal patterns)

ኤ

[e]

Fifth vowel order (ኃምስ) — mid front unrounded vowel /e/

እ

[ə]

Sixth vowel order (ሳድስ) — the central reduced vowel /ə/ (schwa); very frequent in Siltʼe, particularly in verb conjugation and noun stems

ኦ

[o]

Seventh vowel order (ሳብዕ) — mid back rounded vowel /o/

East Gurage Fidel Chart (ፊደል)

The Ethiopic Fidel (ፊደል) arranges each East Gurage (Silte) consonant across all 7 vowel orders of the Ge'ez syllabary: ä (1st), u (2nd), i (3rd), a (4th), e (5th), ə (6th), o (7th). Each row is one consonant family — scroll right to see all seven forms ^[1].

Each cell shows the Ethiopic character with its romanisation below. This is the Ethiopic equivalent of the Hindi Barakhadi chart — the systematic syllable table of the Ge'ez Fidel.

Consonant	ä (1st order)	u (2nd order)	i (3rd order)	a (4th order)	e (5th order)	ə (6th order)	o (7th order)
ሀha	ሀha	ሁhu	ሂhi	ሃhaa	ሄhee	ህhe	ሆho
ለla	ለla	ሉlu	ሊli	ላlaa	ሌlee	ልle	ሎlo
ሐħa	ሐħa	ሑħu	ሒħi	ሓħaa	ሔħee	ሕħe	ሖħo
መma	መma	ሙmu	ሚmi	ማmaa	ሜmee	ምme	ሞmo
ረra	ረra	ሩru	ሪri	ራraa	ሬree	ርre	ሮro
ሰsa	ሰsa	ሱsu	ሲsi	ሳsaa	ሴsee	ስse	ሶso
ሸša	ሸʃa	ሹʃu	ሺʃi	ሻʃaa	ሼʃee	ሽʃe	ሾʃo
ቀqa	ቀqa	ቁqu	ቂqi	ቃqaa	ቄqee	ቅqe	ቆqo
በba	በba	ቡbu	ቢbi	ባbaa	ቤbee	ብbe	ቦbo
ተta	ተta	ቱtu	ቲti	ታtaa	ቴtee	ትte	ቶto
ቸča	ቸtʃa	ቹtʃu	ቺtʃi	ቻtʃaa	ቼtʃee	ችtʃe	ቾtʃo
ነna	ነna	ኑnu	ኒni	ናnaa	ኔnee	ንne	ኖno
አa	አa	ኡu	ኢi	ኣaa	ኤee	እə	ኦo
ከka	ከka	ኩku	ኪki	ካkaa	ኬkee	ክke	ኮko
ወwa	ወwa	ዉwu	ዊwi	ዋwaa	ዌwee	ውwe	ዎwo
ዐʿa	ዐʕa	ዑʕu	ዒʕi	ዓʕaa	ዔʕee	ዕʕe	ዖʕo
ዘza	ዘza	ዙzu	ዚzi	ዛzaa	ዜzee	ዝze	ዞzo
የya	የja	ዩju	ዪji	ያjaa	ዬjee	ይje	ዮjo
ደda	ደda	ዱdu	ዲdi	ዳdaa	ዴdee	ድde	ዶdo
ጀja	ጀdʒa	ጁdʒu	ጂdʒi	ጃdʒaa	ጄdʒee	ጅdʒe	ጆdʒo
ገga	ገga	ጉgu	ጊgi	ጋgaa	ጌgee	ግge	ጎgo
ጠṭa	ጠtˤa	ጡtˤu	ጢtˤi	ጣtˤaa	ጤtˤee	ጥtˤe	ጦtˤo
ጨč'a	ጨtʃʼa	ጩtʃʼu	ጪtʃʼi	ጫtʃʼaa	ጬtʃʼee	ጭtʃʼe	ጮtʃʼo
ጸṣa	ጸsˤa	ጹsˤu	ጺsˤi	ጻsˤaa	ጼsˤee	ጽsˤe	ጾsˤo
ፈfa	ፈfa	ፉfu	ፊfi	ፋfaa	ፌfee	ፍfe	ፎfo
ፐpa	ፐpa	ፑpu	ፒpi	ፓpaa	ፔpee	ፕpe	ፖpo

།

[.]

፡

[·]

፣

[,]

፤

[;]

፧

[?]

