Editing Afroasiatic languages (section)

==Distribution and branches==
[[File:Afroasiatic 6-Family Diagram.svg|thumb|A diagram of the six widely recognized branches of the Afroasiatic family, including some of the larger or more culturally significant languages in each branch.]]
Scholars generally consider Afroasiatic to have between five and eight branches. The five that are universally agreed upon are [[Berber languages|Berber]] (also called "Libyco-Berber"), [[Chadic languages|Chadic]], [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]], [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]], and [[Semitic languages|Semitic]].{{sfn|Huehnergard|2004|p=138-139}} Most specialists consider the [[Omotic languages]] to constitute a sixth branch.{{sfn|Sands|2009|p=565}} Due to the presumed distance of relationship between the various branches, many scholars prefer to refer to Afroasiatic as a "linguistic phylum" rather than a "language family".{{sfn|Frajzyngier|Shay|2012|p=1}}

M. Victoria Almansa-Villatoro and Silvia Štubňová Nigrelli write that there are about 400 languages in Afroasiatic;{{sfn|Almansa-Villatoro|Štubňová Nigrelli|2023|p=3}} [[Ethnologue]] lists 375 languages.{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2021|loc=Summary by language family}} Many scholars estimate fewer languages; exact numbers vary depending on the definitions of "[[language]]" and "[[dialect]]".{{sfn|Frajzyngier|Shay|2012|p=1}}

===Berber===
{{main|Berber languages}}
The Berber (or Libyco-Berber) languages are spoken today by perhaps 16 million people.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|pp=23–24}} They are often considered to constitute a single language with multiple dialects.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=252-253}} Other scholars, however, argue that they are a group of around twelve languages, about as different from each other as the Romance or Germanic languages.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=324}} In the past, Berber languages were spoken throughout North Africa except in Egypt;{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=34}} since the 7th century CE, however, they have been heavily affected by Arabic and have been replaced by it in many places.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=253}}{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=24}}

There are two extinct languages potentially related to modern Berber.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=325}} The first is the [[Numidian language]], represented by over a thousand short inscriptions in the [[Libyco-Berber alphabet]], found throughout North Africa and dating from the 2nd century BCE onward.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=24}} The second is the [[Guanche language]], which was formerly spoken on the [[Canary Islands]] and went extinct in the 17th century CE.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=325}} The first longer written examples of modern Berber varieties only date from the 16th or 17th centuries CE.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=37}}

===Chadic===
{{main|Chadic languages}}
Chadic languages number between 150 and 190, making Chadic the largest family in Afroasiatic by number of extant languages.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=254}} The Chadic languages are typically divided into three major branches, East Chadic, Central Chadic, and West Chadic.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=29}} Most Chadic languages are located in the [[Chad Basin]], with the exception of [[Hausa language|Hausa]].{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=27}} Hausa is the largest Chadic language by native speakers, and is spoken by a large number of people as a lingua franca in Northern Nigeria.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=39}} It may have as many as 80 to 100 million first and second language speakers.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=254}} Eight other Chadic languages have around 100,000 speakers; other Chadic languages often have few speakers and may be in danger of going extinct.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|pp=342–343}} Only about 40 Chadic languages have been fully described by linguists.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=254}}

===Cushitic===
{{main|Cushitic languages}}
There are about 30 Cushitic languages,{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=259}} more if Omotic is included,{{sfn|Appleyard|2012|p=39}} spoken around the Horn of Africa and in Sudan and Tanzania.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=259}} The Cushitic family is traditionally split into four branches: the single language of Beja (c. 3 million speakers), the Agaw languages, Eastern Cushitic, and Southern Cushitic.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|pp=25–26}}{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=259}} Only one Cushitic language, [[Oromo language|Oromo]], has more than 25 million speakers; other languages with more than a million speakers include [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Afar language|Afar]], [[Hadiyya language|Hadiyya]], and [[Sidaama language|Sidaama]].{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=259}} Many Cushitic languages have relatively few speakers.{{sfn|Appleyard|2012|p=39}} Cushitic does not appear to be related to the written ancient languages known from its area, [[Meroitic language|Meroitic]] or [[Old Nubian]].{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=30}} The oldest text in a Cushitic language probably dates from around 1770;{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=259}} written orthographies were only developed for a select number of Cushitic languages in the early 20th century.{{sfn|Appleyard|2012|p=39}}

