Afro-Asiatic

Afro-Asiatic (also known as Afroasiatic, Hamito-Semitic, or Chamito-Semitic) is a large language family comprising hundreds of languages spoken in North Africa, the Sahara, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Middle East. It is one of the largest language families in the world by number of speakers.

The name reflects the fact that the family is distributed across two continents: Africa and Asia. Older names, such as Hamito-Semitic, originated from a classification made when Semitic languages were not yet recognized as coordinate with other branches; the term Afro-Asiatic is now standard in scholarship.

Branches of the family

The branches commonly included in the family are: Semitic (which includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Tigrinya); Cushitic (Somali, Afar, Oromo, Beja, and others); Omotic, spoken in Ethiopia and sometimes classified as a separate branch; Berber or Amazigh of North Africa; Chadic, of which Hausa is the largest; and Egyptian, whose later stage was Coptic. The relationship between Omotic and Cushitic remains disputed.

Linguistic features

Features commonly shared across the branches include: gender distinction (masculine/feminine) affecting nouns and verbs; a verbal system with consonantal roots undergoing internal changes (not just affixation); derivational patterns modifying root consonants; and pronominal forms with similarities in personal pronouns (first and second person). Semitic and Berber exhibit characteristic triliteral roots.

Somali and Cushitic

Somali is one of the East Cushitic languages, closely related to Afar, Saho, and Oromo. It displays Afro-Asiatic features such as gender distinction, tone or accent that can change meaning, and verbal patterns employing both affixation and consonantal alternation.