Semitic languages
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 14:49, 26 April 2012 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''Theodor Benfey''' (January 28, 1809 – June 26, 1881) was a [[Germany|German]] [[philologist]] and the son of a [[Jew]]ish trader from [[Nörten]], near [[Göttingen]]. | ||
| - | Although originally destined for the medical profession, Benfey's taste for philology was awakened by a careful instruction in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] which he received from his father. After brilliant studies at [[university of Göttingen|Göttingen]] he spent a year at [[Munich]], where he was greatly impressed by the lectures of [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|Schelling]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch|Thiersch]], and afterwards settled as a teacher in [[Frankfurt]]. | + | The term '''Semitic languages''' is the traditional way of refering to those languages which constitute the Northeastern subfamily of the [[Afro-Asiatic languages]]. |
| - | Benfey's pursuits were at first chiefly classical, and his attention was diverted to [[Sanskrit]] by an accidental wager that he would learn enough of the language in a few weeks to be able to review a new book upon it. This feat he accomplished, and rivalled in later years when he learned [[Russian language|Russian]] in order to translate [[V. P. Vasilev]]'s work on [[Buddhism]]. For the time, however, his labours were chiefly in classical and [[Semitic languages|Semitic philology]]. At Göttingen, whither he had returned as ''Privatdozent,'' he wrote a little work on the names of the Hebrew months, proving that they were derived from the [[Persian language|Persian]], prepared the great article on India in Ersch and Gruber's ''Encyclopaedia'', and published from 1839 to 1842 the ''Lexicon of Greek Roots'' which gained him the [[Volney prize]] of the [[Institute of France]]. | + | The most common Semitic languages spoken today are [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], and [[Tigrignan language|Tigrinya]]. |
| - | From this time Benfey's attention was principally given to Sanskrit. He published in 1848 his edition of the ''Sama-veda''; in 1852–1854 his ''Manual of Sanskrit'', comprising a grammar and chrestomathy; in 1858 his practical Sanskrit grammar, afterwards translated into English; and in 1859 his edition of the ''[[Pantscha Tantra]]'', with an extensive dissertation on the fables and mythologies of primitive nations. All these works had been produced under the pressure of poverty, the government, whether from parsimony or from prejudice against a Jew, refusing to make any substantial addition to his small salary as extra-professor at the university. | + | == The Eastern Semitic Languages == |
| + | * [[Akkadian language]] -- extinct | ||
| + | * [[Eblaite language]] -- extinct | ||
| - | At length, in 1862, the growing appreciation of foreign scholars shamed it into making him an ordinary professor, and in 1866 Benfey published the laborious work by which he is on the whole best known, his great ''Sanskrit-English Dictionary''. In 1869 he wrote a history of German philological research, especially Oriental, during the 19th century. In 1878 his jubilee as doctor was celebrated by the publication of a volume of philological essays dedicated to him and written by the first scholars in Germany. He had designed to close his literary labours by a grammar of Vedic Sanskrit, and was actively preparing it when he was interrupted by illness, which terminated in his death at Göttingen. | + | == The Central Semitic languages == |
| + | === North & West Central Semitic languages === | ||
| + | * [[Canaanite]] languages | ||
| + | ** [[Hebrew language]] | ||
| + | ** [[Amorite language]] -- extinct | ||
| + | ** [[Moabite language]] -- extinct | ||
| + | ** [[El Amarna]] -- extinct | ||
| + | ** [[Phoenician language]] -- extinct | ||
| + | * [[Aramaic language]] | ||
| + | ** [[Syriac language]] | ||
| + | * [[Ugaritic language]] -- extinct | ||
| - | A collection of Benfey's various writings was published in 1890, prefaced by a memoir by his son. Among his pupils was [[James Murdoch]]. Some of his ideas were developed in Russia by [[Fyodor Buslaev]]. | + | === South Central (Arabic) languages === |
| - | ==Selected works== | + | * [[Arabic language]] |
| - | *''Lexicon of Greek Roots'', 1839-1842. | + | * [[Maltese language]] |
| - | *''The Cuneiform Inscriptions'', 1847. | + | |
| - | *''The Hymns of Sama-Veda'', 1848. | + | |
| - | *''The History of Oriental Philosophy in Germany'', 1868. | + | |
| - | *''A Practical Grammar of the Sanskrit Language for the Use of Early Students'', 1868. | + | |
| - | *''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: With References to the Best Edition of Sanskrit Author and Etymologies and Comparisons of Cognate Words Chiefly in Greek, Latin, Gothic and Anglo-Saxon'', 1866 | + | |
