Afro-Asiatic Languages
As the name suggests, Afro-Asiatic languages are spoken in Africa and
Asia, although no further east than the Arabian peninsula.
Here is a brief tree of the main branches of the family:
-
Egyptian-- consists of Ancient Egyptian and its descendant, Coptic.
None are spoken today.
-
Semitic-- includes Arabic, Hebrew,
Amharic (and several other languages of Ethiopia), and many languages of
the ancient middle east.
-
Cushitic-- several languages of Ethiopia and east Africa,
including Somali.
-
Berber-- several languages of north Africa, usually all referred
to as Berber.
-
Chadic-- several languages of Nigeria and west Africa, including
Hausa.
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January 8, 1998