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"AND the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." (Genesis 11:1)
"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; ..." (Genesis 11:6)

Millions of people around the world may have read millions of times the information in the above statements in the Bible. Perhaps, millions may have asked what the name of that first language could be even though we are not sure if any has got the answer so far.

Ground breaking scientific discoveries point to Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular as the source of humanity. Lucy, a fossilized hominid of the species Australopithecus afarensis, was discovered in 1974 in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia. She is believed to have lived nearly 3.2 million years ago.

After several years of human DNA study, the National Geographic magazine reported in its March 2006 issue that "modern humans" lived in Ethiopia at a place called Omo Kibish nearly 200,000 years ago. The same report shows that humans started to treck out of Africa nearly 60,000 years ago.

In an interview with an Ethiopian newspaper, Jean Doresse, a famous French historian, said the following: "Historians argue that the first language was Sabean. But Oromiffa [Afan Oromo], Somali and Afar languages use words whose origin is earlier than hieroglyphic Egyptian. They are the most ancient spoken languages."

Perhaps, it is important to ponder at this point if it is possible to study words and concepts in the various languages of the world to rebuild the earliest spoken language by searching its pieces in the various languages of the world. Afterall, if we can reconstruct human migration around the world by studying the micro-structures in DNAs, it may not be difficult to study the expressions of our inner consciousness to see word dispersal in the various languages of the world.

The effort being made here is to set in motion the reconstruction of the earliest languages of the world as well as to revisit past studies about the origins of languages. While this piece focuses on the first part of the effort, based on new evidences gathered relating Afan Oromo to English and other older European languages, a future publication will focus on the origins of languages, based on evidences to be made public in due time. We are not making any conclusions in both cases. The purpose is to bring these theses to light and let the people make their own conclusions based on the evidences we will provide.

The first thesis is that there is recognizable derivation of words in other languages from the earliest spoken language. Based on this thesis, we recognize that there are many words in the English language which appear to have been based on Afan Oromo. These words fall under various catergories of word utility that could potentially be the earliest words ever used because of their vitality and some of the unforgettable words because of their frequency in daily use. We give an example for the first word about how it developed from one language into another language. For the rest of the words, we identify them and suggest the relationship between Afan Oromo and English or other language versions of the words. For the remaining words, we have provided a link to an online dictionary for the reader to study word derivation progression through the various old European languages.

This effort is an ongoing process and Afan Oromo words will be added continuously as they become known to have potential relationship with their equivalent words in other languages.

Human Anatomy

  1. Ija -- Auge -- Eage -- Eje -- Ie -- Eie -- Eye.
  2. Ishi -- She
  3. Mata -- Meta
  4. Hadda -- Head
  5. Nama -- Name

Human Emotion

  1. Lubu -- Love
  2. Kafana -- Coffin
  3. Dhara -- Error
  4. Haraamu -- Harem
  5. Bada, Badde -- Bad
  6. Gadde -- sad
  7. Galii -- goal

Living Necessity

  1. Buddena -- Food
  2. Qixa -- Pitta
  3. Dhuge -- Drink
  4. Qamadii -- Wheat
  5. Nuugii -- Negro
  6. Farda -- Pfarda (German)

Human Environment

  1. Laga -- Lake
  2. Walda -- Wild
  3. Fora -- Far
  4. Sorsa -- Sirus
  5. Qileensa -- Climate
  6. Ho'a -- Hot

Time Concept

  1. Yeroo -- Year
  2. Bari -- Bright
  3. Wace -- Wake
  4. Dur -- During
  5. Koottu (Koottumee, Kommee) -- Come
  6. Fuldura -- Future

Military

  1. Dullaa -- Duel
  2. Rayya -- Regiment
  3. Weerare -- War
  4. Tarree -- Array

Concept of Religion

  1. Waaqa -- Wata (French)
  2. Holii -- Holy

Society

  1. Ummata -- Community

 

This article is dedicated to the late Laureate Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin, a man who knew so much so early before many.




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