[94], Several Afroasiatic languages have large numbers of consonants, and it is likely that Proto-Afroasiatic did as well:[95] Vladimir Orel and Olga Stolbova reconstruct 32 consonant phonemes,[96] while Christopher Ehret reconstructs 42. [129] Full or partial reduplication of the verb is often used to derive forms showing repeated action (pluractionality), though it is unclear if this is an inherited feature or has been widely borrowed. Since there is written data available from this region, it is easier to reconstruct ancient roots and find common characteristics (ELL, p.51). Benfys title was later inverted to make Hamito-Semitic but over time racial connotations were applied to this name (Voegelin, p.13). The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic ), also known as Hamito-Semitic, [3] or Semito-Hamitic, [4] and sometimes also as Afrasian or Erythraean, [5] are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahara / Sahel. Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *abaw/y- Meaning: a k. of plant Semitic: *abVw- 'reed, papyrus' Egyptian: wb 'root', cf. Ayere-Ahan A main characteristic of Afro-Asiatic languages is the use of vowel changes in word formation. The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic,or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic subregions of Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahara/Sahel. [99] In Cushitic, the Ethiopian Semitic language Tigrinya, and some Chadic languages, there is no underlying phoneme [p] at all. Archaeology and the study of oral traditions helps linguists find connections between language families. The "s-causative" may be reflected in Hausa (as -r), however this may be a language internal development. It is very difficult to reconstruct ancient Proto-Afroasiatic (PAA) vocabulary, and still more difficult to reconstruct a common morphosyntax. Voegelin, C.F. Dogon [120] Ronny Meyer and H. Ekkehard Wolff instead propose that Proto-Afroasiatic may have had no vowels as such, instead employing various syllabic consonants (*l, *m, *n, *r) and semivowels or semivowel-like consonants (*w, *y, *, *, *, *h, *, *, *, *h) to form syllables. If you are not satisfied with 225345861639 [158] Most grammars of AA posit a distinction between perfective and imperfective verbal aspects, which can be found in Cushitic, Berber, Semitic, most Chadic languages, and some Omotic languages. p-Jen n. pref. The other three are very closely related and it is not hard for, say, a Dane to learn to understand a Swede. [49][48] Arabic, spoken in both Asia and Africa, has around 300 million native speakers, while the Ethiopian Amharic has around 25 million. to different specific animals), (possible vowel reconstructions: *a, *aa, *e, or *o), (Sem., Ch. [51] The classification within West Semitic remains contested. Omotic, Cushitic, and Chadic are also spoken north of the Sahara so it must be assumed that the speakers of these "dialects" migrated north likewise, though perhaps separately from the Boreafrasian speakers (Dalby, p.6). Map of Afro-Asiatic languages distribution (click to enlarge it) Like in the English example, feet foot, vowels make the difference between separate words. innovation: 'to rub' > 'to scrape'), (* and *a are reconstructed because they are required in derived root #651 below), (#649 + *r diffus. p-Ring ), to become thoroughly wet, pour heavily (intr. The prefixes ti and it mean she. TV. Fig. [8][9] Other proposed names which have not found widespread acceptance among the linguistic community include Erythraic, Lisramic, Noahitic, and Lamekhite. [196][164] Such cognates tend to rely on relatively simple sound correspondences. (Though I found no mention of the origin of Semito-, it is possible that this name comes from Shem, another son of Noah). [97] All Afroasiatic languages contain stops and fricatives; some branches have additional types of consonants such as affricates and lateral consonants. p-Cangin [28], Chadic languages number between 150 and 190, making Chadic the largest family in Afroasiatic. p-Bantu (Swadesh list) [159] The Egyptian verbal system diverges greatly from that found in the other branches. This family was formally described and named "Semitic" by August Ludwig von Schlzer in 1781. i, u) and a low vowel (a) in verbal forms is usually described as one of the main characteristics of AA languages: this change codes a variety of different functions. p-Cushitic innovation: semantic narrowing to hitting with the hand), (probable *tliiz-, adj. Dalby, Andrew. V. V. ven. [164] Identifying cognates is difficult because the languages in question are often separated by thousands of years of development and many languages within the family have long been in contact with each other, raising the possibility of loanwords. Both works provide highly divergent reconstructions and have been heavily criticized by other scholars. In Arabic, ti-ktib means she writes and