Response back to our roots, back to Geez.

Back to our roots, back to Geez By Godofai Tgiorgis was posted on Aigaforum.com. I like Godofai Tgiorgis’s opinion interested regarding his opinion he dealt of what is good language for Ethiopia http://aigaforum.com/articles/back_to_geez.htm

Now, let me go back to brother Godofai’s opinion. I enjoyed Godofai’s article and I sincerely found it a sincere opinion written by a concerned individual but his suggestion does not solve the problem of language, if there is any. I agree with him that we should preserve Geez, but Geez is not as neutral as he thinks. It was the language the Abyssinians which the Oromo resent. I also agree with him that adopting the Latin script does not make sense. It is against our national dignity and pride ( I have argued about it for years and wrote articles over and over to tell that adopting the Latin script to Oromo or the other Ethiopians doesn’t take them to any civilization (see Latin Americans, and many Africans such as Somalia and the rest of the Africans).

But people are communicating in Amharic, why think of another national language? Ethnic groups are allowed to use their languages in their communities and even develop them if they want. Moving from Amharic is unnecessary and creates more complication.  We should rather convince people that Amharic is not the language of one particular ethnic group ANY MORE. It has become the language of people who have abandoned their ethnic language and adopted it instead. As Godofai rightly putted it – “The introduction of Latin, the revival of Tigrigna, etc. was nothing more than a protest against Amharic and through it the Amahara rule”.

There is also one more thing that I do disagree with Godofai when he said “Amharic is therefore convenient but not a choice unless otherwise the people have a say for it.” People might have power on what language to chose; the problem is not that they chose or not. The issue must focus what they chose should weigh with what they want to abandon also. That is exactly what went wrong with the Eritrean issue. They were told it is your right to chose to separate from Ethiopia, which they did. But, because they were given only the word “the right to chose” without “weighing” what they will “abandon or loose and gain”, - as we all now, they end up getting what they got now. What they got now is “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”. Therefore, what Medrek is proposing (OromiNga) (Oromifa) to be official language of Ethiopia is not only cheap propaganda to attract more Oromo voters to their crook political design, but as we all know in the 1930’s and 40’s Germany Jews were singled out as the problem to be eradicated in Germany: - since 1991 the Amhara and everything Amhara is also singled out as the problem to be eradicated.

That was the game to it. Other than that, as I said it above people are communicating in Amharic, why think of another national language? Ethnic groups are allowed to use their languages in their communities and even develop them if they want. Moving from Amharic is unnecessary and creates more complication. Amharic is not the language of one particular ethnic group ANY MORE. It has become the language of people who have abandoned their ethnic language and adopted it instead. So, brother Godofai to believe “Geez will be accepted as a neutral language by all, particularly by the Oromo “is naïve. Geez was the language the Abyssinians which the Oromo resent. If they resent Amharic/Tigringa they sure will also with the Geez. Am I right? That is what the “Oromo nationalists” such as the young Jawar Mohammed and his likes will tell you. Nevertheless I enjoyed your opinion.

Let alone Geez to be loved /accepted by Oromo (particular by the OLF supporters), they young OLF supporters will be angry if they hear you saying Ormonga for Oromifa. They think we are trying to dominate the Oromo with Amharic, as the foolish Tigrian revolutionaries such as TPLF and its followers and other poor minded Tigrayans demand/get furious against the Amharic speaking people for calling the Tigraway Tigre. What these revolutionaries are missing is what themselves the Tigrayans called the Amhara. The Tigrayans called the Amhara people “Amharay/Amharu” when the Amhara themselves calls “Amhara/Amara/Amaroch”. Does that make sense? Who gave the Tigrayans the right to call Amharay to the people who call themselves “Amara/Amhara”? (I was debating this issue since Aram Maru in Axum and in Mekelle also with the many members so called Tigray Bahli “to name with Desta Bezabih” and the rest of the “Y’ group. None of them tried to throw my argument, but went ahead and still some poor minded fellows continue getting mad if someone calls us “Tigre” or Tigrewoch not “Tigraway or Tegaru”) The same goes to the rest of the many poor minded revolutionary elements who think of theirs only as right and get offended when someone calls them Galla, but they have the right to call the current Ethiopia “as “Abyssinia, Habesha, Axumite” (though I have no problem-with-that). So, let us go with Amharic already serving as bridge and national language, since Amharic have no other replacement by any imagination.

Thanks

Getachew-Reda

5/11/10