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Getatchew Haile (; April 19, 1931 – June 10, 2021) was an Ethiopian-American
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...
widely considered the foremost scholar of the Ge'ez language and one of its most prolific (he published more than 150 books and articles). He was acknowledged for his contributions to the field with a
MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
"genius" award and the Edward Ullendorff Medal from the Council of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...
. He was the first Ethiopian and the first African to win the award.


Early life

Haile was born in the rural village of Tute in
Shenkora Minjarna Shenkora ( am, ምንጃርና ሸንኮራ, lit=Minjar and Shenkora), also Menjarna Shenkora is a woreda in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the historic Shewan district of Minjar, which was the southernmost district o ...
(part of the province of
Shoa SHOA or Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (Spanish for Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy) is an agency of the Chilean Navy managing situations dealing with hydrography and oceanography, includin ...
in the
Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
). As a boy, he attended an
Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
school, where he learned Ge'ez and "devoted his energies to reading and understanding the texts." From 1945 to 1951 he attended Trinity School in
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. Haile moved to Cairo in 1952, and lived there through most of the 1950s, graduating from the Coptic Theological College, Cairo, Egypt with a B.D. in 1957, and from the
American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning progra ...
, with a B.A. in 1957. He then moved to Germany in 1957, where he received from the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen a Ph.D. in Semitic Philology in 1962. The title of his dissertation was ''Das Verbalsystem im Äthiopischen: Ein morphologischer Vergleich mit den orientalischen semitischen Sprachen''. Haile married Misrak Amare on July 12, 1964, in Sidamo. In 1974, Haile became a member of the transitional
Ethiopian Parliament The Federal Parliamentary Assembly ( am, የፌዴራል ፓርላማ ምክር ቤት, Ye-Fēdēralawī Parilama Mikir Bēt) is Ethiopia's federal legislature. It consists of two chambers: *The House of Federation (upper chamber) *The House ...
from Shoa province. Due to his opposition to the
Derg The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " ...
junta, government soldiers came to his home to arrest him in 1975. He was involved in a
shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...
and eventually shot and captured. After the
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and
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...
reported on his arrest, the government released him. Through the intervention of friends, Haile was allowed to travel to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
for medical treatment. He became
paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...
due to severe damage to his spinal cord, and needed to use a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.


Academic career

Haile was associate professor in the Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature, Haile Selassie I University (now
Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa ...
), from 1962 to 1969, and 1971 to 1974, where he taught Amharic Grammar, Amharic Literature, Ge’ez Grammar, Ge’ez Literature, Arabic Grammar, and Semitic Linguistics. He was appointed head of the department in 1965. After arriving in the U.S. in 1976, Haile joined
Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...
in
Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, near St. Joseph. The community is located near the junction of Collegeville Road and Old Collegeville Road. Nearby is Saint John's Abb ...
. He eventually became a Regents Professor Emeritus of Medieval Studies and Curator Emeritus of the Ethiopian Study Center at the
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) is a nonprofit organization that photographs, catalogs, and provides free access to collections of manuscripts located in libraries around the world. HMML prioritizes manuscripts located in regions end ...
. At HMML, he prepared catalogues of more than six thousand Ethiopian manuscripts and trained Ethiopic manuscript cataloguers in paleography, dating, and other skills. He was on the advisory board of a number of journals, including ''Comité de lecture of Analecta Bollandiana'' (Journal of Christian Hagiography), ''Ethiopian Journal of Education'', ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'', ''Northeast African Studies'', ''Ethiopian Register'' (1994–2001), and ''Acta Aethiopica'' (1980–89). In addition to his writings and translations of a variety of works on Ethiopia and the Orthodox church, he produced two two-volume books on the history and beliefs of
Abba Estifanos of Gwendagwende Abba Estifanos or Ǝsṭifanos (English Translation: Father Stephen) was an Ethiopian Christian monk from Tigray, itinerant preacher and martyr who is known for his reformation movement and as an early dissident of the Ethiopian Orthodox Chur ...
, one in 2006 and the other in 2011. His first translation, into
Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
, was of
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...
’s short story '' Extracts from Adam's Diary'' in 1965. The languages in which he worked were Amharic, Ge'ez,
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, and Coptic.


Reputation

Haile's work has frequently been described as foundational to the field of Ethiopian studies and has won many awards. Edward Ullendorff, professor of Semitic studies at the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, described Haile's work as "highly significant" due to his "profoundly erudite" knowledge of Ethiopic language and literature. On another occasion, Ullendorff wrote that Haile's work represented the "most meticulous and original study of Ethiopic literature" ever done, and "on a scale and depth never before attempted."Ullendorf, Edward. "Foreward." In Beauty of the Creation ሥነ፡ ፍጥረት (Śǝnä Fǝṭrät), edited by Getatchew Haile and Misrak Amare, ix–x. Manchester: University of Manchester, 1991. He added, "no other person before Getatchew Haile has ever been able to survey so much of Ethiopic literary creation and thus to gain so sovereign a command of this genre", which made a contribution not only to Ethiopian studies but also the study of Christian oriental writing more generally. The Ethiopian poet Amha Asfaw wrote a poem in Amharic for him in 1999.