| + | == The South Semitic languages == | ||
| + | === Western (within South Semitic) === | ||
| + | * Ethiopic languages | ||
| + | ** North | ||
| + | *** [[Tigrigna|Tigrinya language]] | ||
| + | *** [[Tigre language]] | ||
| + | *** [[Ge'ez language]] -- extinct | ||
| + | ** South | ||
| + | *** Transverse | ||
| + | **** [[Amharic language]] | ||
| + | **** [[Argobba language]] | ||
| + | **** [[Harari language]] | ||
| + | **** East Gurage languages | ||
| + | ***** [[Selti language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Wolane language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Zway language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Ulbare language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Inneqor language]] | ||
| + | *** Outer | ||
| + | **** [[Soddo language]] | ||
| + | **** [[Goggot language]] | ||
| + | **** [[Muher language]] | ||
| + | **** West Gurage languages | ||
| + | ***** [[Masqan language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Ezha language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Gura language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Gyeto language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Ennemor language]] | ||
| + | ***** [[Endegen language]] | ||
| + | * [[Old South Arabian]] -- extinct | ||
| + | === Eastern (within South Semitic) === | ||
| + | * [[Soqotri language]] | ||
| + | * [[Mehri language]] | ||
| + | * [[Jibbali language]] | ||
| + | * [[Harusi language]] | ||
| + | * [[Bathari language]] | ||
| + | * [[Hobyot language]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Common characteristics == | ||
| + | These languages all exhibit a pattern of words consisting of triconsonantal roots, with vowel changes, prefixes, and suffixes used to inflect them. For instance, in Hebrew: | ||
| + | :''gdl'' means "big" but is no part of speech and not a word, just a root | ||
| + | :''gadol'' means "big" and is an masculine adjective | ||
| + | :''gdola'' means "big" (feminine adjective) | ||
| + | :''giddel'' means "he grew" (transitive verb) | ||
| + | :''gadal'' means "he grew" (intransitive verb) | ||
| + | :''higdil'' means "he magnified" (transitive verb) | ||
| + | :''magdelet'' means "magnifier" ([[Lens (optics)|lens]]) | ||
| + | |||
| + | :''spr'' is the root for "count" or "recount" | ||
| + | :''sefer'' means "book" (containing tales which are recounted) | ||
| + | :''sofer'' means "scribe" (Masoretic scribes counted verses) | ||
| + | :''mispar'' means "number". | ||
| + | |||
| + | Other Afro-Asiatic languages show similar patterns, but more usually with biconsonantal roots; e.g. in Kabyle ''afeg'' means "fly!", while ''affug'' means "flight", and ''yufeg'' means "he flew''. | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Google
Featured: |
The term Semitic languages is the traditional way of refering to those languages which constitute the Northeastern subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic languages.
The most common Semitic languages spoken today are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, and Tigrinya.
Contents |
[edit]
The Eastern Semitic Languages
- Akkadian language -- extinct
- Eblaite language -- extinct
[edit]
The Central Semitic languages
[edit]
North & West Central Semitic languages
- Canaanite languages
- Hebrew language
- Amorite language -- extinct
- Moabite language -- extinct
- El Amarna -- extinct
- Phoenician language -- extinct
- Aramaic language
- Ugaritic language -- extinct
[edit]
South Central (Arabic) languages
[edit]
The South Semitic languages
[edit]
Western (within South Semitic)
- Ethiopic languages
- North
- Tigrinya language
- Tigre language
- Ge'ez language -- extinct
- South
- Transverse
- Outer
- North
- Old South Arabian -- extinct
[edit]
Eastern (within South Semitic)
[edit]
Common characteristics
These languages all exhibit a pattern of words consisting of triconsonantal roots, with vowel changes, prefixes, and suffixes used to inflect them. For instance, in Hebrew:
- gdl means "big" but is no part of speech and not a word, just a root
- gadol means "big" and is an masculine adjective
- gdola means "big" (feminine adjective)
- giddel means "he grew" (transitive verb)
- gadal means "he grew" (intransitive verb)
- higdil means "he magnified" (transitive verb)
- magdelet means "magnifier" (lens)
- spr is the root for "count" or "recount"
- sefer means "book" (containing tales which are recounted)
- sofer means "scribe" (Masoretic scribes counted verses)
- mispar means "number".
Other Afro-Asiatic languages show similar patterns, but more usually with biconsonantal roots; e.g. in Kabyle afeg means "fly!", while affug means "flight", and yufeg means "he flew.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Semitic languages" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
