Proto-Afroasiatic language

One proposal of possible expansion routes of Afroasiatic languages from the Horn of Africa.

The Proto–Afroasiatic language is the reconstructed proto-language from which all modern Afroasiatic languages are descended. It is believed by scholars to have been spoken as a single language around 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, but there is no consensus as to where the Afroasiatic Urheimat, the homeland of Proto-Afroasiatic speakers, was located. Although Afroasiatic is the earliest attested language family in the world, the reconstruction of Proto-Afroasiatic is problematic and largely lacking, which is sometimes attributed to the sheer age of the language.

Reconstructed words for fauna and flora and evidence of linguistic contact with language families known to have been spoken in Eurasia suggest that its home was in the Middle East, probably the Levant. Some geneticists and archaeologists have argued for a back migration of proto-Afroasiatic speakers from Western Asia to Africa as early as the 10th millennium BC. They suggest the Natufian culture might have spoken a proto-Afroasian language just prior to its disintegration into sub-languages.[1][2] The hypothesis is supported by the Afroasiatic terms for early livestock and crops in both Anatolia and Iran.[3] Evidence of Cushitic being formerly spoken in the south of Arabia also speaks for a Middle Eastern origin, but some proposals also claim Northern Africa or the Horn of Africa.[4][5]


Consonant correspondences

The following table shows consonant correspondences in Afroasiatic languages, as given in Dolgopolsky (1999), along with some reconstructed consonants for Proto-Afroasiatic.

Correspondences in Afro-Asian languages[6][7]
Proto-Afroasiatic Proto-Semitic Egyptian Berber East Cushitic West Chadic
*b *b b *β, ? *b, *-∅- *b *b, *ḅ1
*p *p p *f, ? *b *p *p, *f, *ḅ1
*f f f
*d *d d *d *d *d, *ḍ1
*t *t t *t *t *t
*ṭ *ṭ d(~t) *ḍ [dˁ] / *ṭ (→ *ṭṭ [tˁː]) *ṭ (→ *ḍ) *ḍ
*ǯ [dʒ] [8] *ð ?? d *z *z *dʒ
*č [tʃ] [9] *θ s, ?? š *s *s1(=*s)
*č̣ [tʃ'] [10] *θ̣ ḏ- *ẓ [zˁ] South Cushitic
*ṭṣ
*ʒ [dz] [11] *z z *z *z *dz
*c [ts] [12] *s (*s3) s *s- ? s2- *ts
*c̣ [ts’] [13] *ṣ [(t)sʼ] ḏ *ẓ [zˤ] *ṭṣ *ṭṣ
*s [14] *š (*s1) s *s *s2(=*š) s,
Central Chadic:
*s, *ɬ
*ŝ [ɬ], *ĉ [tɬ] [15] *ś (*s2) [ɬ] š, ? s *s, *z- *l,
SCush.
*ɬ		 *ɬ, *ɮ
*ĉ̣ [tɬʼ] [16] *ṣ́ [(t)ɬʼ] ḏ, ? d- *s1 ?,
SCush.
*ṭɬ̣		 -*ṭɬ̣-
*g [17] *g g, ḏ *g *g *g
*k [18] *k k, ṯ *k, ? *ɣ *k *k
*ḳ [19] *ḳ q, ḏ *ɣ, ? *ḳ (→ *ḳḳ [kˤː])
*ɣ [20] *ɣ ḫ-, ꜥ- ? *h2 *ʕ
*χ [21] *χ ḫ, ẖ, ħ *H- *h-, *-Ø- *-H-?
*ʕ [22] *ʕ ꜥ *H- *ʕ-, *-Ø-ʔ
*ħ [23] *ħ ħ *H- *ħ-, *-Øː-
*h [24] *h j- *h1, *h2 *ʔ-
*ʔ [25] *ʔ j, ? ꜣ *ʔ *ʔ, -Ø- *ʔ
*r *r r, l, ꜣ *r -*r- *r
*l *l n-, [l-], r, ꜣ *l -*l- *l
*n *n n, l [26] *n -*n- *n
*m *m m *m -*m- *m
*w *w w-, j, y *w, *Ø *w, *Ø *w-?
*y [j] *y j-, y-, -Ø- *y, *i, *Ø *y, *i, *Ø *y, *Ø
Proto-Afroasiatic Proto-Semitic Egyptian Berber East Cushitic West Chadic
  1. under special conditions

NOTE:

  1. š = /ʃ/
  2. Symbols with dots underneath are emphatic consonants (variously glottalized, ejective or pharyngealized).
  3. Transcription of Ancient Egyptian follows Allen (2000); see Transliteration of Ancient Egyptian. The following are possible values for the non-IPA symbols used for Ancient Egyptian: ẖ = [ç]; ṯ = [tʲ] or [t͡ʃ]; ḏ = [dʲ] or [d͡ʒ], or ejective [tʲʼ] or [t͡ʃʼ].

