Anbessa Teferra

Born: 1962, Yirba (Sidaama), Ethiopia
Immigrated to Israel: 1990

Married + 2 Children (Jared and Hanoch)

Academic Qualifications:

1980-1984 Addis Ababa University, Institute of Language Studies (B.A in Linguistics, 1984)
1985-1987 Addis Ababa University, Institute of Language Studies (M.A in Linguistics, 1987)
1991-1993 Tel Aviv University, Pre-Doctoral Studies, Lingusitics Department
1993-2000 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Linguistics

Working experience:

Lecturer and field researcher in the Department of Linguistics, Addis Ababa University from 1984 until 1990
Since 1994 teaches in the Department of Linguistics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
From 2003 teaches in Department of Semitic Linguistics at Tel Aviv univeristy
Since 2002 Supervisor of Amharic Language Instruction in Israeli secondary schools & colleges
Since 1997 taught Amharic for Bagrut in various colleges and secondary schools
Since 2001 Amharic editor of Yedi'ot Negat, a Hebrew-Amharic newspaper
Took part in several international conferences

Courses taught:
Introduction to Language and Linguistics, General Phonetics and Phonology, Amharic for Beginners, Advanced Amharic, Sidaama for Beginners, Sidaama for Advanced Students, Topics in the Morphology and Syntax of Ethiopian Langauges.

dinner

Dinner with Amharic class at an Ethiopian restaurant in Tel-Aviv (2007)

Fields of interest:
The Structure of Amharic, Linguistic Analysis of Sidaama, Cushitic Linguistics, Hebrew-Amharic Lexicography, Phonetics and Phonology, Sociolinguistics, Text Translation.

Publications:

Books:

The Amharic Script (in Amharic and Hebrew). Ramat Aviv, Centre for Educational Technology (CET) , 1999.
My Dictionary: a Hebrew-Amharic Illustrated Dictionary (in Hebrew and Amharic). Ramat Aviv, CET, 2000.
A Hebrew-Amharic Multimedia Dictionary for the Youth (in Hebrew and Amharic). Ramat Aviv, CET, 2001.

Papers:

“Ballissha : Women's Speech Among the Sidama”, Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. XX, pp. 44-59, Addis Ababa University: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, 1987.

Anbessa Teferra and Unseth Peter. 1990. “Toward the Classification of Shabo”, in Bender, ed.: Topics in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics, 405-418 (Nilo-Saharan Linguistic Analyses and Documentation 3), Buske, Hamburg. 1990.

“A Sketch of Shabo Grammar”, in Bender, ed.: Proceedings of the Fourth Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, 373-89 (Nilo-Saharan Linguistic Analyses and Documentation 7), Buske, Hamburg. 1991.

“Complementation in Sidamo”, in Banti, ed.:Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic Languages, Torino, Italy. 1993.

“Phonological Government in Sidaama”, in Harold G. Marcus, ed. Papers of the 12th     International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. I, pp.1085-1101 (New Trends In Ethiopian Studies), The Red Sea Press Inc. 1994.

“A Brief Phonology of Shabo (Mekeyir)”, in Nicolai Robert and Rottland Frantz, eds. Fifth Nilo- Saharan Linguistics Colloquium", Nilo-Saharan Vol. 10, pp. 29-37. Köln: Köppe Verlag. 1995.

"Differences Between the Amharic Dialects of Gondär and Addis Abäba" in T. Parfitt and   E.Trevisan Semi (eds.) The Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel - Studies on the Ethiopian Jews, pp. 257-263, London: Curzon Press. 1999.

“Palatalization in Sidaama”, Proceedingss of the XIVth International Conference of         Ethiopian Studies. pp. 1674-78 Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University Press. 2002.

Was advisor and also contributor in preparation of various books on Amharic such as Amharic for Beginners and Advanced Students, Folktales of Ethiopian Jews, Amharic Songs, etc.

Address: Dr. Anbessa Teferra, Dept. of Hebrew and Semitic Languages, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
Home: P.O.Box 76, Hadera 38100, Israel.
E-mail: teferra@h2.hum.huji.ac.il

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