Evolution of terminology in the Amharic language

Abstract

In the present article several aspects of development of the terminology of the Amharic language in recent decades are discussed. The period of drastic alterations in the life of the Ethiopian society is characterized by the emergence and rapid development of terminological units used to describe new phenomena and concepts. The activation of prefixal and suffixal formation methods of terminological units plays an important role in the enrichment of the terminology of the modern Amharic language. Great amount of complex words is formed based on original Amharic vocabulary by Amharic word formation models as well as on the basis of loanwords.