Ethio-Semitic languages

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ethio-Semitic
Ethiopian Semitic, Ethiopic, Abyssinian
Geographic
distribution		Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan[1]
Linguistic classificationAfro-Asiatic
Subdivisions
  • North Ethiopic
  • South Ethiopic
Glottologethi1244

Ethio-Semitic (also Ethiopian Semitic, Ethiosemitic, Ethiopic or Abyssinian

Afroasiatic language family
.

With 57,500,000 total speakers as of 2019, including around 25,100,000

Eastern Catholic
counterparts.

The "homeland" of the South Semitic languages is widely debated, with some sources, such as A. Murtonen (1967) and Lionel Bender (1997),

Bayesian model suggested the latter.[9] This statistical analysis could not estimate when or where the ancestor of all Semitic languages diverged from Afroasiatic but it suggested that the divergence of East, Central, and South Semitic branches occurred in the Levant.[10] According to many scholars, Semitic originated from an offshoot of a still earlier language in North Africa, perhaps in the southeastern Sahara, and desertification forced its inhabitants to migrate in the fourth millennium BC – some southeast into what is now Ethiopia, others northeast out of Africa into Canaan, Syria and the Mesopotamian valley.[11]

The modern Ethiopian Semitic languages all share

verb-subject-object (VSO) order in common with other Semitic languages spoken in what is now Yemen
.

Classification

The division of Ethiopic into northern and southern branches was proposed by Cohen (1931) and Hetzron (1972) and garnered broad acceptance, but has been challenged by Rainer Voigt, who concludes that the northern and southern languages are closely related.[12]

Genealogy of the Semitic languages
  • Ethiopic
    • North Ethiopic
    • South Ethiopic
      • Transversal South Ethiopic
        • Amharic–Argobba
        • Harari–East Gurage
          • Harari
          • East Gurage
            • Inneqor
              )
            • Zway
              (Zay)
      • Outer South Ethiopic
        • n-group:
        • tt-group:
          • Mesmes – extinct (sometimes considered Inor)
          • Muher
          • West Gurage
            • Mesqan (Masqan)
            • Sebat Bet
              • Gura
                )
              • Inor (dialects Ennemor [Inor proper], Endegegn, Gyeto)

Hudson (2013)

Hudson (2013) recognises five primary branches of Ethiosemitic. His classification is below.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "Languages of Sudan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  2. OCLC 576634823 – via Google Books
    .
  3. ^ "Amharic". Ethnologue.
  4. ^ "The world factbook". cia.gov. 18 September 2023.
  5. S2CID 143172927
    .
  6. ^ Simeone-Senelle, Marie-Claude (December 2005). "Up todate Assessment of the results of the research on the Dahalik language (December 1996 - December 2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  7. ^ Bender, L. (1997). "Upside Down Afrasian". Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere. 50: 19–34.
  8. ISBN 9780719011238
    .
  9. PMID 19403539
    .
  10. PMID 19403539
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-691-19165-2
    . Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  12. ^ Voigt, Rainer. "North vs. South Ethiopian Semitic" (PDF). portal.svt.ntnu.no. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2019-06-12. Via Scribd
  13. ^ For its membership in North Ethiopic, see Leslau, Wolf (1970). "Ethiopic and South Arabian". Linguistics in South West Asia and North Africa. The Hague. p. 467.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link), and Faber, Alice (2005). "Genetic Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages". The Semitic Languages. Routledge. pp. 6–7..
  14. ^ "Ethiopia to Add 4 More Official Languages to Foster Unity". Ventures Africa. Ventures. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia – Article 5" (PDF). Federal Government of Ethiopia. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  16. ISBN 9783447069830
    .

Bibliography
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