Proto-Afroasiatic language


Proto–Afroasiatic is the reconstructed proto-language from which all modern Afroasiatic languages are descended. Though estimations vary widely, it is believed by scholars to have been spoken as a single language around 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, that is, between 16,000 and 10,000 BCE. The reconstruction of Proto-Afroasiatic is problematic and remains largely lacking. Moreover, no consensus exists as to the location of the Afroasiatic Urheimat, the putative homeland of Proto-Afroasiatic speakers.

Urheimat

Reconstructed words for fauna and flora and evidence of linguistic contact with language families known to have been spoken in Eurasia suggest that its home was in the Middle East, probably the Levant. Some geneticists and archaeologists have argued for a back migration of proto-Afroasiatic speakers from Western Asia to Africa as early as the 10th millennium BCE. They suggest the Natufian culture might have spoken a proto-Afroasian language just prior to its disintegration into sub-languages. The hypothesis is supported by the Afroasiatic terms for early livestock and crops in both Anatolia and Iran. Evidence of Cushitic being formerly spoken in the south of Arabia also speaks for a Middle Eastern origin, but some proposals also claim Northern Africa or the Horn of Africa as possible places of origin.

Consonant correspondences

The following table shows consonant correspondences in Afroasiatic languages, as given in Dolgopolsky, along with some reconstructed consonants for Proto-Afroasiatic.
Proto-AfroasiaticProto-SemiticEgyptianBerberEast CushiticWest Chadic
*b*bb*β, ? *b, *-∅-*b*b, *ḅ1
*p*pp*f, ? *b*p*p, *f, *ḅ1
*f*pff*p*p, *f, *ḅ1
*d*dd*d*d*d, *ḍ1
*t*tt*t*t*t
*ṭ*ṭd*ḍ / *ṭ *ṭ *ḍ
*ǯ *ð?? d*z*z*dʒ
*č *θs, ?? š*s*s3
*č̣ *θ̣ḏ-*ẓ South Cushitic
  • ṭṣ
*ʒ *zz*z*z*dz
*c *s s*s- ?s1-*ts
*c̣ *ṣ ḏ*ẓ *ṭṣ*ṭṣ
*s*š s*s*s1s,Central Chadic:
  • s, *ɬ
*ŝ , *ĉ *ś š, ? s*s, *z-*l,SCush.
  • ɬ
*ɬ, *ɮ
*ĉ̣ *ṣ́ ḏ, ? d-*s2 ?,SCush.
  • ṭɬ̣
-*ṭɬ̣-
*g*gg, ḏ*g*g*g
*k*kk, ṯ*k, ? *ɣ*k*k
*ḳ*ḳq, ḏ*ɣ, ? *ḳ *k*k
*ɣ*ɣḫ-, ꜥ- ?*h2*ʕ
*χ*χḫ, ẖ, ħ*H-*h-, *-Ø-*-H-?
*ʕ*ʕꜥ*H-*ʕ-, *-Ø-ʔ
*ħ*ħħ*H-*ħ-, *-Øː-
*h*hj-*h1, *h2*ʔ-
*ʔ*ʔj, ? ꜣ*ʔ*ʔ, -Ø-*ʔ
*r*rr, l, ꜣ*r-*r-*r
*l*ln-, , r, ꜣ*l-*l-*l
*n*nn, l*n-*n-*n
*m*mm*m-*m-*m
*w*ww-, j, y*w, *Ø*w, *Ø*w-?
*y *yj-, y-, -Ø-*y, *i, *Ø*y, *i, *Ø*y, *Ø
Proto-AfroasiaticProto-SemiticEgyptianBerberEast CushiticWest Chadic
  1. under special conditions
NOTE:
  1. š =
  2. Symbols with dots underneath are emphatic consonants.
  3. Transcription of Ancient Egyptian follows Allen ; see Transliteration of Ancient Egyptian. The following are possible values for the non-IPA symbols used for Ancient Egyptian: ẖ = ; ṯ = ; ḏ =, or ejective.

    Pronouns

reconstructs the following pronouns, most of which are supported by at least five of the six branches:

Numerals

reconstructs the following cardinal numbers :
NumberProto-AfroasiaticProto-SemiticEgyptianProto-CushiticProto-ChadicProto-Omotic
two*tsan, *can*θnysnwj
two*tsîr, *cîr*θər*sər
two*ɬâm-*ɬmʔl "left hand"*ɬâm-*lam-
three*xaymz-ḫmt.w*knɗ-*x2ayz-
four*fâzw-fdw*fʷaɗə

The first root for "two" has been compared to Berber sin. There are other proposed cognate sets:
It has been proposed that Proto-Afroasiatic had marked nominative case marking, where the subject was overtly marked for nominative case, while the object appeared in unmarked default case. Marked nominative case marking is still found in languages of the Cushitic, Omotic and Berber branches. Its syntax possibly featured an exclusively default, strict word ordering of VSO. Although some Afroasiatic languages have developed free word order, it is generally surmised that PAA was originally a VO language.