===Egyptian===
[[File:Peribsen2.JPG|thumb|right|Seal impression from the tomb of [[Seth-Peribsen]] (c. 2690 BCE), containing the first complete sentence in Ancient Egyptian.{{sfn|Allen|2013|p=2}}]]
{{main|Ancient Egyptian language|Coptic language}}
The Egyptian branch consists of a single language, [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] (often called "Ancient Egyptian"), which was historically spoken in the lower Nile Valley.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=252}} Egyptian is first attested in writing around 3000 BCE and finally went extinct around 1300 CE, making it the language with the longest written history in the world.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=24}} Egyptian is usually divided into two major periods, Earlier Egyptian (c. 3000–1300 BCE), which is further subdivided into Old Egyptian and Middle Egyptian, and Later Egyptian (1300 BCE-1300 CE), which is further subdivided into Late Egyptian, Demotic, and Coptic.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=252}} Coptic is the only stage written [[Coptic alphabet|alphabetically]] to show vowels, whereas Egyptian was previously written in Egyptian [[hieroglyph]]s, which only represent consonants.{{sfn|Allen|2013|pp=4–5}} In the Coptic period, there is evidence for six major dialects, which presumably existed previously but are obscured by pre-Coptic writing; additionally, Middle Egyptian appears to be based on a different dialect than Old Egyptian, which in turn shows dialectal similarities to Late Egyptian.{{sfn|Allen|2013|p=4}} Egyptian was replaced by Arabic as the spoken language of Egypt,{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=322}} but Coptic continues to be the liturgical language of the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]].{{sfn|Frajzyngier|Shay|2012|p=6}}

===Omotic===
{{main|Omotic languages}}
The c. 30 Omotic languages are still mostly undescribed by linguists.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=27}} They are all spoken in southwest Ethiopia except for the [[Ganza language]], spoken in Sudan.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=261}} Omotic is typically split into North Omotic (or Damotic) and South Omotic (or Aroid), with the latter more influenced by the [[Nilotic languages]]; it is unclear whether the Dizoid group of Omotic languages belongs to the Northern or Southern group.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=27}} The two Omotic languages with the most speakers are [[Wolaitta language|Wolaitta]] and [[Gamo-Gofa-Dawro language|Gamo-Gofa-Dawro]], with about 1.2 million speakers each.{{sfn|Appleyard|2012|p=39}}

A majority of specialists consider Omotic to constitute a sixth branch of Afroasiatic.{{sfn|Sands|2009|p=565}} Omotic was formerly considered part of the Cushitic branch;{{sfn|Huehnergard|2004|p=139}} some scholars continue to consider it part of Cushitic.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=26}} Other scholars have questioned whether it is Afroasiatic at all, due its lack of several typical aspects of Afroasiatic morphology.{{sfn|Sands|2009|p=565}}

===Semitic===
{{main|Semitic languages}}
There are between 40 and 80 languages in the Semitic family.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=262}} Today, Semitic languages are spoken across North Africa, West Asia, and the Horn of Africa, as well as on the island of Malta, making them the sole Afroasiatic branch with members originating outside Africa.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=24}}{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=262}} Arabic, spoken in both Asia and Africa, is by far the most widely spoken Afroasiatic language today,{{sfn|Almansa-Villatoro|Štubňová Nigrelli|2023|p=3}} with around 300 million native speakers, while the Ethiopian Amharic language has around 25 million; collectively, Semitic is the largest branch of Afroasiatic by number of current speakers.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=249}}

Most authorities divide Semitic into two branches: East Semitic, which includes the extinct Akkadian language, and West Semitic, which includes Arabic, Aramaic, the Canaanite languages (including Hebrew), as well as the Ethiopian Semitic languages such as Geʽez and Amharic.{{sfn|Hayward|2000|pp=78–80}} The classification within West Semitic remains contested. The only group with an African origin is Ethiopian Semitic.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=262}} The oldest written attestations of Semitic languages come from Mesopotamia, Northern Syria, and Egypt and date as early as c. 3000 BCE.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=24}}

