The article presents some of the Amharic concepts that are being transformed into grammatical functions, which is the main idea of the grammaticalization process. I focuses on some verbs which are very productive in terms of grammaticalization patterns in the languages of the world (‘to exist’, ‘to say’) and present the main elements of the Amharic clause construction (such as conjunctions and the relative marker). However, I discusses also a ‘minor’ concept which recognizes a smaller number of grammaticalization patterns and at the same time is a difficult part of the Amharic language system to describe (‘only’). Using analogy, I have applied the grammaticalization patterns already proposed for other languages to the patterns which may be accepted for Amharic, with suggestions for a further comparative analysis of grammaticalization processes occurring in the various languages belonging to the different families and groups co-existing in Ethiopia.

llykowska@uw.edu.pl