Editing Tigre language

{{Short description|Semitic language spoken in the Horn of Africa}}
{{Distinguish|Tigrinya language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{cleanup lang|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Tigre 
| nativename = {{lang|tig|ትግሬ}} ({{transliteration|tig|Təgré}}), {{lang|tig|ትግራይት}} ({{transliteration|tig|Tigrayit}})
| states = [[Eritrea]], [[Sudan]]<ref name="e28|tig">{{e28|tig}}</ref>
| region = [[Anseba Region|Anseba]], [[Gash-Barka Region|Gash-Barka]], [[Northern Red Sea region|Northern Red Sea]], [[Red Sea State]]
| ethnicity = [[Tigre people|Tigre]]
| speakers = {{sigfig|1.012300|1}} million
| date = 2022–2024
| ref = <ref name="e28|tig">{{e28|tig}}</ref>
| familycolor = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2 = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3 = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4 = [[South Semitic languages|South Semitic]]
| fam5 = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopic]]
| fam6 = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|North]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Classification-of-Ethiosemitic-languages-according-to-Hudson-2013_fig1_363263199|title=Classification of Ethio Semitic languages according to Hudson 2013|publisher=Research Gate|access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363263199_Issues_in_Mapping_and_Classifying_the_Semitic_Languages_of_Ethiopia/download?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QifX0|title=Issues in mapping and classifying the Semitic languages of Ethiopia|publisher=Tekabe Legesse Felake|access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref> 
| script = Tigre alphabet ([[Geʽez script]]), [[Arabic script]]
| nation = 
| minority = {{flagcountry|Eritrea}} <br />{{flagcountry|Sudan}}
| dialects = Mansa (Mensa), Habab, Beni-Amir, Semhar, Algeden, Senhit (Ad-Tekleis, Ad-Temariam, Bet-Juk, Marya Kayah)
| iso2 = tig
| iso3 = tig
| glotto = tigr1270
| glottorefname = Tigre
| notice = IPA
}}
{{Contains special characters|Ge’ez}}
'''Tigre''' ({{lang|tig|ትግሬ}},<ref>{{Cite book |last=Littmann |first=Enno |title=Wörterbuch der Tigrē-Sprache: Tigrē-Deutsch-Englisch |last2=Höfner |first2=Maria |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |year=1962 |location=Wiesbaden |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Munzinger |first=Werner |title=Vocabulaire de la langue tigré |publisher=T. O. Weigel |year=1865 |location=Leipzig |language=fr}}</ref> {{transliteration|tig|Təgré}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Семитские языки. Эфиосемитские языки |date= |publisher=Academia |year=2013 |isbn=978-5-87444-366-5 |editor-last=Булах |editor-first=Мария |series=Языки мира / Российская академия наук, Институт языкознания |location=Москва |pages=217 |language=ru |editor-last2=}}</ref>), also known as '''Tigrayit''' ({{lang|tig|ትግራይት}}),<ref name="e28|tig">{{e28|tig}}</ref> is an [[Ethio-Semitic languages|Ethio-Semitic]] language spoken in the [[Horn of Africa]], primarily by the [[Tigre people]] of Eritrea.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tigre-language |title=  Tigre language| website= Bratannica Encyclopaedia }}</ref> It is believed to be the most closely related living language to [[Ge'ez]], which is still in use as the liturgical language of the [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] and [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]. Tigre has a [[lexical similarity]] of 71% with Ge’ez and of 64% with Tigrinya.<ref name="e28|tig">{{e28|tig}}</ref> As of 1997, Tigre was spoken by approximately 800,000 Tigre people in Eritrea.<ref name="Tie">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country/Eritrea/|title=Languages of Eritrea|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref> The Tigre mainly inhabit western Eritrea, though they also reside in the northern highlands of Eritrea and its extension into the adjacent parts of Sudan, as well as Eritrea's Red Sea coast north of [[Zula]]. There is a small number of Tigre speakers in Sudan, as well as communities of speakers found in the diaspora.<ref name="e28|tig">{{e28|tig}}</ref>

The Tigre people are not to be confused with their neighbors to the south, the [[Tigrigni|Tigrinya people]] of Eritrea and the [[Tigrayans]] of Ethiopia, both of whom speak Tigrinya. Tigrinya is also derived from the parent Geʽez tongue{{Citation needed|date=February 2024|reason=no scholarly source comes to mind that makes the claim that Ge'ez is in a parent relationship to Tigray and Tigrinya.}}, but is quite distinct from Tigre despite the similarity in name.

