| Ethiopian Semitic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
Ethiopia, Eritrea |
| Linguistic classification: | Afro-Asiatic
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| Subdivisions: |
North Ethiopian Semitic
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Ethiopian Semitic (also known as Ethiopian, Ethiosemitic, Ethiopic, or Afro-Semitic) is a language group, which together with Old South Arabian forms the Western branch of the South Semitic languages. The languages are spoken in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. Some linguists have begun calling this group "Afro-Semitic" to avoid the exclusive focus on Ethiopia, but its use is not widespread.
While focused on Semitic languages as the only branch of the broader Afroasiatic languages that has its distribution outside Africa, a recent study proposed through the use of Bayesian computational phylogenetic techniques that "contemporary Ethiosemitic languages of Africa reflect a single introduction of early Ethiosemitic from southern Arabia approximately 2800 years ago", and that this single introduction of Ethiosemitic underwent "Rapid Diversification" within Ethiopia and Eritrea.[1]
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