Explorations in Ethiopian linguistics

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This volume features twelve contributions addressing linguistic challenges at the intersection of morphosyntax and semantics/pragmatics in Ethiopia's Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic languages. The first section includes two articles focusing on interrogativity in Amharic and Baskeet, examining the morphosyntax and usage of yes/no and content questions, along with the morphology of interrogative pronouns. The second section presents four chapters on complex predicates in Amharic, Koorete, Zargulla, and Xamtanga, highlighting the semantic and pragmatic distinctions between complex predicates and their monoverbal counterparts, as well as the morphosyntactic properties of the component verbs and the differences from multi-clausal constructions. The third section comprises six contributions that explore finiteness in Libido and various Ethiosemitic languages, including Amharic, G??? z, Gurage languages, and Tigrinya. These studies reveal significant linguistic variability in finiteness marking and argue for a relational, scalar understanding of finiteness rather than a strict binary classification. Most articles are derived from presentations at the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies held in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, from 29 October to 2 November 2012, reflecting current research trends in Ethiopian language studies.