We've put you in Columbus, OH.
The fidel, first words with their sound, and where to ask about weekend classes — for children growing up here, and the parents teaching them.
Tales Ethiopian grandparents tell, a page at a time. Read it to your child, or let them read it to you — then answer the questions and tell it back.
These are traditional Ethiopian tales, retold in our own words. Hundreds more, collected from storytellers in every region, are at Ethiopian Folktales
Read it aloud together. Try the Amharic first; the English is one tap away. Then answer the three questions — if one is wrong, read the story again and try another.
Saturday at the market
ቅዳሜ ጠዋት እኔና እናቴ ወደ ገበያ ሄድን።
ገበያው በሰዎች ተሞልቶ ነበር።
እናቴ ቲማቲም፣ ሽንኩርትና በርበሬ ገዛች።
እኔ ብርቱካን እንድትገዛልኝ ጠየቅኋት።
እሷም «ሁለት ብቻ» አለች።
ሻጯ ፈገግ ብላ አንድ ተጨማሪ ብርቱካን ሰጠችኝ።
እኔም «አመሰግናለሁ» አልኳት።
ቤት ስንደርስ እናቴ ጣፋጭ ወጥ ሠራች።
ወደ ገበያ መቼ ሄዱ?
ልጁ በመጨረሻ ስንት ብርቱካን አገኘ?
ልጁ ለሻጯ ምን አላት?
Grandma's phone call
አያቴ የምትኖረው አዲስ አበባ ነው።
እኛ ደግሞ የምንኖረው እዚህ አሜሪካ ነው።
በየእሁዱ አያቴ ትደውልልናለች።
«እንዴት ነህ? ትምህርት እንዴት ነው?» ብላ ትጠይቀኛለች።
እኔም በአማርኛ እመልስላታለሁ።
አያቴ በጣም ትደሰታለች።
«በክረምት ና፣ እንጀራ እጋግርልሃለሁ» ትለኛለች።
አያት የምትኖረው የት ነው?
አያት መቼ ትደውላለች?
አያት ለምን ትደሰታለች?
Ask a parent or grandparent in Amharic, listen to the answer, then do the task. Heritage-language classes send children home with questions like these.
Your parents
«የተወለዳችሁት የት ነው?»
Where were you born?
Then: Find the place on a map, and ask one thing about it.
A parent or grandparent
«በልጅነታችሁ ምን ጨዋታ ትጫወቱ ነበር?»
What games did you play when you were little?
Then: Play it together, and say the rules in Amharic.
A grandparent
«ዛሬ እዚያ አየሩ እንዴት ነው?»
What is the weather like there today?
Then: Tell them yours, in Amharic.
The order follows published Amharic courses and children's readers: the seven vowel forms and a few letter families at a time, reading only words made from letters already taught (FSI Amharic Basic Course; University of Wisconsin); short stories and folk tales followed by questions, as in Ethiopia's Grade 1–3 readers and its national early-grade reading check; English beside the Amharic, as the bilingual diaspora books do; and questions to ask at home, as heritage classes give. The Amharic is drafted and is being checked by a native speaker.