Afro-Asiatic language family
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Afro-Asiatic language family
The Afro-Asiatic language family (pronunciation: /ˈæfroʊˌeɪʒiˈætɪk/), also known as Hamito-Semitic, is a large language family of about 300 languages and dialects. It includes languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel.
Etymology
The term "Afroasiatic" was coined by Maurice Delafosse in 1914. It is a combination of "Afro", referring to Africa, and "Asiatic", referring to Asia, indicating the geographical distribution of the languages in this family.
Classification
Afro-Asiatic languages are divided into six branches: Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Omotic, and Semitic.
Related terms
- Proto-Afroasiatic: The reconstructed ancestor of the Afro-Asiatic languages.
- Comparative method: A technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison.
- Typology: The study of the common properties of languages and the classification of languages according to their structural features.
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