western semitic africa

Semitic languages constitute a the most populous branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. West Africa: Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan: Afro-Asiatic, Chadic: 43 [year needed] Hutu: Central Africa: Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo: Niger–Congo, Bantu: 15 [year needed] Igbo: West Africa: Nigeria: Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger: 34 (2017) Kanuri: Central Africa: Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon: Nilo-Saharan, Saharan: 10: Kongo: Central Africa Consequently, Ethiopia (Africa) should be the original homeland of all Hamito-Semitic languages. It begins to emerge into the annals of written history about the middle of the nineteenth century B.C. I've touched on many subjects about Horner / Horn African (Somali, Ḥabesha, Agaw, Oromo, Ari etc.) West Semitic brought forth such languages as Canaanite, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic (EL, p.906). It belongs in the same linguistic subfamily with modern Arabic, Amharic, Tigre and Tigrinya and some other East African and West Asian languages such as Ge'ez and Syriac. The unity of the Semites: Semet (Sem) is the Western name for the nomadic people from Syria to the Arabian Peninsula. Alice Faber, "Genetic Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages", in Hetzron, ed., 2013, This page was last edited on 7 November 2020, at 18:38. Britannica Kids Holiday Bundle! Mesopotamia, the western coast of the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa have all been proposed as possible sites for the prehistoric origins of Semitic-speaking peoples, but no location has been definitively established. Assyria was a Semitic colony, or a series of colonies, from Babylonia. Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples or Proto-Semite people were Western Asian people who lived throughout the ancient Near East, including the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Horn of Africa from the third millennium BC until the end of antiquity. November 19, 2020 / 10:06 AM / AP The term came to include Arabs, Akkadians, Canaanites, Hebrews, some Ethiopians, and Aramaean tribes. Hebrew is a Semitic language. The modern times refer to the general name of the Semitic language group in the Semitic language family in North Africa and West Asia. The expression is derived from the Biblical table of nations (Genesis 10), in which most of these peoples are recorded as descendants of Noah's son Sem. By 1100 it was the strongest power in western Asia; and at various periods after that it held the hegemony. Updates? Omissions? In historic times all Western Asia (see below), with the exception of the peninsula of Asia Minor, was Semitic. This article was most recently revised and updated by. Some claim … Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Some say they came from Ethiopia, while others say Southern Arabia. Some Semiticists continue to argue for the older classification, based on the distinctive feature of broken plurals. This advancement will provide a finer-resolution genetic ethnicity estimate for individuals with West African ancestry. During World War I, South Africa launched a military campaign and occupied the German colony of South West Africa, current day Namibia. Semitic Branch. The material studied will span from the earliest texts to the rise of Islam. In Mesopotamia they blended with the civilization of Sumer. The Semitic languages, previously also named Syro-Arabian languages, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family originating in the Middle East [2] that are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of Western Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, [3] as well as in often large immigrant and expatriate communities in North America, Europe and Australasia. Introduction: Hamito-Semitic languages are a family of languages spoken by more than 200 million people in N Africa; much of the Sahara; parts of East, Central, West Africa; and W Asia (especially the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel). The Israeli state and its supporters frequently accuse its critics of being motivated by antisemitism, and although they usually concede that it is not inherently antisemitic to criticize the country, recent controversies have proven that it is quite difficult to draw precisely where the line begins and ends. A historical account from the 1700’s describes the connection between West Africans and the Israelites. The impact of Judaic influence led to the conversion to Judaism by a number of ruling families in Ghana, notably among the Peuhl, Foulani, Mossi, Fanti and Soughay tribes. Egypt is just west of the Red Sea and Mesopotamia is so to the Persian Gulf. Organisers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement say their protest against Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians is modelled on the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. The Amhara trace their origins to the land that modern-day Yemen now occupies. West Semitic brought forth such languages as Canaanite, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic (EL, p.906). Around 6,000- 4,000 years B.C., an ecological catastrophe in the Black Sea area forced the Indo- European tribes to migrate outward in all directions. The idea that Semitic languages derived from one original language (by German philologists sometimes called Ursemitisch or proto‑Semitic, and that the peoples speaking these languages were descended from one people, exercised considerable influence and … Semitic languages predominate in North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East (Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, the Syro-Palestinian region). African Affiliation of Hebrew and Semitic Languages 83 the affiliation of Semitic with various Hamitic groups was, on the surface, far more evident than any possible connection with European, proponents of the Indo-European theory eventually came to include material from … The South Semitic languages are a branch of Semitic languages.They are mainly spoken in East Africa and Southern Arabia. The Arabic language is the defining feature of an individual Arab. The West Semitic languages are a proposed major sub-grouping of Semitic languages.One widely accepted analysis, supported by semiticists like Robert Hetzron and John Huehnergard, divides the Semitic language family into two branches: Eastern and Western. The Semitic languages, previously also named Syro-Arabian languages, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family originating in the Middle East that are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of Western Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa, as well as in often large immigrant and expatriate communities in North America, Europe and Australasia. Then they began to spread south to territories below the equator line. This account is from an African man from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, named Oludah Equiano. It includes monographs, collections of essays, and text editions informed by the approaches of linguistic science. Semitic languages predominate in North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East (Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, the Syro-Palestinian region). The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each population generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture.The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan populations. It includes languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and parts of the Sahel. Arabic is a Semite language, similar to … Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Linguists do not agree on where South Semitic languages come from. [citation needed] In older classifications, it is grouped with the South Semitic languages. This account is from an African man from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, named Oludah Equiano. All historical sources say that they fled into Africa. The name of the Mitt originated from the rise of the monotheism in West Asia. It is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic, and is also the language of over 2 million Ethiopians living outside of the country. … Since 2000, certain events in Israel, Gaza and the occupied territories have repeatedly provoked reactions in Western Europe, including anti-Semitic incidents." Africa ) should be the original homeland of all Hamito-Semitic languages ) is the western name for the older,. Easily forgotten is the western name for the older classification, based the! Hebrew, and Aramaean tribes consider about 22 countries through the Middle East, North Africa is a language.It... Spread South to territories below the equator line -- Kushitic, Egyptian, Berber,,! Include Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic and many other languages spoken for longer than... `` anti-Semitic, '' becomes the first Top U.S. western semitic africa to visit an Israel-occupied West Bank settlement the.... 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