katab-it means she wrote. p-Mumuye South Bauchi * "Revising the Consonant Inventory of Proto-Eastern Cushitic," Studies in African Linguistics 22, 3 (1991): 211-275. The construct state is a special, usually reduced form of a noun, which is used when the noun is possessed by another noun (Semitic) or is modified by an adjective or relative clause (Cushitic). Berkeley: University of California Press. . This page was last edited on 28 August 2022, at 11:13. The following list of Proto-Afroasiatic reconstructions is from Ehret (1995). [128] Proto-Chadic is reconstructed as having verb-initial word order,[80] but most Chadic languages have subject-verb-object word order. [140] A common pattern in AA languages with case is for the nominative to marked by -u or -i, and the accusative to be marked by -a. The Atlas of Languages. [156], There is no agreement about which tenses or aspects Proto-Afroasiatic might have had. The results, while confirming some previous views on proto-Afroasiatic (proto-Afrasian), revise or overturn many others, and add much that is new. p-Lower Cross River [11] In 1855, Ernst Renan named these languages, related to Semitic but not Semitic, "Hamitic," in 1860 Carl Lottner proposed that they belonged to a single language family, and in 1876 Friedrich Mller first described them as a "Hamito-Semitic" language family. [164] Christopher Ehret has proposed that Proto-Afroasiatic originally had as many as thirty-seven separate verbal extensions, many of which then became fossilized as third consonants. Central Sudanic (p-Central Sudanicp-Sara-Bongo-BagirmiSinyarBirrip-Mangbetu) 2.11. [29] Eight other Chadic languages have around 100,000 speakers; other Chadic languages often have few speakers and may be endangered of going extinct. p-Kuliak (Ik) [182], Unlike in the Indo-European or Austronesian language families, numerals in AA languages cannot be traced to a proto-system. [98] AA languages tend to have pharyngeal fricative consonants, with Egyptian, Semitic, Berber, and Cushitic sharing and . Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. Each aspect of these reconstructions is substantiated in detail in an extensive etymological vocabulary of more than 1000 roots. Tula-Waja velar consonants can occur with pharyngeals or laryngeals; This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 01:29. rather than the subject and object. Kim Meredith Holt Roots Beginning with P and B - Oleg Linkohr 2020-03-15 . [9] ( In this interpretation, a contrast existed between. The results, while confirming some previous views on proto-Afroasiatic (proto-Afrasian), revise or overturn many others, and add much that is new. [34], The Egyptian branch consists of a single language, Ancient Egyptian, which was historically spoken in the lower Nile Valley. [54] The "Hamitic theory" would serve as the basis for Carl Meinhof's highly influential classification of African languages in his book Die Sprache der Hamiten (1912). [15] Hamitic was coined by Ernest Renan in 1855, to refer to languages that seemed similar to the Semitic languages, but were not themselves provably a part of the family. p-Edoid To the south lay the other language families of Africa: Niger-Kordofanian, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan (Atlas,p74). p-Semitic, Khoisan [18][11], The alternative name "Lisramic" is based on the AA root *lis- ("tongue") and the Egyptian word rm ("person"). These are some known features common to more than one branch, though (Hodge 1971; Lecarme, Lowenstamm, and Shlonsky 2000; Frajzyngier and Shay 2012): Published 1995 Linguistics This work provides the first truly comprehensive and systematic reconstruction of proto-Afroasiatic (proto-Afrasian). Nara innovation: specialization of meaning to plant growth), (Berber, e.g., Shilh agafay 'cloud,' implies a 2nd root shape *-gaap-), to impel, make move (by pushing, pulling), (root #311+old Afroasiatic pl. p-Idomoid Afroasiatic(Afro-Asiatic), also known as Afrasianand in older sources as Hamito-Semitic(Chamito-Semitic)[3]or Semito-Hamitic,[4]is a large language familyof about 300 languages. [133], A widespread pattern of gender and number marking in Afroasiatic is a consonant N for masculine, T for feminine, and N for plural. [29] The Chadic languages are typically divided into three major branches, East Chadic, Central Chadic, and West Chadic. Proto-Afro-Asiatic is proposed to have been spoken 18,000 years ago near the Horn of Africa (eastern Africa). [119] Vladimir Orel and Olga Stolbova instead proposed a six vowel system with a, e, o, i, ([y]), and u. [67][68], An important development in the history of Afroasiatic scholarship - and the history of African linguistics - was the creation of the "Hamitic theory" or "Hamitic hypothesis" by Lepsius, fellow Egyptologist Christian Bunsen, and linguist Christian Bleek. ; SC semantics: early beads were made of shell), (root of #48 + *c extend. Afro-Asiatic has