==Dialects==
There are several dialects of Tigre, some of them are; Mansa’ (Mensa), Habab, Barka, Semhar, Algeden, Senhit (Ad-Tekleis, Ad-Temariam, Bet-Juk, Marya Kayah) and [[Dahalik language|Dahalik]], which is spoken in the [[Dahlak Archipelago]]. Intelligibility between the dialects is above 91% (except Dahalik), where intelligibility between Dahalik and the other dialects is between 24% and 51%.<ref name=e27>{{e27|tig}}</ref>

Tigre speakers in Sudan also call the language "hāsā".<ref name=":0" /> However the term 'Hasa', and in other variations of names such as 'Xasa' or 'Khasa' is considered pejorative by the Tigre.<ref name=e27/>

==Vocabulary==
===Numerals===
The cardinal and ordinal numbers in Tigre are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! rowspan="2" |Number
! colspan="2" |Cardinal
! colspan="3" |Ordinal
|-
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neutral
!Masculine
!Feminine
|-
| rowspan="2" |1
| rowspan="2" |{{langx|tig|አሮ|’aro|label=none}}
| rowspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሐቴ|ḥate|label=none}} or {{langx|tig|ሐንቴ|ḥante|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|አወል|’awel|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|አወላይ|’awelay|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|አወላይት|’awelayit|label=none}}
|-
|{{langx|tig|ቀዳም|q’edam|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ቀዳማይ|q’edamay|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ቀዳሚት|q’edamit|label=none}}
|-
|2
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ክልኤ|kili’ē|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ከልእ|kel’|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ከለኣይ|kele’ay|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ከለኣይት|kele’ayt|label=none}}
|-
|3
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰለአስ|sel’ās|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ሰልስ|sals|label=none}}
|-
|4
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|አርበዕ|’arbaʽe|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ረብዕ|rabʽe|label=none}}
|-
|5
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሐምስ|ḥams|label=none}} or {{langx|tig|ሐሙስ|ḥamus|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ሐምስ|ḥams|label=none}}
|-
|6
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ስእስ|si’es|label=none}} or {{langx|tig|ሱስ|sus|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ሰድስ|sads|label=none}}
|-
|7
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰቡዕ|sebuʽi|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ሰብዕ|sabʽe|label=none}}
|-
|8
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰመን|seman|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ሰምን|samn|label=none}}
|-
|9
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰዕ|siʽe|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ተስዕ|tasʽe|label=none}}
|-
|10
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ዐስር|ʽasr|label=none}}
|{{langx|tig|ዐስር|ʽasr|label=none}}
|-
|11
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ዐስር-ሐተ|ʽasr-hatte|label=none}}
|-
|20
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ዕስረ|ʽisra|label=none}}
|-
|21
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ዕስረ ወሐተ|ʽisra w ḥate|label=none}}
|-
|30
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰለሰ|selasa|label=none}}
|-
|40
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|አርበዐ|arbaʽa|label=none}}
|-
|50
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሐምሰ|ḥamsa|label=none}}
|-
|100
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ምእት|mi’et|label=none}}
|-
|200
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ክልኤ ምእት|kil’e mi’et|label=none}}
|-
|300
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|ሰለአስ ምእት|seles mi’et|label=none}}
|-
|1000
| colspan="2" |{{langx|tig|አልፍ|’alf|label=none}}
|}
Ordinal numbers have both feminine and masculine form. To describe the masculine form -''ay'' is added and respective -''ayt'' to describe the feminine form.

==Phonology==
Tigre has preserved the two [[pharyngeal consonant]]s of Ge'ez. The Ge'ez vowel inventory has almost been preserved except that the two vowels which are phonetically close to {{IPA|[ɐ]}} and [a] seem to have evolved into a pair of phonemes which have the same quality (the same articulation) but differ in length; [a] vs. {{IPA|[aː]}}. The original phonemic distinction according to quality survives in Tigrinya. The vowel {{IPA|[ɐ]}}, traditionally named "first order vowel", is most commonly transcribed ''ä'' in Semitic linguistics.

