Abbay Media News
Girma Alemu
‘Ge’ez’ originated from the northern part of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It used to be an official national language during earlier Ethiopian kingdoms.
‘Ge’ez’ is believed to be the Lingua Franca of ancient civilizations, but nowadays its use is limited to Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches. Recently, it has gained world attention and has started being offered as a language in universities.
Various news media reported that the Canadian singer, The Weekend (Abel Tesfaye) donated money to the University of Toronto to start offering ‘Ge’ez’ as a course. Recently, University of Washington become the third institution to start offering the ancient language as a course.
Several individuals including Ethiopian-born Americans, Eritreans and Somalis have shown interest in registering and learning the language. Presently, there are 30 registered students studying ‘Ge’ez’, and several others have queued to register and attend classes.
