Semitic language

Semitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family originating in the Middle East. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of Western Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, as well as in large expatriate communities in North America and Europe. The terminology was first used in the 1780s by members of the Göttingen School of History, and derives from the biblical Shem, one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis.

History

The most widely spoken Semitic languages today are Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Hebrew, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, and Maltese. Semitic languages have a recorded history stretching back for more than 4,000 years, beginning with the earliest written records of Akkadian and Eblaite.

Classification

Semitic languages are divided into several subfamilies: East Semitic, West Semitic, and South Semitic. The East Semitic group is extinct, and was represented by Akkadian and Eblaite. The West Semitic group includes the Canaanite languages (including Hebrew), Aramaic, and Ugaritic. The South Semitic group includes the Ethiopic languages, Modern South Arabian languages, and Arabic.

Characteristics

Semitic languages show a unique pattern of consonants and vowels, and are known for their nonconcatenative morphology — a given 'root' will consist of consonants only, while the pattern of vowels interspersed with these consonants indicates grammatical information. They also have a system of triconsonantal roots, where words are formed by inserting vowels and sometimes consonants into a set pattern of consonants.

Influence

Semitic languages have had a significant influence on the Indo-European languages, particularly through religious vocabulary introduced by the spread of Judaism and Islam. They have also influenced the Berber languages, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Somali, and other Afro-Asiatic languages.

See also

• List of languages by first written accounts
• Proto-Semitic language
• Semitic people