Semitic Language Subgroups Classification Essay

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The Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages


For an extended period, the Semitics have benefited from the study of cultural languages, as it forms one of the world languages most studied to date. Due to continued research, our knowledge of both the modern and ancient languages impacts our understanding of the Semitic family internal subgroupings. The contemporary model of Sematic family subgrouping is predominantly founded on Robert Hetzron (Rubin, 61). However, within the last two decades, Semitists from multiple subfields have enhanced Hetzron’s model.
One of the subgroupings of the Semitic languages includes East and West Sematic. The east Sematic consists of the dialects of Elbaite and Akkadian. The division has been uncontroversial for almost a century. The west is distinguished from the east Sematic by introducing the handed down stative (qatala) to past tense, while the handed down past tense (yaqtul) has been lost. Another subgroup is the East Sematic and Eblaite, where the Eblaite represents the ancient language of Ebla, currently known as Tell Mardikh, found at the south of Aleppo, Syria (Rubin, 62). Due to the style of cuneiform writing used for Eblaite, specifically, the wide use of logograms, almost all vowels and consonants knowledge are not well understood to date.
Subsequently, one of the subgroups, Akkadian, has been attested on several dialects over time, close to two and a half millennia.

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…beginning ninth-century BCE, around a similar period of Hebrew’s first attestation (Rubin, 67). As a result, Hebrew and Aramaic became the most extended attested Semitic languages. However, unlike Hebrew, Aramaic has never stopped being a spoken living language.
Also, Ugaritic as a subgroup of the Sematic family was discovered in 1929. By 1930, it was argued that Ugaritic should be treated a Canaanite dialect, a position that still has some support to date. Sam’alian and Deir ‘Alla are also a subgroup of the Semitic family. Sam’alian is the dialect of three important inscriptions from old Sam’al, current Zinjirli from southeastern Turkey (Na’ama Pat-El, 12). Some consider this language Aramaic, though others consider it a branch of Northwest Sematic (Rubin,….....

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