===Other proposed branches===
There are also other proposed branches, but none has so far convinced a majority of scholars:{{sfn|Zaborski|2011}}
* Linguist H. Fleming proposed that the near-extinct [[Ongota language]] is a separate branch of Afroasiatic;{{sfn|Fleming|2006}} however, this is only one of several competing theories.{{sfn|Sands|2009|p=565}}{{sfn|Huehnergard|2004|p=139}} About half of current scholarly hypotheses on Ongota's origins align it with Afroasiatic in some way.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=342}}
* [[Robert Hetzron]] proposed that [[Beja language|Beja]] is not part of Cushitic, but a separate branch.{{sfn|Huehnergard|2004|p=140}} The prevailing opinion, however, is that Beja is a branch of Cushitic.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=327}}
* The extinct [[Meroitic language]] has been proposed to represent a branch of Afroasiatic.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=251}} Although an Afroasiatic connection is sometimes viewed as refuted, it continues to be defended by scholars such as Edward Lipiński.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=282}}
* The [[Kujarge language]] is usually considered part of the Chadic languages;{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=258}} however, Roger Blench has proposed that it may be a separate branch of Afroasiatic.{{sfn|Peust|2012|p=231}}{{sfn|Blench|2008}}

===Further subdivisions=== <!---[[Proto-Berbero-Semitic language]] redirects here--->

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:smaller;"
|+ Some proposed Afroasiatic subdivisions{{efn|In this display, the universally recognized primary branches of AA are in '''bold'''. Individual languages designated as primary branches are in ''italics''.}}
|-
! {{harvnb|Fleming|1983}} !! {{harvnb|Ehret|1995}} !! {{harvnb|Bender|1997}} !! {{harvnb|Diakonoff|1988}} !! {{harvnb|Militarev|2005}}
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|{{tree list}}
** '''Omotic'''
** Afroasiatic
*** '''Semitic'''
*** Old East Africa Cushitic{{efn|Old East Africa Cushitic <nowiki>=</nowiki>South Cushitic and [[Yaaku language|Yaaku]].}}
*** Erythraic
**** '''Cushitic'''{{efn|Fleming excludes South Cushitic, Yaaku, and Beja from Cushitic proper.}}
**** ''Beja''
**** '''''Egyptian'''''
**** Berber-Chadic
***** '''Berber'''
***** '''Chadic'''
{{tree list/end}}
|{{tree list}}
** '''Omotic'''
** Erythraean
*** '''Cushitic'''
*** North Erythrean
**** '''Chadic'''
**** Boreafrasian
***** '''''Egyptian'''''
***** '''Berber'''
***** '''Semitic'''
{{tree list/end}}
|{{tree list}}
** '''Omotic'''
** '''Chadic'''
** Central Afroasiatic
*** '''''Egyptian'''''
*** Macro-Cushtic
**** '''Berber'''
**** '''Cushitic'''
**** '''Semitic'''
{{tree list/end}}
|{{tree list}}
** East–West Afrasian
*** '''Semitic'''
*** '''Cushitic'''
*** '''Berber''' (Berbero-Libyan)
** North-South Afrasian
*** '''''Egyptian'''''
*** '''Chadic'''
*** '''Omotic'''
{{tree list/end}}
|{{tree list}}
** Cushomotic
*** '''Cushitic'''
*** '''Omotic'''
** North Afrasian
*** '''Semitic'''
*** African North Afrasian
**** '''''Egyptian'''''
**** Chado-Berber
***** '''Chadic'''
***** '''Berber'''
{{tree list/end}}
|}

There is no agreement on the relationships between and subgrouping of the different Afroasiatic branches.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=251}} Whereas [[Marcel Cohen]] (1947) claimed he saw no evidence for internal subgroupings, numerous other scholars have made proposals,{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2018}} with Carsten Peust counting 27 as of 2012.{{sfn|Peust|2012|p=225-227}}

