South Semitic languages
| South Semitic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Yemen, Oman, Ethiopia, Eritrea |
| Linguistic classification |
|
| Subdivisions |
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| Glottolog | None |
South Semitic is a putative branch of the Semitic languages. Semitic itself is a branch of the larger Afro-Asiatic language family found in (North and East) Africa and Western Asia.
South Semitic is divided into two uncontroversial branches:
- South Arabian, on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and
- Ethiopian Semitic, found across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa, mainly in modern Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Ethiopian Semitic languages have by far the greatest numbers of modern native speakers, indeed of any Semitic language other than Arabic. Eritrea's main languages are mainly Tigrinya and Tigre, which are North Ethiopic languages, while Amharic (South Ethiopic) is the main language spoken in Ethiopia (along with Tigrinya in the northern province of Tigray). Ge'ez continues to be used in Eritrea and Ethiopia as a liturgical language for the Orthodox Tewahedo churches.
Southern Arabian languages have been increasingly eclipsed by the more dominant Arabic (also a Semitic language) for more than a millennium. Ethnologue lists six modern members of the South Arabian branch and 15 members of the Ethiopian branch.[1]
The "homeland" of the South Semitic languages is widely debated, with sources such as A. Murtonen (1967), and Lionel Bender (1997),[2] suggesting an origin in Ethiopia, while others suggest the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. A recent study based on a Bayesian model to estimate language change concluded that the latter viewpoint is more probable.[3]
Classification
- Western
- Old South Arabian – extinct, formerly believed to be the linguistic ancestors of modern South Arabian Semitic languages, modern South Arabian now being classified as Eastern South Semitic. Jabal Razih language is probably a descendant.
- Ethiopian Semitic languages (Ethio-Semitic, Ethiopian Semitic)
- Eastern: Modern South Arabian. These languages are spoken mainly by small minority populations on the Arabian peninsula in Yemen (Mahra and Soqotra) and Oman (Dhofar).
See also
References
- ↑ "South". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- ↑ Bender, L (1997), "Upside Down Afrasian", Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 50, pp. 19-34
- ↑ Kitchen, Andrew, Christopher Ehret, et al. 2009. "Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Semitic languages identifies an Early Bronze Age origin of Semitic in the Near East." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276 no. 1665 (June 22)