An abugida  /ˌɑːbuːˈɡiːdə/ (from Ge‘ez አቡጊዳ ’äbugida), also called an alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit: each unit is based on a consonant letter, and vowel notation is obligatory but secondary. This contrasts with a full alphabet, in which vowels have status equal to consonants, and with an abjad, in which vowel marking is absent or optional. (In less formal treatments, all three systems are commonly called alphabets.) Abugidas include the extensive Brahmic family of scripts of South and Southeast Asia.

The term abugida was suggested by Peter T. Daniels in his 1990 typology of writing systems. It is an Ethiopian name of the Ge‘ez script, ’ä bu gi da, taken from four letters of that script the way abecedary derives from Latin a be ce de. As Daniels used the word, an abugida contrasts with a syllabary, where letters with shared consonants or vowels show no particular resemblance to each another, and with an alphabet proper, where independent letters are used to denote both consonants and vowels. The term alphasyllabary was suggested for the Indic scripts in 1997 by William Bright, following South Asian linguistic usage, to convey the idea that "they share features of both alphabet and syllabary".

Teddy Afro (in Amharic: ቴዲ አፍሮ; real name: Tewodros Kassahun, in Amharic: ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን, B. 14 July 1976) is a popular Ethiopian singer and critic of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). His opposition to the government has led to legal troubles.

In 2001, Teddy Afro released his second album, Abugida, named after the Abugida syllabary of the Ge'ez language. Several tracks quickly caught the ear of many listeners in Ethiopia - "Halieselassie", a tribute to the late Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I; "Haile, Haile", a single in honor of the Olympic long distance champion Haile Gebrselassie; and "Mona Lisa", a song about the measure of human beauty.

His third album, Yasteseryal, was released in 2005. The release of this album coincided with elevated political tension in Ethiopia surrounding the Ethiopian general election, 2005. His politically- and socially-inspired songs acted as a call for unity and peace and made the 17 years of TPLF-led government in power concerned.^{[citation needed]} Consequently the government banned four songs including "Yasteseryal" from playing on radios and TV (http://www.ethiopianreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10689&p=53228). The most popular song of the album "Yasetseryal" claims that there is no real change in Ethiopia but a new government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fight against the Derg was nothing but an infamous military junta. The album sold more than a million copies within a few months after its release, becoming the biggest selling Ethiopian music album to date.

Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent as well as those of American and Ethiopian ancestry.

The first known Ethiopians visited America in 1808, when merchants from Ethiopia arrived at New York’s famous Wall Street.^{[citation needed]}

In 1919 an official Ethiopian goodwill mission was sent to the United States, the first African delegation of diplomats, in hopes of creating amicable ties with the American people and government.^{[citation needed]} The four-person delegation included Dejazmach Nadew, the nephew of Empress Zawditu and Commander of the Imperial Army, along with Blattengeta Heruy Welde Sellase, Mayor of Addis Ababa, Kentiba Gebru, Mayor of Gondar, and Ato Sinkas, Dejazmach Nadew’s secretary.

After his official coronation, Emperor Haile Selassie sent forth the first wave of Ethiopian students to continue their education abroad. Almost a dozen Ethiopian students likewise went to the United States. They included Makonnen Desta, who studied anthropology at Harvard, and later became an interim Ethiopian Minister of Education, Makonnen Haile, who studied finance at Cornell, and Ingida Yohannes, veterinary medicine at New York. Three other students, Melaku Beyen, Besha Worrid Hapte Wold and Worku Gobena, went to Muskingum, a missionary college in Ohio, two of them later transferring to Ohio State University. Melaku Beyan, who was one of the two who attended Ohio State, later received his medical degree at Howard Medical School in Washington, D.C.