Common trends in proposals as of 2019 include using common or lacking grammatical features to argue that Omotic was the first language to branch off, often followed by Chadic.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=43}} In contrast to scholars who argue for an early split of Chadic from Afroasiatic, scholars of the Russian school tend to argue that Chadic and Egyptian are closely related,{{sfn|Blench|2006|p=145}} and scholars who rely on percentage of shared lexicon often group Chadic with Berber.{{sfn|Sanker|2023|p=29}} Three scholars who agree on an early split between Omotic and the other subbranches, but little else, are Harold Fleming (1983), Christopher Ehret (1995), and Lionel Bender (1997).{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|pp=312–313}} In contrast, scholars relying on shared lexicon often produce a Cushitic-Omotic group.{{sfn|Sanker|2023|p=29}} Additionally, the minority of scholars who favor an Asian origin of Afroasiatic tend to place Semitic as the first branch to split off.{{sfn|Blench|2006|p=144}} Disagreement on which features are innovative and which are inherited from Proto-Afroasiatic produces radically different trees, as can be seen by comparing the trees produced by Ehret and [[Igor Diakonoff]].{{sfn|Bacovcin|Wilson|2018|p=422}}

Responding to the above, Tom Güldemann criticizes attempts at finding subgroupings based on common or lacking morphology by arguing that the presence or absence of morphological features is not a useful way of discerning subgroupings in Afroasiatic, because it can not be excluded that families currently lacking certain features did not have them in the past; this also means that the presence of morphological features cannot be taken as defining a subgroup.{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=310}} Peust notes that other factors that can obscure genetic relationships between languages include the poor state of present documentation and understanding of particular language families (historically with Egyptian, presently with Omotic).{{sfn|Peust|2012|p=227}} Gene Gragg likewise argues that more needs to be known about Omotic still, and that Afroasiatic linguists have still not found convincing [[isogloss]]es on which to base genetic distinctions.{{sfn|Gragg|2019|p=43}}

One way of avoiding the problem of determining which features are original and which are inherited is to use a computational methodology such as [[lexicostatistics]], with one of the earliest attempts being Fleming 1983.{{sfn|Blench|2006|p=144}} This is also the method used by [[Alexander Militarev]] and [[Sergei Starostin]] to create a family tree.{{sfn|Militarev|2005|pp=398–399}}{{sfn|Blažek|2013|p=1}} Fleming (2006) was a more recent attempt by Fleming, with a different result from Militarev and Starostin.{{sfn|Peust|2012|p=227}} Hezekiah Bacovcin and David Wilson argue that this methodology is invalid for discerning linguistic sub-relationship.{{sfn|Bacovcin|Wilson|2018|p=422}} They note the method's inability to detect various strong commonalities even between well-studied branches of AA.{{sfn|Bacovcin|Wilson|2018|p=427}}

=== Official Status ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Language
!Branch
!Official status per country
|-
|Berber
|Berber
|Algeria, Morocco
|-
|Hausa
|Chadic
|Niger, Nigeria (national)
|-
|Afar
| rowspan="3" |Cushitic
|Ethiopia, Djibouti (national)
|-
|Oromo
|Ethiopia<ref>{{cite web |date=4 March 2020 |title=ETHIOPIA TO ADD 4 MORE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES TO FOSTER UNITY |url=http://venturesafrica.com/ethiopia-to-add-4-more-official-languages-to-foster-unity/ |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=Ventures Africa |publisher=Ventures}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts |url=https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817225007/https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=Nazret}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaban |first1=Abdurahman |title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231030/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |archive-date=15 December 2020 |access-date=10 February 2021 |agency=Africa News}}</ref>
|-
|Somali
|Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti (national)
|-
|Amharic
| rowspan="5" |Semitic
|Ethiopia
|-
|Arabic
|Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, Israel (special status)
|-
|Hebrew
|Israel
|-
|Maltese
|Malta
|-
|Tigrinya
|Ethiopia, Eritrea (national)
|}