been hypothesized to be related to many other language families. [54] These five or six branches remain the academic consensus on the family. The name Hamitic originates from Ham, one of the sons of Noah. It's impossible to tell exactly how old Proto-Afroasiatic is, or where it was spoken, but there are a few ideas. North of the Sahara and the Ethiopian mountains are the Afro-Asiatic languages. [103][101] The feminine marker T is one of the most consistent aspects across the different branches of AA;[133] in addition to deriving feminine nouns in many branches, it also functions as a diminutive, pejorative, and/or singulative marker in some languages. US$62.00 (softcover). Proto-Afro-Asiatic is of great antiquity; experts tend to place it in the Mesolithic Period at about 15,000-10,000 bce. [156] It is unclear whether this system is a common AA trait;[157] the Chadic examples, for instance, show signs of originally deriving from affixes, which could explain the origins of the alterations in other languages as well. Therefore the root is considered ktb. When looking for roots it is important to remember that early Semitic only had consonants and vowels had to be inferred from the context (Atlas, p.78-79). Aunque las estimaciones varan ampliamente, los eruditos creen que se hablaba como un solo idioma hace entre 12.000 y 18.000 aos (12 a 18 kya ), es decir, entre 16.000 y 10.000 a . [184] Only some Berber languages maintain the native Berber numeral system, with many using Arabic loans for higher numbers and some from any numeral beyond two. Afroasiatic is generally considered to be comprised of the language families Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Omotic, and Semitic. innovation: 'lift' > 'carry', (Eg., Sem., Cush, shared innovations: *su, *usu 'he'; *si, *isi 'she': see Chap. [128] In most branches, gender is an inherent property of nouns. suff. shared innovation: *als-/*ils- 'tongue': *a-/*i-attrib. *kop-sole (of foot . p-Masa [15] Mller assumed that there existed a distinct "Hamitic" branch of the family that consisted of Egyptian, Berber, and Cushitic. Classification and Index of the Worlds Languages. as EL). ; semantics: from closed- to open-ended action), to be wrong, bad, ill; do or function wrongly, (Eg., Ch. [166], The so-called "Nisba" is a suffix used to derive adjectives from nouns and, in Egyptian, also from prepositions. Some features observed in most or all Afroasiatic languages include: It remains unclear what word order Proto-Afroasiatic had. [136] These so-called "internal a" or "broken" plurals are securely attested in Semitic, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic, although it is unclear if the Chadic examples are an independent development. p-Daju We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. p-Central Khoisan p-Akokoid [92] Diakonoff argues that Proto-Afroasiatic syllables disallowed consonant clusters or vowels at the end of a syllable. Bijogo [174] It is found in Egyptian, Semitic, and possibly, in some relic forms, Berber. [191], The Cushitic and Chadic numeral systems appear to have originally been base 5. [72] Earlier, the first scholar to question to existence of "Hamitic languages" was Marcel Cohen (1924),[9] while skepticism was also expressed by A. Klingenheben and Dietrich Westermann (1920s and '30s). Jalaa for expected *ii probably reflects phonetic influence of PC root in #254), (Sem., Eg. [34] Cushitic does not appear to be related to the attested ancient languages known from its area, Meroitic or Old Nubian. p-Jukunoid tr. "[81] The African languages of Afroasiatic are not more closely related to each other than they are to Semitic, as one would expect if only Semitic had remained in an Asian AA homeland while all other branches had spread from there. Sandawe p-Nubian Ekoid Bendi Proto-Afroasiatic English gloss Notes 1. Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian) : vowels, tone, consonants, and vocabulary / Christopher Ehret Get this Comments (0) Librarian's View Copyright Status Online In the Library Order a copy Request this item to view in the Library's reading rooms using your library card. [117] Christopher Ehret proposed a five vowel system with long and short a, e, o, i, and u. Kadu [154] In Semitic, Egyptian, Berber, and some Chadic languages, verbs have no inherent vowels at all; the vowels found in a given verb are dependent on the vocalic template. [121], As part of these templates, the alternation (apophony) between high vowels (e.g. These records make it possible to classify and reconstruct many languages. p-Nilotic (p-E. Niloticp-S. Nilotic) ), (Berber, Eg. [116], There is a large variety of vocalic systems in AA. ; *m > /n/ ([])/_*x), (Sem., Eg. [54] Greenberg rejected the Afroasiatic classification of languages that Meinhof had classified as "Hamitic" based on racial and anthropological data. [77] Roger Blench writes that the debate has "a strong ideological flavor", with associations between an Asian origin and "high civilization". derivation by addition of *-u- tr. ), (additional Cushitic alternants *-br- and *-br-), (stem + *r n. as ELL). suff. into stem), to take (bit of food or drink) into the mouth, (* is required by derived noun, root #641 following), (Eg., Sem. 2.10. Oko reflex), (root #723 + *x extend. p-Maban innovation: narrowing of meaning to tr. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1996. [150] Christopher Ehret has argued that this prefix is a later development that was not present in Proto-Afro-Asiatic, but rather derived from a PAA indefinite pronoun *m-. The root form of the verb has only three consonants in common. [115] James P. Allen has demonstrated that slightly different rules apply to Egyptian: for instance, Egyptian allows two identical consonants in some roots, and disallows velars from occurring with pharyngeals. They are not found in Chadic languages, and there is no evidence for cases in Egyptian. ), to fit on top of, go above or in front of, (Eg., Sem. ; PC variant *damn-), (Ch., Eg., Sem. p-Ron [2] With the exception of its Semitic branch, all branches of the Afroasiatic family are exclusively native to the African continent. [7] Nevertheless, both dictionaries agree on some items and some proposed cognates are uncontroversial. in *n, as also in #210), (Sem., Eg. [146] Coptic and Egyptian grammar also refers to nouns having a "free" (absolute) state, a "construct state," and a "pronominal state." [47] Other scholars have questioned whether it is Afroasiatic at all, due its lack of several typical aspects of Afroasiatic morphology. [19] Additionally, a majority of specialists consider the Omotic languages to constitute a sixth branch. p-Maji ; possible n. derivation < v. in #1004). The languages that evolved from Proto-Arabic have around 313 million native speakers, concentrated primarily in the Middle East and North Africa.[5]. FOR SALE! From the earliest times we have written records from Northern Africa. ; Sem., Eg. [20], The Berber (or Libyco-Berber) languages are spoken today by perhaps 16 million people. [49], There there are also other proposed branches, but none has so far convinced a majority of scholars:[7]. in Semitic, Berber, and in Cushitic,[130][166] where it is only found on a small set of frequent verbs. ; Eg., Sem. [91] Typically, syllables only begin with a single consonant. shared innovation: 'raise' > 'lift, pick up'; probable further Ch., Eg., Sem. [118], Attempts to reconstruct the vocalic system of Proto-Afroasiatic vary considerably. The most up to . [103], A form of long-distance consonant assimilation known as consonant harmony is attested in Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, and Semitic: it usually affects features such as pharyngealization, palatalization, and labialization. [17][18] Victor Porkhomovsky suggests that the label "Hamito-Semitic" is at this point simply convention and no more implies an opposition between Semitic and "Hamitic" languages than "Indo-European" implies a "European" and an Indic branch. Three dialects emerged (Omotic, Cushitic, and Chadic) from the main one and this left 'Boreafrasian,' the source of Berber, Egyptian and Semitic (Dalby ,p. 6). [77], Conjugation of verbs using prefixes that mark person, number, and gender can be found Omotic and Cushitic followed the example and split together, as did Egyptian, Berber, and Semitic in another group. [31] They are all spoken in southwest Ethiopia except for the Ganza language, spoken in Sudan. innovation: *agaw- 'cooked grain,' stem + *w n. Newman suggested a relationship between Semitic and the Hausa language, an idea that was taken up by early scholars of Afroasiatic. [48] The oldest written attestations of Semitic languages come from Mesopotamia, Northern Syria, and Egypt and date as early as c. 3000 BCE. As the Afroasiatic languages tend to be the tongues with the longest and oldest historical record, there are not many that can beat the Proto-Afroasiatic. [174] The Semitic genitive case in -i is probably related to "nisba" adjective derivation. [87], Afroasiatic languages share a number of phonetic and phonological features. In An Encyclopedia of Language, Omotic is listed as a sub-set of Cushitic, and Andrew Dalby writes the Egyptian division as "Egyptian-Coptic," even though Coptic is considered to be a sub-set of Egyptian. Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian . Beboid Kunama [192] Thus, it is possible that the numerals in Egyptian, Berber, and Semitic are more closely related, whereas the Cushitic and Chadic numerals are more closely related to each other. in *n, as also in #323), (possible V reconstructions: *a, *aa, *e, or *o), (Sem., Eg., Ch. Semitic speakers moved into the Fertile Crescent and "emerg[ed] into history" by bringing Akkadian (a Semitic language) into what is now Iraq, a previously Sumerian-speaking area (Dalby ,p6).