The analysis shows that the converbs identify the initial phase of the event encoded by a following verb. The data collection that was analized consists of elicitations, audio recordings, and written texts. The languages under investigation are Amharic, Argobba, Harari, Zay, and Selt’i. This thesis investigates the syntactic features, functions, and diachrony of a complex predicate called ‘the inceptive construction’ which is based on a grammaticalised use of the converbs ‘get up’, ‘pick up’, ‘grasp’, and ‘take’. pitch accents with a single tone-bearing-unit, and allowing bitonal boundary tones are among the modifications on tonal representations which are proposed in this thesis The quotative contour provides an example and it requires a device not fully available in a model devised particularly to handle the features of English. There are some intonational features in Amharic which do not have counterparts in English. Each of these basic features is shown to be capable of modification by varying the value(s) of the constituent tones. A number of contour type: meaning correlates are identified for Amharic and they are analysed to reveal certain 'basic features. The phrase accent is usually associated with the last syllable of the penultimate word or follows the last pitch accent within the intonational phrase. The stressable syllable is the only one that may be associated with the pitch accent, (i. The former predicts the lexically stressable syllable within the category stem. To spell out the association principles, the lexical category and the word-group (or phrase) stress rules have been investigated.
The segmental and the autosegmental tiers are associated following principles given by the Universal Association Convention and the language particular rules. In the description, intonational features are represented as well ordered sequences of static tones on a separate tier from the segments. The model adopted for this is that of the Autosegmental Phonology and in particular deriving- considerable inspiration from the work of Pierrehumbert (1980). The central purpose of this thesis is to present a detailed account of the intonation of Amharic. Events axe presented achronologically, often in scenic form. They use narrators that are less patronizing and reserved from openly conveying their value judgements. Their dialogues are casual and have the semblance of naturalness. Their plots operate on a higher scale of probability. resort to characters that are social types rather than abstractions of ideas. The main finding of this study is that while the tendency to preach by using thinly-disguised demonstrative episodes, mouthpiece characters, and/or moralizing commentary still persists, the practice of subtly conveying the author's vision of life through plausibly dramatized situations has also begun to win more adherents. In each case attempts are also made to assess not only the degree of coherence in the surface structure, but also the harmonization of the meanings and/or effects generated by the particular method of presentation. In each of the ten chapters the construction of plot, the delineation of characters, the modes of exposition, the rendition of scenes, and the intrusions of the narrator are closely scrutinized so as to give an insight into the formal features of each work.
Each of these works is discussed separately, in the order of its publication. Ba'alu's Ka-admas Bashaggar, and Abbe's Ya-raggafu Ababoch. These are: Afawarq's Lebb Wallad Tarik, Heruy' s Haddis Alam, Germachaw's Ar'aya, Makonnen's Almot'hum Beyye Alwashem, Nagash's Setenna, Adari, Berhanu's Ya-Tewodros Enba, Haddis' Feger Eska Magaber, Dannachaw's Adafres. To show the various tendencies in the methods of presention used during the brief tradition of novelistic writing, the works of ten representative writers have been selected from different periods. The aim of this dissertation is to provide a critical introduction to narrative modes in the Amharic novel. In previous studies of Amharic prose fiction, the question of form has not received sufficient attention.