Editing Amharic (section)

== Phonology ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Consonants<ref name="IPAHandbook">{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Katrina|title=Handbook of the IPA|author2=Hayward, Richard J.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|location=Cambridge|pages=44–51|chapter=Amharic}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Labialized velar consonant|Labio-<br />Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|ɲ}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷ}}
|{{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡʷ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|pʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|tʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Fricative]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|sʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|({{IPAlink|β̞}})
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|{{IPAlink|ɾ}} ({{IPAlink|r}})
|
|
|
|
|}
The Amharic [[ejective consonants]] correspond to the [[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] "[[emphatic consonants]]." In the Ethiopianist tradition they are often transcribed with a [[dot (diacritic)|dot]] below the letter. [[File:Amharic vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.36|The vowels of Amharic on a [[vowel chart]].<ref name="IPAHandbook" /> Vowels in parentheses are [[allophone]]s of {{IPAslink|ɨ}} and {{IPAslink|ə}}.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowels<ref name="IPAHandbook" />
|-
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|{{IPAlink|ɨ}} {{angbr|ə}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|ə}} {{angbr|ä}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPAlink|a}}
|
|}
The notation of central vowels in the Ethiopianist tradition is shown in angled brackets.

=== Allophones ===
The [[voiced bilabial plosive]] /b/ is phonetically realized as a [[Voiced bilabial approximant|voiced labial approximant]] [β̞] medially between [[sonorant]]s in non-[[Gemination|geminated]] form. The fricative ejective /{{IPA link|sʼ}}/ is heard as a fricative ejective [{{IPA link|sʼ}}], but is mostly heard as the affricate sound [{{IPA link|t͡sʼ}}]. The [[rhotic consonant]] is realized as a [[Voiced alveolar trill|trill]] when geminated and a [[Voiced alveolar tap|tap]] otherwise. The [[Close central unrounded vowel|closed central unrounded vowel]] {{angle bracket|ə}} /ɨ/ and [[Mid central vowel|mid-central vowel]] {{angle bracket|ä}} /ə/ are generally fronted to [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|ɪ]]] and [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]]], respectively, following [[palatal consonant]]s, and generally retracted and rounded to [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-back rounded vowel|ʊ]]] and [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]]], respectively, following [[labialized velar consonant]]s.<ref name="IPAHandbook" />

==== Examples ====

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Geʽez !! Romanized !! IPA !! Gloss
|-
| {{lang|am|ከበሮ}} || {{transliteration|am|käbäro}} || {{IPA|[kə'''β̞'''əɾo]|lang=am}}|| drum
|-
| {{lang|am|ብር}} || {{transliteration|am|bərr}} || {{IPA|[bɨ'''r''']|lang=am}}|| [[Ethiopian birr]]
|-
| {{lang|am|ይህ}} || {{transliteration|am|yəh}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɪ'''h]|lang=am}}|| this
|-
| {{lang|am|የማን}} || {{transliteration|am|yäman}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɛ'''man]|lang=am}}|| whose
|-
| {{lang|am|ውስጥ}} || {{transliteration|am|wəsṭ}} || {{IPA|[w'''ʊ'''stʼ]|lang=am}}|| in
|-
| {{lang|am|ወንድ}} || {{transliteration|am|wänd}} || {{IPA|[w'''ɔ'''nd]|lang=am}}|| man
|}