Native speakers are your model. You learn by listening to a simple phrase, then repeating it in the pause on the tape, and then listening to the same phrase again to check your pronunciation. Phrases lead to simple dialogs that you master through skillfully constructed repetitions.

      Everything on the tape is in the target language, which helps you quickly get to the point of thinking in the foreign language. Linguists call this the "direct method," which is the most effective, for it avoids a learner's tendency to think of what to say in one's native language and then attempt to translate into the new language. With the audio method you can literally hear the progress you're making. Your accomplishment will come early, and it's tremendously satisfying.

   You may also want to know:

• Emphasis is on speaking and understanding the spoken language. So the audio cassette is the primary medium of instruction. The text supports the tape with explanations and printed versions of the dialogs.
• If your native language is not English, our courses can be used effectively, since everything on the tapes is in the target language.
• We recommend that you go through a new lesson for the first time with the book. Thereafter practice with the tapes alone is okay, and can be done in the car, while exercising, walking the dog or whatever.
• It's best to master material on each cassette before going on to the next.
• If you're the average language learner, to master material on a tape you will need to go through it about five times.
• Keep your learning sessions relatively short—as little as 25 minutes a day will probably work for you. Study at your own pace is best.
• If you practice regularly we guarantee you'll be amazed at your progress.

Ethiopian is the official language of the Ethiopian Empire and used in government, in business, in all instruction in government schools, and in most newspapers.  It is, however, not the only language spoken in Ethiopia.  Ethiopian belongs to the Southern Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly called Hamito-Semitic) family of languages.  The number of native speakers of Ethiopian together with the speakers of the other Semitic languages spoken in Ethiopia (such as Tigriniya, Tigre, Harari, Gurage and others) is less than one half the total population of the Empire.  The greatest part of Ethiopia is inhabited by speakers of Cushitic languages (another branch of the Afro-Asiatic family) such as Galia, Agaw, Somali and many others.  But Ethiopian is now the language of greatest prestige and anyone who has had any education is able to speak it, even if it is not his mother tongue.  Still others learn it informally as a second language. The number of speakers worldwide, including those using it as a second language is estimated to be about 21 million.
 

Native speakers are your model. You learn by listening to a simple phrase, then repeating it in the pause on the tape, and then listening to the same phrase again to check your pronunciation. Phrases lead to simple dialogs that you master through skillfully constructed repetitions.

      Everything on the tape is in the target language, which helps you quickly get to the point of thinking in the foreign language. Linguists call this the "direct method," which is the most effective, for it avoids a learner's tendency to think of what to say in one's native language and then attempt to translate into the new language. With the audio method you can literally hear the progress you're making. Your accomplishment will come early, and it's tremendously satisfying.

   You may also want to know:

• Emphasis is on speaking and understanding the spoken language. So the audio cassette is the primary medium of instruction. The text supports the tape with explanations and printed versions of the dialogs.
• If your native language is not English, our courses can be used effectively, since everything on the tapes is in the target language.
• We recommend that you go through a new lesson for the first time with the book. Thereafter practice with the tapes alone is okay, and can be done in the car, while exercising, walking the dog or whatever.
• It's best to master material on each cassette before going on to the next.
• If you're the average language learner, to master material on a tape you will need to go through it about five times.
• Keep your learning sessions relatively short—as little as 25 minutes a day will probably work for you. Study at your own pace is best.
• If you practice regularly we guarantee you'll be amazed at your progress.

Ethiopian is the official language of the Ethiopian Empire and used in government, in business, in all instruction in government schools, and in most newspapers.  It is, however, not the only language spoken in Ethiopia.  Ethiopian belongs to the Southern Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly called Hamito-Semitic) family of languages.  The number of native speakers of Ethiopian together with the speakers of the other Semitic languages spoken in Ethiopia (such as Tigriniya, Tigre, Harari, Gurage and others) is less than one half the total population of the Empire.  The greatest part of Ethiopia is inhabited by speakers of Cushitic languages (another branch of the Afro-Asiatic family) such as Galia, Agaw, Somali and many others.  But Ethiopian is now the language of greatest prestige and anyone who has had any education is able to speak it, even if it is not his mother tongue.  Still others learn it informally as a second language. The number of speakers worldwide, including those using it as a second language is estimated to be about 21 million.
 

    Ethiopian is a Semitic language, spoken by over 17 million people as a first language, and used as a lingua franca throughout much of central highland Ethiopia.  Its status as a de facto national language is largely due to the long dominance of the Ethiopian monarchy by Amhara sovereigns.  Ethiopian is written in a modified form of the partly syllabic, partly alphabetic script used to write Geez, the classical language of Christian Ethiopian civilization (see Ethiopic languages).  Though manuscripts in Ethiopian are known from the 14th century, the language has only recently been used as a general medium for literature, journalism, and education.
 Spoken Language Services is "the original self-study language teacher." Featuring techniques pioneered by professional linguists during World War II, these no-nonsense courses have been used successfully by thousands of students to jump-start their foreign language training. No other method has proved more effective than the simple listen-and-imitate method these courses employ.  In fact, it is the same way we all learned as children to speak our native language!
   Most of the courses in the Spoken Language Series were prepared originally by professional linguists under the aegis of the American Council of Learned Societies and the Linguistic Society of America.  Books are self-instruction and are accompanied by cassettes keyed to the course material.  Cassettes are recorded by native speakers and cover conversations, pronunciation exercises, and TRUE-FALSE tests. Each word or phrase is spoken first in English* and then twice in the language of the course, with a pause after each utterance to allow the listener to repeat and imitate. The cassettes can be used for practice without the text.  If you truly want to learn and speak the Ethiopian language, this is an excellent instruction course.
    Grammatical explanations are given for the language content already learned. The learner gets systematic development of the linguistic structure instead of first learning a grammar and then trying to fit utterances into it.    Course material covered in Book I is roughly equivalent to one semester's intensive study (8 class hours per week with 30 hours outside practice). At the end of the course the learner should have a good grounding in everyday vocabulary, grammar, and usage, and be able to communicate with native speakers.  This could be exactly the course that you are looking for!

Voices woven through staccato rhythms lead you to a narrow alley.  Laughter flows from beneath a door.  It opens to a kaleidoscope of sound and color, led by an Azmari singing a song of invitation.

  A waiter smiles as you glance in the book - you order a Bira and some Ocholoni.  The day had started with a mountain top view of the Blue Nile and now the vibrant city nightlife takes you in.

•   New pronunciation guide and Ethiopian script
•   Expanded dictionary with over 1000 words
•   Grammar essentials for building your own sentences
•   Cultural information and basic travel tips
•   Phrases for every traveller