The phonemes of Tigre are displayed below in both [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) symbols (indicated by the IPA brackets) and the symbols common (though not universal) among linguists who work on [[Ethiopian Semitic languages]]. For the long vowel {{IPA|/aː/}}, the symbol 'ā' is used per Raz (1983). Three consonants, /p, p', x/, occur only in a small number of loanwords, hence they are written in parentheses.

As in other [[Ethiopian Semitic languages]], the phonemic status of {{IPA|/ə/}} is questionable; it may be possible to treat it as an [[epenthesis|epenthetic]] vowel that is introduced to break up consonant clusters.

<div>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ [[Consonant]]s
!colspan="2"|
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!colspan="2"|[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
!{{small|[[Voiceless consonant|voiceless]]}}
|({{IPA link|p}})
|{{IPA link|t}}
|{{IPA link|tʃ}} {{grapheme|č}}
|{{IPA link|k}}
|
|rowspan="3"|{{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
!{{small|[[Voiced consonant|voiced]]}}
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʒ}} {{grapheme|ǧ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
!{{small|[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]}}
|({{IPA link|pʼ}})
|{{IPA link|tʼ}}
|{{IPA link|tʃʼ}} {{grapheme|č'}}
|{{IPA link|kʼ}}
|
|-
!rowspan="3"|[[Fricative]]
!{{small|[[Voiceless consonant|voiceless]]}}
|{{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|s}}
|{{IPA link|ʃ}} {{grapheme|š}}
|({{IPA link|x}})
|{{IPA link|ħ}}
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
!{{small|[[Voiced consonant|voiced]]}}
|
|{{IPA link|z}}
|{{IPA link|ʒ}} {{grapheme|ž}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʕ}}
|
|-
!{{small|[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]}}
|
|{{IPA link|sʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-

!colspan="2"|[[Approximant]]
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|j}} {{grapheme|y}}
|{{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|-
!colspan="2"|[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+[[Vowel]]s
|-
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|{{IPA link|ɨ}} {{grapheme|ə}}
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}}, {{IPA link|ː|aː}} {{grapheme|ā}}
|
|}
</div>
{{Clear}}

===Consonant length===
Consonant length is phonemic in Tigre (that is, a pair of words can be distinct by consonant length alone), although there are few such minimal pairs. Some consonants do not occur long; these include the pharyngeal consonants, the glottal consonants, {{IPA|/w/}}, and {{IPA|/j/}}. In this language, long consonants arise almost solely by [[gemination]] as a [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]] process; there are few, if any, long consonants in word roots. Gemination is especially prominent in verb morphology.

==Grammar==

These notes use the spelling adopted by Camperio (1936 – see bibliography) which seems to approximate to Italian rules.

Nouns are of two genders, masculine and feminine. 
*Indefinite article: masculine '''uoro አሮ''' e.g. '''uoro ennas አሮ እነስ''' – a man; feminine '''hatte ሐተ''' e.g. '''hatte sit ሐተ እሲት''' – a woman.
* The definite article, "the", when expressed, is '''la ለ''' e.g.  '''ለጸሐይ ወ ለወርሕ''' – the sun and the moon.

As we might expect from a Semitic language, specifically feminine forms, where they exist, are often formed of an element with '''t''':
* masculine: አድግ ʼ'''adəg'''- donkey, ass; feminine: እድግሀት '''ʼədgəhat''' – she-ass;
* masculine: ከልብ '''kalb''' – dog; feminine: ከልበት '''kalbat''' – bitch;
* masculine: ከድመይ '''kadmay''' – serving man; ከድመይት '''kadmayt''' – serving-woman;
* masculine: መምበ '''mamba''' – lord, master;  መምበይት '''mambayt''' – lady, mistress.

