The Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages

Abstract

The Semitic languages have enjoyed a long tradition of linguistic study, and remain one of the most widely studied of the world's language families. The large amount of scholarship that is generated on both the ancient and modern languages continues to have an effect on our understanding of the internal subgrouping of the Semitic family. Unfortunately, for both the specialist and non‐specialist, reliable and up‐to‐date treatments of this topic are not easily found. This article will survey the current views on Semitic subgrouping and highlight recent scholarship on the issue.

The emergence of Y-chromosome haplogroup J1e among Arabic-speaking populations

“…Central Semitic would then include the languages of Yemen (Old South Arabian), Arabic and the Northwest Semitic languages of the Levant -Ugaritic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Aramaic. [9][10][11][12] Not only have linguists reconstructed the phylogeny of Semitic languages, but also they have dated Proto-Semitic's age to the Chalcolithic Era, circa 5500-3500 BCE. 13 In addition to the common Semitic language substrate found throughout the Levant and Arabian Peninsula, recent archeological studies have shown an early presence (ca.…”

The Syriac World

“…For Semitic, see Hetzron (1997); Weninger (2011); as well as the relevant chapters in Woodard (2004) on the ancient Semitic languages. 2The main divisions of this classification, especially the branch of Central Semitic, were first proposed in a series of articles by Hetzron from the 1970s (see especially Hetzron 1976) and subsequently developed by others (see especially Huehnergard 1995Huehnergard , 2005Huehnergard , 2006Huehnergard , 2017Huehnergard and Rubin 2011;Porkhomovsky 1997;Rubin 2008;Voigt 1987). 3 For brief overviews of Aramaic, see Brock (1989b); Kaufman (1992Kaufman ( , 1997; Van Rompay (2011a).…”

Structural Change in Urban Palestinian Arabic Induced by Contact with Modern Hebrew

“…For a detailed account of this merger, and the question of whether it is indeed a merger per se, see Al--Wer 2004. 8 Arabic used to be classified as a South Semitic language, alongside the Ethiopian and South Arabian languages, but a newer classification had been proposed by Hetzron in 1972, andRubin's (2008) family tree is something of a refinement of that tree. Rubin means for it to represent the Hebrew had already lost several Proto--Semitic (PS) consonantal phonemes.…”