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Glite Dictionary
Afroasiatic

Afroasiatic

8.9
A group of related languages spoken in parts of Africa and Western Asia, including Arabic and Hebrew
  • noun
  • /ˌæfroʊˌeɪʒiˈætɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : afroasiático
  • Turner also notes that the relative absence of interest in origins, Afroasiatic or otherwise, was conditioned by a Victorian focus on democratic politics and state-building, as well as by the more reprehensible ideologies that Bernal documents.

Examples

  • The Afroasiatic language family includes widely spoken languages like Arabic and Amharic.

  • Scholars study the Afroasiatic languages to understand their historical development.

  • Amharic is one of the most notable languages within the Afroasiatic family.

Compounds

Afroasiatic language
  • Specialized
9.1

A group of related languages spoken in North Africa and Western Asia, like Arabic and Hebrew

Surface Forms

Afroasiatic singular
Afroasiatics plural

Morphology

Afroasiatic = afro + asiatic (transparent) = afro + asiatic

Clearly formed from the combining forms 'afro-' (African) + 'asiatic' (Asian); the meaning 'relating to languages of Africa and Asia' follows directly from the parts.

Etymology

Afroasiatic comes from the parts Afro- ('Africa') and Asiatic ('Asia'). It names a group of languages spoken in parts of Africa and Western Asia, like Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic and Hausa.