In a similar way, sound-changes can also mark the difference between singular and plural:
* ነጉስ '''nəgus''' – king; '''negüs'''{{Clarify|date=September 2019|reason=ü is not among the vowels listed above}} – kings; 
* በሐር '''bahar''' – sea; አብሑር''' ʼabhur''' – seas; 
* እሲት '''ʼəsit''' – woman; አንስ''' ʼans''' – women;
* ወለት '''walat''' – girl; አዋልድ ʼ'''āwaləd''' – girls;
* መሆር '''mahor''' – foal, colt; አምሁር ʼ'''amhur''' – foals, colts;
* ነቢ '''nabi''' – prophet; ነቢያት '''nabiyat''' – prophets;
* በገዐት '''baga‘āt''' – one sheep; አበግዕ ʼ'''ābagəʽ''' – sheep, plural;
* አርዌ ʼ'''ārwē''' – Snake; አረዊት '''ārawit''' – snakes, plural;
* ሖግ '''ḥog''' – foot; ሐነግ '''ḥanag''' – feet; plural
* እገር '''ʼəgər''' – foot; አእጋር ʼ'''ā’əgār''' feet; plural 
* አዘን '''ʼəzən''' – ear; አእዛን '''ʼaʼəzān''' – ears;
* ሰዐት '''saʽat''' – hour; ሰዓታት'''saʽātāt''' – hours;
* አንፍ '''ʼānəf''' – nose; አንፎታት '''ʼanfotāt''' – noses;
* ህዳይ '''hədāy''' – wedding; ህዳያት '''hədāyāt''' – weddings;
* አብ '''ʼāb''' – father; አበው '''ʼābaw''' – fathers;
* እም ''' ʼəm''' – mother; እመወት ''' ʼəmawat''' – mothers;
* ኮኮብ '''kokob''' – star;ከዋክብ '''kawākəb''' – stars;
* ጓነ '''gʷāna''' – foreigner;ጓኖታት '''gʷānotāt''' – foreigners;
* ረአስ '''raʼas''' – head; አርእስ ʼ'''arʼəs''' – heads;
* ጸፍር '''ṣəfər''' – paw, hoof; አጸፍር '''ʼāṣfār''' – claws, hooves;
* ከብድ '''kabəd''' – belly; አክቡድ '''ʼākbud''' – bellies.
* ልበስ '''ləbas'''- ልበሰት '''ləbasat''' clothes

Personal pronouns distinguish "you, masculine" and "you, feminine" in both singular and plural:
*አነ ʼ'''ana''' – I, me
*እንታ '''ʼənta''' – you, singular, masculine
*እንቲ '''ʼənti''' – you, singular, feminine
*ህቱ '''hətu''' – he, him, it (masc.)
*ህታ '''həti''' – she, her, it (fem.)
*ሕነ '''hənna''' – we, us
*እንቱም '''ʼəntum''' – you, plural, masculine
*እንትን '''ʼəntən''' – you, plural, feminine
*ህቶም '''hətom''' – they, them, masculine
*ህተን '''həten''' – they, them, feminine

The possessive pronouns appear (a) suffixed to the noun, (b) as separate words:

*my – (a) '''-ya''' የ example: '''kətābya''' ክታብየ- my book; (b) '''nāy''' ናየ with masculine nouns; '''nāya ናየ''' with feminine nouns; 
*your (sing. mas. & fem.) – (a) '''-ka''' ካ example: '''kətābka''' ክታብካ- your book; (b) with masc. '''nāyka ናይካ''', with fem. '''nāyki ናይኪ''';
*his – (a) '''-u -ኡ''' example '''kətābu ክታቡ''' – his book; (b) with masc. '''nāyu ናዩ''', with fem. '''nāya ናያ''';
*our – (a) '''-na ና''' example '''kətābna ክታብና''' – our book; (b) with masc. '''nāyna ናይና''', with fem. '''nāyna ናይና''';
*your (pl. masc. & fem.) – (a) '''-kum ኩም'''  (a) '''-kən ክን''' example '''kətabkum''' ክታብኩም/ክታብክን- your book; (b) with masc. '''nāykum ናይኩም''', with fem. '''nāykən ናይክን''';
*their – '''-om -ኦም''' example '''kətābom''' ክታቦም- their book; (b) with masc. '''nāyom''',ናዮም with fem. '''nāyan ናየን'''.

The verb "to be":
*'''ana halleco (o) tu''' – አና ሀለኮ I am; negative: '''ihalleco''' ኢሀለኮ- I'm not;
*'''enta halleco (o) tu''' – እንታ ህሌካ you (sing. masc.) are; neg. '''ihalleco''' ኢሀለኮ- you're not;
*'''enti hallechi tu''' – እንቲ ሀሌኪ you (sing. fem.) are; neg. '''ihalleco'''  ኢሀለኮ;
*'''hötu halla tu''' ህቱ ሀላ- he is; neg. '''ihalla''' ኢሀላ;
*'''höta hallet tu''' ህታ ሀሌት – she is; neg. '''ihallet''' ኢሀሌት;
*'''henna hallena tu''' ሕና ሀሌና – we are; neg. '''ihallena'''  ኢሀሌና;
*'''entum hallecum tu''' እንቱም ሀሌኩም- you (pl. masc.) are; neg. '''ihallecum''' ኢሀሌኩም;
*'''entim hallechen tu''' እንትን ሀሌክን- you (pl. fem.) are; neg. '''ihallecum''' ኢሀሌክን;
*'''hötön hallaa tom''' ህተን ሀሌያ- they (masc.) are; neg. '''ihallao''' ኢሀሌያ;
*'''hötön halleia ten ህተን ሀሌያ''' – they (fem.) are; neg. '''ihallao''' ኢሀሌያ.

