Amharic Lesson #1

We got a few requests today to help with the pronunciation of Tsegaw's name, so I thought I would help.  Before I get into it, let me preface this by saying that you're probably saying it right just reading as it's written in English. Reading further might just confuse you.

Maybe it's easier to just read it in the Amharic:

ፀጋው

No? Not so helpful?

Let me try a different way.  The first part is "Tseh", The Ts is really easy, like the "ts" at the end of "Mets" or "Jets." The "eh" is not "ay?" like a Canadian, just eh, as in "meh."  Similar to a-ME-rica.  For a little added fun, the "Ts" is "explosive" meaning you put your tongue on your front teeth and hold in the sound for a second before letting it out.  To write it, I think you'd write it TSegaw, I'm also seeing TZeh- written on the internet, if that helps with the explosive part, but it's not a Zzzz sound, it's definitely an ssss.

The -gaw part is just as it's written.  Gaw. Rhymes with caw, craw, maw, paw, you get the idea. No special emphasis here, just finishing the word.

So, TSE-gaw.

To circle back to the Amharic (the characters are called "fidels") it's:
ፀ Tse 
ጋ Gah 
ው Wuh
The "uh" is dropped at the end so it becomes a two syllable word.  Tse-gaw.

Erin and I are pleased that there don't seem to be any names like "Gcinaphi" in Amaharic, the explosive sounds are pretty much the only complicating factor, and we're both already getting passing marks on those sounds.

Hope that helps!

- ገራቴ and አሪን

P.S. Joe, I think I just successfully disproved your bet that I'd never write with this one! What do you owe me?