Pronouns

Ehret (1995) reconstructs the following pronouns, most of which are supported by at least five of the six branches:

Proto-Afroasiatic Pronouns[27]
Singular, bound Singular, independent Plural
1 *i, *yi *(ʔ)ân-/(ʔ)în- *(ʔ)ǎnn-/(ʔ)ǐnn-
2 m. *ku, *ka *(ʔ)ânt/(ʔ)înt- *kuuna
2 f. *ki
3 *si, *isi *su, *usu

Numerals

Ehret (1995) reconstructs the following cardinal numbers (Ehret does not include Berber in his reconstruction):

Cardinal Numbers in Afroasiatic[27]
Number Proto-Afroasiatic Proto-Semitic Egyptian Proto-Cushitic Proto-Chadic Proto-Omotic
two *tsan, *can *θny snwj
*tsîr(n), *cîr(n) *θər *sər
*ɬâm- *ɬmʔl "left hand" *ɬâ(a)m- *lam-
three *xaymz- ḫmt.w *knɗ- *x2ayz-
four *fâzw- fdw *fʷaɗə

The first root for "two" has been compared to Berber (Tamazight) sin.[28] There are other proposed cognate sets:

  • "six": Egyptian srs, Proto-Semitic *šidṯ-, Berber (Tamazight) sdˁis.[28]
  • "seven": Egyptian sfḫ, Proto-Semitic *šabʕ-, Berber (Tamazight) sa.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dziebel, German (2007). The Genius of Kinship: The Phenomenon of Human Kinship and the Global Diversity of Kinship Terminologies. Cambria Press. p. 366. ISBN 978-1-934043-65-3. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Nöth, Winfried (1 January 1994). Origins of Semiosis: Sign Evolution in Nature and Culture. Walter de Gruyter. p. 293. ISBN 978-3-11-087750-2. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Quantitative Approaches to Linguistic Diversity: Commemorating the Centenary of the Birth of Morris Swadesh. p. 73.
  4. ↑ Blench, Roger. (2006). Archaeology, Language, and the African Past. Rowman: Altamira,. ISBN 9780759104662.
  5. ↑ Blažek, Václav. "Afro-Asiatic linguistic migrations: linguistic evidence" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Dolgopolsky (1999), pp. 38-39.
  7. ↑ Prasse (2000), p. 346.
  8. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  9. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  10. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  11. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  12. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  13. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  14. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  15. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  16. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  17. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  18. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  19. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  20. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  21. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  22. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  23. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  24. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  25. ↑ Takács (1999), pp. 263-270
  26. ↑ Takács (1999), p. 263
  27. 1 2 Ehret (1995)
  28. 1 2 3 Takács, Gábor (1999-). Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian. Brill. Check date values in: |year= (help)

Sources

  • Dolgopolsky, Aron (1999). From Proto-Semitic to Hebrew. Milan: Centro Studi Camito-Semitici di Milano.
  • Ehret, Christopher (1995). Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): vowels, tone, consonants, and vocabulary. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-09799-8.
  • Prasse, Karl G. (2000). Études berbères et chamito-sémitiques: mélanges offerts à Karl-G. Prasse.
  • Diakonoff, Igor M. (1988). Afrasian Languages. Moscow: Nauka.
  • Takács, Gabór (1999). Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill. ISBN 90-04-11538-2.
  • Orel, Vladimir & Olga Stolbova (1995). Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary. Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill. ISBN 90-04-10051-2.
  • Dolgopolsky, Aharon (1998). The Nostratic Macrofamily and Linguistic Paleontology. Cambridge: McDonald Instutite for Archaeological Research. ISBN 0-9519420-7-7.
  • Bomhard, Allan R. (2008). "A Sketch of Proto-Afrasian Phonology", Ed. G. Takács, Semito-Hamitic Festschrift for A. B. Dolgopolsky and H. Jungraithmayr, Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, pp. 79-92.
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