The verb "to be", past tense:
*...'''alco''' ዐልኮ- I was; negative: '''iálco ኢዐልኮ'''- I wasn't;
*...'''alca''' ዐልካ- you (sing. masc.) were; neg. '''iálca ኢዐልካ''';
*...'''alchi''' ዐልኪ- you (sing. fem.) were; neg. '''iálca  ኢዐልኪ''';
*...'''ala''' ዐላ- he was; neg. '''iála ኢዐላ''';
*...'''alet''' ዐለት- she was; neg. '''iállet ኢዐለት''';
*...'''alna''' ዐልና- we were; neg. '''iálna ኢዐልና''';
*...'''alcum''' ዐልኩም- you (pl. masc.) were; neg. '''iálcum ኢዐልኩም''';
*...'''alchen''' ዐልክን- you (pl. fem.) were; neg. '''iálcum ኢዐልክን''';
*...'''alou''' ዐለው- they (masc.) were; neg. '''iálou ኢዐለው''';
*...'''alaia''' ዐለያ- they (fem.) were; neg. '''iáleia ኢዐለያ'''.

The verb "to have":
*'''Uoro chitab bi-e ዎሮ ኪታብ ብየ''' – I have a book
*'''Uoro chitab bö-ca''' '''ዎሮ ክታብ ብካ'''- You (sing. masc.) have a book,
and so on, with the last word in each case:
*...'''be-chi''' ብኪ – you (sing. fem.), etc.
*...'''bu''' ቡ –  he...
*...'''ba በ''' –  she...
*...'''be-na''' ብና- we...
*...'''be-cum''' ብኩም- you (pl. masc.)...
*...'''be-chin''' ብክን- you (pl.fem.) ...
*...'''bom''' ቦም- they (masc.)...
*...'''ben''' በን- they (fem.)...

The verb "to have": past tense, using a feminine noun as an example:
*'''Hatte bēt álet-ilu ሐተ ቤት ዐልት እሉ''' – He had a house
*'''Hatte bēt álet-ilka''' '''ሐተ ቤት ዐልት እልካ'''- You (sing. masc.) you had a house,
and so on, with the last word in each case:
*...'''el-ki እልኪ''' – you (sing. fem.) had a house,
*...'''álet-ollu''' ዐለት እሉ- he had, etc.
*...'''el-la''' ዐለት እላ- she had...
*...'''ilna''' ዐለት እልና- we had...
*...'''elkum''' ዐለት እልኩም- you pl. masc.) had ...
*...'''el-k-n''' ዐለት እልክን- you (pl. fem.) had ...
*...'''el-om ዐለት እሎም'''- they (masc.) had ...
*...'''el-len''' ዐለት እለን- they (fem.) had ...

==Writing system==
Since around 1889, the [[Geʽez script]] (Ethiopic script) has been used to write the Tigre language. Tigre speakers formerly used [[Arabic]] more widely as a lingua franca.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tigré|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tig|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=30 October 2017}}</ref> The Bible has been translated into the Tigre language.<ref>Senai W. Andemariam. 2012. The Story of the Translation of the Bible into Tǝgre. ''Ityopis'' 2:62–88. [http://www.ityopis.org/Issues-2_files/ITYOPIS-2-Senai.pdf Web access]</ref>

