Editing Afroasiatic languages (section)

====Noun cases and states====
[[Grammatical case|Nouns cases]] are found in the Semitic, Berber, Cushitic, and Omotic branches. They are not found in Chadic languages, and there is no evidence for cases in Egyptian.{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|p=534}} A common pattern in AA languages with case is for the nominative to be marked by ''-u'' or ''-i'', and the accusative to be marked by ''-a''.{{sfn|Meyer|Wolff|2019|p=319}} However, the number and types of cases varies across AA and also within the individual branches.{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|p=534}} Some languages in AA have a [[marked nominative alignment]], a feature which may date back to Proto-Afroasiatic.{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|pp=535–536}}{{sfn|Güldemann|2018|p=317}} Zygmont Frajzyngier states that a general characteristic of case marking in AA languages is that it tends to mark roles such as genitive, dative, locative, etc. rather than the subject and object.{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|p=535}}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:smaller;"
|+ Subject-Object case marking in some AA branches, using data in {{harvnb|Gragg|2019}}, {{harvnb|Huehnergard|2011}} and {{harvnb|Bender|2000}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |Case !! colspan="2" |Oromo (Cushitic) !! colspan="2" | Berber !!  colspan="2" | Akkadian (Semitic) !! colspan="2" | Wolaitta (Omotic)
|-
| Masculine || Feminine || Masculine || Feminine || Masculine || Feminine || Masculine || Feminine
|-
|Nominative/bound || nam-'''(n)i''' ''boy'' || intal-t-'''i''' ''girl'' || '''u'''-frux ''boy'' || t-frux-t ''girl'' || šarr-'''u'''-m ''king'' || šarr-at-'''u'''-m ''queen'' || keett-'''i''' ''house'' || macci-'''yo''' ''woman''
|-
| Accusative/absolutive/unbound ||nam-'''a''' || intal-'''a''' || '''a'''-frux || t-'''a'''-frux-t || šarr-'''a'''-m || šarr-at-'''a'''-m || keett-'''a''' || macci-'''ya'''
|}
A second category, which partially overlaps with case, is the AA linguistic category of "state". Linguists use the term "state" to refer to different things in different languages. In Cushitic and Semitic, nouns exist in the "free state" or the "construct state". The construct state is a special, usually reduced form of a noun, which is used when the noun is possessed by another noun (Semitic) or is modified by an adjective or relative clause (Cushitic).{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|p=533}} Edward Lipiński refers to Semitic nouns as having four states: absolute (free/indeterminate), construct, determinate, and predicate.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p=265}} Coptic and Egyptian grammar also refers to nouns having a "free" (absolute) state, a "construct state", and a "pronominal state". The construct state is used when a noun becomes unstressed as the first element of a compound, whereas the pronominal state is used when the noun has a suffixed possessive pronoun.{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=13}}{{sfn|Beylage|2018|p=59}} Berber instead contrasts between the "free state" and the "annexed state", the latter of which is used for a variety of purposes, including for subjects placed after a verb and after certain prepositions.{{sfn|Frajzyngier|2012|pp=533–534}}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:smaller;"
|+ Noun states in different AA branches, using data from {{harvnb|Allen|2020}}, {{harvnb|Lipiński|2001}}, {{harvnb|Mous|2012}}, and {{harvnb|Kossmann|2012}}
|-
! Language !! Free/absolute state !! Construct State !! Additional state
|-
| Aramaic (Semitic) || malkā(h) ''queen'' || malkat || Emphatic: malkətā
|-
| Coptic (Egyptian) || jôj ''head'' || jaj- || Pronominal: jô-
|-
| Iraqw (Cushitic) || afee ''mouths'' || afé-r|| –
|-
| Riffian (Berber) || a-ryaz ''man'' || – || Annexed: wə-ryaz
|}