Qwara language
Encyclopedia
Qwara, or Qwareña is one of two Agaw dialects formerly spoken by a subgroup of the Beta Israel
(Ethiopia
n Jews) of the Qwara
area. It is a dialect of Qimant
.
The language was on the decline in the early 20th century, as it was being slowly replaced by Amharic
. During Operation Solomon
, most of its remaining speakers were airlifted to Israel
, where it continues to lose ground to Hebrew
.
Several early Falashan manuscripts, using the Ge'ez alphabet
, exist; in more recent times, the language has been recorded by several linguists and travellers, starting with Flad in 1866.
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
(Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n Jews) of the Qwara
Qwara Province
Qwara was a province in Ethiopia, located between Lake Tana and the frontier with Sudan, and stretcing from Agawmeder in the south as far north as Metemma...
area. It is a dialect of Qimant
Qimant language
The Qimant language is a highly endangered language spoken by a small and elderly fraction of the Qemant people in Northern Ethiopia mainly in Chilga Woreda in Semien Gondar Zone between Gondar and Metemma.-Classification:...
.
The language was on the decline in the early 20th century, as it was being slowly replaced by Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
. During Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous...
, most of its remaining speakers were airlifted to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where it continues to lose ground to Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
.
Several early Falashan manuscripts, using the Ge'ez alphabet
Ge'ez alphabet
Ge'ez , also called Ethiopic, is a script used as an abugida for several languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea but originated in an abjad used to write Ge'ez, now the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church...
, exist; in more recent times, the language has been recorded by several linguists and travellers, starting with Flad in 1866.