===Ge'ez script===
{{see also|Ge'ez script#Adaptations to other languages}}
The Ge'ez script is an [[abugida]], with each character representing a consonant and vowel combination. Ge'ez and its script are also called Ethiopic. The script has been modified slightly to write Tigre and is mainly employed by the Eritrean government and Christian speakers.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Tigre Ge'ez script
|-valign=top
!&nbsp;!!ä!!u!!i!!a!!e!!ə!!o!!wä!!wi!!wa!!we!!wə
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|h}}
|ሀ||ሁ||ሂ||ሃ||ሄ||ህ||ሆ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|l}}
|ለ||ሉ||ሊ||ላ||ሌ||ል||ሎ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ḥ}}
|ሐ||ሑ||ሒ||ሓ||ሔ||ሕ||ሖ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|m}}
|መ||ሙ||ሚ||ማ||ሜ||ም||ሞ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|r}}
|ረ||ሩ||ሪ||ራ||ሬ||ር||ሮ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|s}}
|ሰ||ሱ||ሲ||ሳ||ሴ||ስ||ሶ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|š}}
|ሸ||ሹ||ሺ||ሻ||ሼ||ሽ||ሾ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ḳ}}
|ቀ||ቁ||ቂ||ቃ||ቄ||ቅ||ቆ||ቈ||ቊ||ቋ||ቌ||ቍ
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|b}}
|በ||ቡ||ቢ||ባ||ቤ||ብ||ቦ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|t}}
|ተ||ቱ||ቲ||ታ||ቴ||ት||ቶ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|č}}
|ቸ||ቹ||ቺ||ቻ||ቼ||ች||ቾ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ḫ}}
|ኀ||ኁ||ኂ||ኃ||ኄ||ኅ||ኆ||ኈ||ኊ||ኋ||ኌ||ኍ
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|n}}
|ነ||ኑ||ኒ||ና||ኔ||ን||ኖ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ʾ}}
|አ||ኡ||ኢ||ኣ||ኤ||እ||ኦ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|k}}
|ከ||ኩ||ኪ||ካ||ኬ||ክ||ኮ||ኰ||ኲ||ኳ||ኴ||ኵ
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|w}}
|ወ||ዉ||ዊ||ዋ||ዌ||ው||ዎ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ʿ}}
|ዐ||ዑ||ዒ||ዓ||ዔ||ዕ||ዖ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|z}}
|ዘ||ዙ||ዚ||ዛ||ዜ||ዝ||ዞ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ž}}
|ዠ||ዡ||ዢ||ዣ||ዤ||ዥ||ዦ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|y}}
|የ||ዩ||ዪ||ያ||ዬ||ይ||ዮ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|d}}
|ደ||ዱ||ዲ||ዳ||ዴ||ድ||ዶ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ǧ}}
|ጀ||ጁ||ጂ||ጃ||ጄ||ጅ||ጆ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|g}}
|ገ||ጉ||ጊ||ጋ||ጌ||ግ||ጎ||ጐ||ጒ||ጓ||ጔ||ጕ
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ṭ}}
|ጠ||ጡ||ጢ||ጣ||ጤ||ጥ||ጦ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|č̣}}
|ጨ||ጩ||ጪ||ጫ||ጬ||ጭ||ጮ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|p̣}}
|ጰ||ጱ||ጲ||ጳ||ጴ||ጵ||ጶ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|ṣ}}
|ጸ||ጹ||ጺ||ጻ||ጼ||ጽ||ጾ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|f}}
|ፈ||ፉ||ፊ||ፋ||ፌ||ፍ||ፎ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-style="font-size:2em"
!style="font-size:0.5em"|{{Transliteration|sem|p}}
|ፐ||ፑ||ፒ||ፓ||ፔ||ፕ||ፖ||colspan="6" style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-
!&nbsp;!!ä!!u!!i!!a!!e!!ə!!o!!wä!!wi!!wa!!we!!wə
|}

