Add to the Story... In Amharic

Writers' Corner
1

I find languages fascinating. There’s this one language on Google Translate called Amharic, which I had never heard of, but I find that it translates extremely inaccurately to and from English.

Another thing I like is ambiguousness. It’s that element of openness in a story that gives words endless meaning.

So… I don’t know if this will work, but here’s my idea.

We’re going to write a story in Amharic. Bear with me. Here’s an example.

STEP 1

I’ll give a sentence of a story that I’ve translated from English into Amharic using Google Translate (linking below). Example:

~ በመስታወቱ ላይ ለስላሳ መታ መታ የአውሮራን ትኩረት ወደ ውጭ ሳበው። ~

Now, what I meant to write was as follows:

~ A soft tapping on the glass drew Aurora’s attention outside. ~

But when you translate the sentence in Amharic back into English, this is what it says:

~ A soft tap on the mirror caught the attention of Aurora. ~

The meaning of the sentence has changed, and the story will evolve into something I never meant!

STEP 2

The next poster will add another sentence based on what they read.

~ በፍርሀት ተመለከተች፣ ነገር ግን የመብራቷ ነጸብራቅ ካልሆነ በስተቀር ምንም አላየም። ~

What I meant to write was:

~ She glanced up fearfully, but she saw nothing but the reflection of her lamp’s glow. ~

But what the translator says is:

~ She looked frightened, but saw nothing but the light of her lamp. ~

STEP 3

Continue the process. I’ll let you guys use your judgement to decide when a story should end! I hope this works out!

First sentence:

የተቀበላቸው ቀጭን የፀሐይ ጨረሮች በተሰነጠቀው የሉና ሰገነት መስኮት በኩል አብረቅቀዋል፣ ይህም በአየር ውስጥ የሚንቀጠቀጥ አቧራ ያበራል።

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what was translated: The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the [name_f]Luna[/name_f] roof, which shone into the air.

ወዲያው በፍጥነት ተመልሳ ገባች፣ እና ትኩስ ሻይዋን ቀሰቀሰች።

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3

What was translated: She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea.

በአሁኑ ጊዜ የሻሞሜል ሻይ እሷን ለማስታገስ ብቸኛው ነገር ነበር.

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4

the window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. she hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her.

እንደዚያው ሁሉ ስለ ምሽቱ ክስተቶች መጨነቅ አልቻለችም.

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5

the window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. she hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night.

ወንበሯ ላይ ተቀምጣ ሻይዋን ጠጣች፣ በጣም ተረጋግታ

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6

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm.

ቀስ እያለች በሩን መቆለፉን ረስታ ወደ እንቅልፍ ሄደች።

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7

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.

የቀሰቀሳት በሩ ላይ መታው ሳይሆን ለስላሳው የሰው ድምጽ ድምፅ ነው።

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8

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep. It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice.

ግራ ተጋባች ነቃች እና “ማን አለ?”

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9

the window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. she hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. she sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep. it was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. confused, she woke up and said, “who’s there?”

ሚስጥራዊው እንግዳ አልተናገረውም ይልቁንም በካቢኔው የእንጨት ፓነል ላይ ጥፍር ቧጨረ።

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10

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet.

ልጅቷ ዓይኖቿን በጨለማ ውስጥ ባለው እንግዳ ሰው ላይ ለማተኮር ዓይኖቿን ማሸማቀቅ አለባት, እና ይህ ምስጢራዊ ሰው እንዴት ወደ ውስጥ እንደገባ አስባለች.

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11

i’m bumping this thread!

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside.

ራሷን ከወንበሯ አረጋጋች እና በሰማይ ብርሃኑ እና በከዋክብት ላይ ቃኘች፣ እንደሚያረጋጋት እያወቀች ህብረ ከዋክብቷን ለማግኘት እየጣረች።

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12

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her.

ከሁለት አመት በፊት እነዚህ ከዋክብት ወደር የማይገኝለት መጽናኛ ስለሰጧት ለከዋክብትዋ “ጁሊየስ” ብላ ጠራችው።

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13

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort.

በከዋክብት ውስጥ ማጽናኛ ማግኘት እንግዳ ነገር ነበር, አሁን ግን ያላት ብቸኛው ነገር ነበር. “ከዚያ” በኋላ ማንን ማመን ትችላለች?

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The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?

“ጁሊየስ ጥንካሬን ስጠኝ” ብላ የማታውቀው ሰው ሲጠጋ እና የመቧጨሩ ድምጽ እየጨመረ ሲሄድ በሹክሹክታ ተናገረች።

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15

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder.

ከዚያም፣ በድንገት፣ በቃላት ሊገለጽ በሚችል መልኩ ደካማነት ተሰማት።

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16

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder. Then, suddenly, she felt vulnerable in a vocabulary.

ከዚያም የጨረቃ ብርሃን ክፍሉን አበራለትና ምስጢራዊው አካል በብርሃን ታጠበ።

17

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder. Then, suddenly, she felt vulnerable in a vocabulary.
Then the moonlight illuminated the room and the mysterious body was bathed in light.

በዛን ጊዜ ግን አይኖቿ ወድቀው መሬት ላይ ወድቃ የምትሰጠው ብዙ ህይወት ስላላት በጭንቀት ስታለቅስ ቆየች።

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The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder. Then, suddenly, she felt vulnerable in a vocabulary.
Then the moonlight illuminated the room and the mysterious body was bathed in light. But then her eyes fell and she fell to the ground and cried in agony because she had so much life to give.

“እንዴት ነህ እዚህ ያለሽው?” ብላ ጮኸች፣ ድምጿን ለማስቀጠል ስትታገል።

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The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder. Then, suddenly, she felt vulnerable in a vocabulary.
Then the moonlight illuminated the room and the mysterious body was bathed in light. But then her eyes fell and she fell to the ground and cried in agony because she had so much life to give. “How are you doing here?” she shouted, struggling to keep her voice up.

እዚህ የመጣሁት አንተን ለማዳን እና ወደ ፍቅረኛህ ልወስድህ ነው።

20

The window slammed shut through the narrow beams of the luna roof, which shone into the air. She hurried back in, and sipped her hot tea. Nowadays, the chamomile tea was the only thing to soothe her. Likewise, she could not worry about the events of the night. She sat down on her chair and drank her tea, very calm. Slowly she forgot that the door was locked and went to sleep.
It was not the knock at the door but the soft human voice. Confused, she woke up and said, “Who’s there?”
The mysterious stranger did not speak, but scratched the wooden panel of the cabinet. The girl has to squint her eyes to focus on the stranger in the dark, and she wonders how this mysterious person got inside. She eased herself from her chair and looked up at the skylight and stars, trying to find her constellation, knowing it would comfort her. Two years ago, she named her star “Julius” because these stars gave her incomparable comfort. It was strange to find solace in the stars, but now it was the only thing she had. Who can she trust after “that”?
“Julius, give me strength,” she whispered as the stranger approached and the sound of scratching grew louder. Then, suddenly, she felt vulnerable in a vocabulary.
Then the moonlight illuminated the room and the mysterious body was bathed in light. But then her eyes fell and she fell to the ground and cried in agony because she had so much life to give. “How are you doing here?” she shouted, struggling to keep her voice up.
“I’m here to save you and take you to your lover.”

“ኤምሪስ?” ልጅቷ በድንጋጤ ተነፈሰች። አኃዙ ሳቀ። “ሌላ ማነው?”