Tigrinya is a Semitic language descended from the ancient liturgical language Ge'ez, written in the same Ge'ez (Ethiopic) syllabic script. It is closely related to Amharic but considered a separate language; the two are mutually intelligible only to a limited degree. Tigrinya is spoken on both sides of the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, with the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia being home to millions of additional speakers. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year liberation struggle, and Tigrinya became its primary working language alongside Arabic and English. Eritrea's government notably has no single constitutionally designated official language, treating all nine recognized indigenous languages equally by policy. The Ge'ez script used for Tigrinya dates back to the 4th century CE and is one of the oldest alphabets still in active daily use anywhere in the world.