=== Arabic script === 
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2025|reason=there is no evidence anywhere in the article that the language is written by anyone in Arabic script}}
The Arabic script is an [[abjad]], meaning only consonants are represented by each character, and diacritics are used for vowels. This script is used more commonly by Muslim speakers.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Tigre Arabic script
!Isolated
![[Help:IPA|IPA]]
!Transcription
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ا}}</span>
|none or {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
|style="background:#cccccc"|&nbsp;
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ب}}</span>
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|b
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|پ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|p
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ت}}</span>
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|t
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ث}}</span>
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|s
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ج}}</span>
|{{IPA|/dʒ/}}
|j
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ح}}</span>
|{{IPA|/ħ/}}
|ḥ
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|خ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|x
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|د}}</span>
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|d
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ذ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|z
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ر}}</span>
|{{IPA|/r/}}
|r
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ز}}</span>
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|z
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ژ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|ž
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|س}}</span>
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|s
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ش}}</span>
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|š
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ڛ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|c
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ص}}</span>
|{{IPA|/s’/}}
|s’
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ض}}</span>
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|d
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ط}}</span>
|{{IPA|/t’/}}
|t’
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ظ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|z
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ڟ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/tʃ’/}}
|c’
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ع}}</span>
|{{IPA|/ʕ/}}
|ʕ
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|غ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/g/}}
|g
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ف}}</span>
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|f
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ڥ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/p’/}}
|p’
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ق}}</span>
|{{IPA|/k’/}}
|q
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ك}}</span>
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|k
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ل}}</span>
|{{IPA|/l/}}
|l
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|م}}</span>
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|m
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ن}}</span>
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|n
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ه}}</span>
|{{IPA|/h/}}
|h
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|و}}</span>
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|w
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ي}}</span>
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|y
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Tigre Arabic script (vowels)
!Diacritic/Letter
![[Help:IPA|IPA]]
!Transcription
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|َ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/ɐ/}}
|a
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ِ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|i
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ُ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/u/}}
|u
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ْ}}</span>
|none or {{IPA|/ɨ/}}
|none or ə
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|آ}}, {{Script|Arab|اَ}}</span>
|{{IPA|/aː/}}
|a
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ِـي}}</span>
|{{IPA|/e/}}
|e
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script|Arab|ُـو}}</span>
|{{IPA|/o/}}
|o
|}

== Sample text ==
Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]:<ref>{{Cite web |last=B. Abraham |first=Dessale |date=2016-12-02 |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ articles translated into Tigre language |url=https://www.asmarino.com/tig/doc-archive/4836-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-articles-translated-into-tigre-language |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324005140/https://www.asmarino.com/tig/doc-archive/4836-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-articles-translated-into-tigre-language |archive-date=2023-03-24 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=[[Asmarino]]}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Tigre text
!English text
|-
|{{lang|tig|ክሎም ውላድ ሚንኣደም ምን አምዕል ተውሊደቶም እንዴ አንበተው ሑር ወአክልሕድቶም። አክልሕድ ላቱ ሕቁቅ ወሕሽመት ቦም። ደሚር ወእህትማም ለትሀየበው ኽሉቃም ሰበት ቶም ኖስ-ኖሶም አድሕድ እግል ለሐሽሞ ወልርሐሞ ወጅቦም።}}
| rowspan="2" |All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
|-
|{{transliteration|tig|kəlom wəlad minəʼadäm mən ʼäməʻəl täwəlidätom ʼənədē ʼänəbätäw ḥur waʼäkələḥədətom. ʼäkələḥəd latu ḥəquq waḥəšəmät bom. dämir waʼəhətəmam lätəhäyäbäw xəluqam säbät tom nosə-nosom ʼädəḥəd ʼəgəl läḥäšəmo walərəḥämo waǧəbom.}}
|}
Basic sentences:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Tigre text
!Translation
|-
|{{lang|tig|ሐየት እት ልርእው፣ እብ አሰሩ ሐዙው}}
|When they see a lion, they seek it through its tracks.
|-
|{{lang|tig|ህኩይ ድራሩ ንኩይ}}
|Lazy's dinner is less
|-
|{{lang|tig|ህግየ ፍ’ደት ምን ገብእ። አዚም ደሀብ ቱ}}
|When speaking is an obligation, silence is golden
|-
|{{lang|tig|ምህሮ ኖርቱ ወቅዌት ጽልመት፣}}
|Knowledge is brightness and ignorance darkness.
|}

Other samples:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Tigre text
|-
|{{lang|tig|ሐል ክም እም ኢትገብእ ወጸሓይ ወርሕ ክም አምዕል}}
|-
|{{lang|tig|ለኢልትሐሜ ኢልትሐመድ፣}}
|-
|{{lang|tig|ለቤለ ለአሰምዕ ወለዘብጠ ለአደምዕ፣}}
|-
|{{lang|tig|ሐሊብ መ ውላዱ ሔሰዩ፣}}
|-
|{{lang|tig|ሐምቅ ሐምቁ ምን ረክብ ዜነት ለአፈግር፣}}
|-
|{{lang|tig|ምስል ብርድ አከይ ፍርድ}}
|}