Personal life

Haile and his wife, Misrak Amare, had four children, adopted two more, and had many grandchildren. Among his children are the material science professor
Sossina M. Haile Sossina M. Haile ( gez, ሶስና ሃይሌ, born July 28, 1966) is an American chemist, known for developing the first solid acid fuel cells. She is a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University, Illinois, USA. H ...
and the author Rebecca G. Haile. Haile served as a confidante of the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the 1960s, as well as the Church's representative to the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. Haile never returned to Ethiopia after leaving in 1975. He remained critical of the successive Ethiopian governments: in 2005, Ethiopian authorities charged him ''in absentia'' with
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
for his comments. Haile and his wife moved to New York City in 2016. He died at Mount Sinai Morningside hospital on June 10, 2021, at the age of 90.
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Sahle-Work Zewde expressed her condolences to Haile's family in a press release.


Lectures

Haile gave a video lecture on the ''Täˀammərä Maryam'', the Ethiopian Miracles of Mary stories, on May 23, 2020.
Alessandro Bausi Alessandro Bausi (born 1963) is an Italian philologist working on Ethiopic texts and manuscripts. Bausi earned his PhD in 1992 from University of Naples "L'Orientale". Formerly Assistant (1995) and Associate Professor (2002) of Ethiopic Language ...
(professor, University of Hamburg), Kay Shelemay (professor, Harvard University), Elias Wondimu (CEO of Tsehai Publishers), and Habtamu Tegegne (professor, Rutgers University) spoke about Getatchew Haile's contributions. In 2018, he gave an Amharic-language interview for EBS TV at the
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
. He also gave a video lecture at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in April 2020.


Honors and distinctions

*Abebe Bikila's Life Time Achievement Award, 2018 *Honoree of a
festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...
volume in 2017: ''Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History Festschrift for Getatchew Haile Presented by his Friends and Colleagues'' *Council of the British Academy, Edward Ullendorff Medal 2014, awarded for scholarly distinction and achievements in the field of Semitic languages or Ethiopian studies *Society of Ethiopians Established in Diaspora Annual Award, 1986 *Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, 1987–2021 *
MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...
, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, 1988–1993 *Ethiopian Government Award for academic excellence, 1991 (declined) *Member, Ethiopian Parliament, representing the province of Shoa, 1974–75


Books

*''The Homily of Zär'a Ya'əqob's Mäshafä Bərhan on the Rite of Baptism and Religious Instruction'' CSCO, text, Vol. 653/114, and trans., Vol. 654/115. Louvain: Peeters, 2013 *''Voices from Däbrä Zämäddo: Acts of Abba Bärtälomewos and Abba Yoḥannǝs 45 Miracles of Mary'' (Aethiopistische Forschungen 79), Wiesbaden 2013 *''A History of the first Estifanosite Monks''. 2 vols. (ed. & tr.) Louvain: Peeters, 2011, *Amdafta Lawgahu (Let Me Entertain You for a Moment: An Amharic Autobiography), Collegeville, (Minnesota), 2008 *''The Ge'ez Acts of Abba Esṭifanos of Gwendagwende'', 2 vols. (ed. & tr.). Louvain: Peeters Publishers, 2006, *Deqiqe Istifanos: Behigg Amlak (Hagiographies of the Estifanosite monks who flourished and were martyred in the fifteenth century, in Amharic), Collegeville (Minnesota), 2004 *Ya’Abā Bā’rey Dersatoč (The Works of Abba Bā’rey with Other Documents Concerning the Oromo, in Amharic), Collegeville (Minnesota), 2002 *Bahra Hassab (= Computus). (On the Ethiopian Calendar, with Annals of Ethiopian History, in Amharic), Collegeville (Minnesota), 2000. *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. X: Project Numbers 4001–5000, Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1993 *The Mariology of Emperor Zära Ya’qob of Ethiopia (Orientalia Christiana Analecta, No. 242), Rome 1992 *Beauty of the Creation, with Misrak Amare, University of Manchester, 1991 *The Epistle of Humanity of Emperor Zär’a Ya’qob (Ṭomarä Tsb’t), Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium series, Vol. 522/Aeth. 95, tr. 523/Aeth. 96 (1991) *The Faith of the Unctionists in the Ethiopian Church (Haymanot Msi’awit), Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium series, Vol. 517/Aeth. 91 (1990) *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. IX: Project Numbers 3501–4000, Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1987. *The Different Collections of Nägś Hymns of the Ethiopic Literature (''Oikonomia'' No. 19), Erlangen (Germany), 1983 *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. VIII: Project Numbers 3001–3500, Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1985 *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. VII: Project Numbers 2501–3000, (with a checklist by William F. Macomber), Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1983 *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. VI: Project Numbers 2001–2500, (with a checklist by William F. Macomber), Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1982 *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. V: Project Numbers 1501–2000, (with a checklist by William F. Macomber) Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1981 *A Catalogue of Ethiopian Manuscripts Microfilmed for the Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa and for the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Vol. IV: Project Numbers 1101–1500, Collegeville, (Minnesota) 1979 *Mark Twain's Letters from Earth (adapted into Amharic from the German version, ''Tagebuch von Adam und Eva''), Addis Ababa, 1968 *''Das Verbalsystem im Äthiopischen. Ein morphologischer Vergleich mit den orientalischen semitischen Sprachen''. Diss., Tübingen 1962


References


External links


''The Ge'ez Acts of Abba Esṭifanos of Gwendagwende''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haile, Getatchew 1931 births 2021 deaths American philologists Addis Ababa University faculty Ethiopian emigrants to the United States University of Tübingen alumni The American University in Cairo alumni College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University faculty MacArthur Fellows Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy People from Amhara Region People with paraplegia Members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly Wheelchair users