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Semitic language

Semitic languages are a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic languages. The most common Semitic languages spoken today are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, and Tigrinya.

The Central Semitic languages

The South Semitic languages

The Eastern Semitic Languages

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 adjective
giddel means "he magnified"
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; e.g. in Tamashek Tawa akhluk means "creation" and ikhlakdu "he created".



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