==See also==
*[[Beni-Amer people]]
*[[Tigre people]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=tig}}
*[http://www.people.vcu.edu/~gasmerom/Eritrean_languages/tigre/ Online Tigre Language Tutorial By Omar M. Kekia]
*Woldemikael, Tekle M. 2003. Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4106/is_200304/ai_n9219176 ''African Studies Review'', Apr 2003.]
*[http://www.modaina.com Modaina: History and Language of the Tigre-Speaking Peoples]
*[https://commonvoice.mozilla.org/tig Tigre in Mozilla Common Voice]

==Bibliography==
*Camperio, Manfredo. ''Manuale Pratico della Lingua Tigrè'', Hoepli, Milano, 1936.
*Beaton, A.C. & A. Paul (1954). ''A grammar and vocabulary of the Tigre language (as spoken by the Beni Amer)''. Khartoum: Publications Bureau.
*Elias, David L. (2005). ''Tigre of Habab: Short Grammar and Texts from the Rigbat People''. Ph.D dissertation. Harvard University.
*Elias, David L. (2014). ''The Tigre Language of Gindaˁ, Eritrea: Short Grammar and Texts''. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 75.) Brill.
*[[Wolf Leslau|Leslau, Wolf.]] (1945) ''Short Grammar of Tigré''. Publications of the American Oriental Society, Offprint Series, No. 18. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
*Leslau, Wolf. (1945), "The Verb in Tigré", in: ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 65/1, pp.&nbsp;1–26.
*Leslau, Wolf. (1945), "Grammatical Sketches in Tigré (North Ethiopic): Dialect of Mensa", in: ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 65/3, pp.&nbsp;164–203.
*Leslau, Wolf. (1948), "Supplementary observations on Tigré grammar", in: ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' 68/3, pp.&nbsp;127–139.
*[[Enno Littmann|Littmann, E.]] (1897), "Die Pronomina in Tigré", in: ''Zeitschrift für Assyriologie'' 12, pp.&nbsp;188–230, 291–316.
*Littmann, Enno. (1898), "Das Verbum der Tigre-Sprache", in: ''Zeitschrift für Assyrologie'' 13, pp.&nbsp;133–178; 14, pp.&nbsp;1–102.
*Littmann, Enno. (1910–15). ''Publications of the Princeton expedition to Abyssinia'', 4 vols. in 4, Leyden.
*Littmann, Enno. and Höfner, Maria. (1962) ''Wörterbuch der Tigrē-Sprache: Tigrē-Deutsch-Englisch''. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.
*Nakano, Aki'o & Yoichi Tsuge (1982). ''A Vocabulary of Beni Amer Dialect of Tigre''. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.
*[[Frank R. Palmer|Palmer, F.R.]] (1956). "'Openness' in Tigre: a problem in prosodic statement", in: ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' 18/3, pp.&nbsp;561–577.
*Palmer, F.R. (1961). "Relative clauses in Tigre", in: ''Word'' 17/1, pp.&nbsp;23–33.
*Palmer, F.R. (1962). ''The morphology of the Tigre noun''. London: Oxford University Press.
*Raz, Shlomo. (1980). "Tigre syntax and Semitic Ethiopian", in: ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' 43/2, pp.&nbsp;235–250.
*Raz, Shlomo. (1980). "The morphology of the Tigre verb (Mansaʿ dialect)", in: ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' 25/1, pp.&nbsp;66–84; 25/2, pp.&nbsp;205–238.
*Raz, Shlomo. (1983). ''Tigre grammar and texts''. Malibu, California, USA: Undena Publications.
*SALEH MAHMUD IDRIS. (2015). ''A Comparative Study of the Tigre Dialects'', Semitica et Semitohamitica Berolinensia, 18 (Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2015)
*Sundström, R. (1914). "Some Tigre texts", in: ''Le Monde Orientale'' 8, pp.&nbsp;1–15.
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*Voigt, Rainer and Saleh Mahmud Idris. Zu einer neuen Grammatik des Tigre. ''Aethiopica'' 19 (2016, pub. 2017), 245–263.

{{Languages of Eritrea}}
{{Afro-Asiatic languages|state=collapse}}
{{Modern Semitic languages}}
{{Arabic script}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigre Language}}
[[Category:Tigre language| ]]
[[Category:Languages of Eritrea]]
[[Category:Languages of Sudan]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:North Ethiopian Semitic languages]]