፨

[¶]

፩

[ʾand]

፪

[hulo]

፫

[šoššat]

፬

[ʾarat]

፭

[ʾamst]

፮

[saddast]

፯

[säbʿat]

፰

[sämmənt]

፱

[zäṭäñ]

፲

[ʿasar]

፩

[ʾand]

One in Siltʼe: ʾand — cognate with Amharic አንድ (and); the glottal onset is characteristic of South Gurage

፪

[hulo]

Two in Siltʼe: hulo — compare Amharic ሁለት (hulet); South Gurage form with loss of final -t

፫

[šoššat]

Three in Siltʼe: šoššat — compare Amharic ሶስት (sost); South Gurage form with distinctive palatalization

፬

[ʾarat]

Four in Siltʼe: ʾarat — cognate with Amharic አራት (arat)

፭

[ʾamst]

Five in Siltʼe: ʾamst — cognate with Amharic አምስት (amist) and related to Arabic خمسة

፮

[saddast]

Six in Siltʼe: saddast — cognate with Amharic ስድስት (sidist) and Arabic ستة

፯

[säbʿat]

Seven in Siltʼe: säbʿat — cognate with Amharic ሰባት (sebat) and Arabic سبعة (sabʿa)

፰

[sämmənt]

Eight in Siltʼe: sämmənt — cognate with Amharic ስምንት (simint); South Gurage variant form

፱

[zäṭäñ]

Nine in Siltʼe: zäṭäñ — cognate with Amharic ዘጠኝ (zäṭäñ); a South Ethiosemitic form

፲

[ʿasar]

Ten in Siltʼe: ʿasar — cognate with Amharic አስር (asir) and Arabic عشرة (ʿashara); the ayin /ʿ/ is preserved in Siltʼe

ሐ

ዐ

ቀ

ጠ

ጨ

ጸ

ሸ

ቸ

ሐ

Voiceless pharyngeal fricative — preserved in Siltʼe, lost in Amharic

ዐ

Voiced pharyngeal fricative — preserved in Siltʼe, lost in Amharic

ቀ

Voiceless uvular plosive — distinct from velar /k/ in Siltʼe

ጠ

Ejective alveolar plosive — characteristic Ethiopian Semitic consonant

ጨ

Ejective postalveolar affricate — characteristic Ethiopian Semitic

ጸ

Emphatic sibilant — Proto-Semitic emphatic preserved in Siltʼe

ሸ

Voiceless postalveolar fricative — the sh sound in Siltʼe

ቸ

Voiceless postalveolar affricate — the ch sound in Siltʼe

Expand All Collapse All

What is "East Gurage"?

What languages are included in the East Gurage cluster?

Why is East Gurage no longer the preferred term?

What writing system does East Gurage use?

Who was Robert Hetzron?

What is the ISO code for Silte (East Gurage)?

What is CNRS's role in East Gurage research?

References:

[1] University of Bergen (UIB) — Department of Foreign Languages / Ethiopian Semitic Studies. "East Gurage Language Classification and Research — University of Bergen" — The University of Bergen has contributed to the linguistic documentation and classification of the East Gurage language cluster — a typological grouping established by Robert Hetzron in his 1972 monograph "Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification." The East Gurage cluster comprises the Silte (Siltʼe), Wolane, and Zay languages of SNNPR, Ethiopia, classified together as Transversal South Ethiopic. Bergen researchers have produced grammatical and phonological descriptions of East Gurage languages, including analyses of their verb-final (SOV) word order, pharyngeal consonants, ejective stops, and the predominantly Muslim cultural identity of Silte speakers. The University of Bergen's Semitic linguistics programme forms part of the Scandinavian tradition of Ethiopian Studies, alongside Uppsala University (Sweden) and the Nordic Africa Institute. Modern usage now prefers "Silte" over "East Gurage" as the primary language name, reflecting the community's own ethnic self-designation since 2001. Retrieved from University of Bergen
[2] CNRS — Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. "East Gurage and Gurage Semitic Language Documentation — CNRS" — CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) has funded phonological and grammatical documentation of East Gurage languages — the Silte cluster (Silte/Siltʼe, Wolane, Zay) within the Transversal South Ethiopic sub-branch of Ethiopic Semitic. The term "East Gurage" derives from Robert Hetzron's 1972 sub-grouping of Gurage languages; subsequent fieldwork at CNRS-affiliated Paris universities (Paris Diderot, Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle) has refined the phonological and morphological description of these languages. East Gurage languages share the pharyngeal consonants (ሐ, ዐ) and ejective stops (ቀ, ጠ, ጨ, ጸ) of Ethiopian Semitic, write with the Ge'ez Fidel abugida, and are predominantly spoken by Muslim communities — a cultural distinction from most other South Ethiopic Semitic peoples. CNRS phonetics and phonology research has documented the sound systems of Silte (ISO 639-3: stv) as the primary representative of the East Gurage cluster. Retrieved from CNRS — Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique