Somali, a Cushitic language?

[BenevolentGaraad]

I cant find the info Im looking for with Google, and I know @Beeldaaje is a smart feller that know these things. And anyone else that has info can answer.

1. When was Somali classified as a Cushitic language, in the Afro-Asiatic family? And who made this classification?

2. Those that classified it as such, what were their credentials? Did they know Somali, Arabic, Oromo, Afar, Amharic, etc?

3. What are their mechanisms for classifying Somali as Cushitic, rather than Semitic? I know Somali and Arabic have their differences and similarities, but how does that compare to Somali and Oromo's differences and simmilarities? Somali and Afar? What is the criteria for Somali, Afar, and Oromo being Cushitic, while Amharic and Arabic are Semitic?

Im not bootyclapping for Arabs, Im just curious about this subject. I just have a minimal foundation in Arabic, and I dont know Oromo and Afar. Maybe if knew I all three languages, it would be obvious why the classifications are the way they are. At the same time, I have my suspicions that the people who classified the languages as such were 19th century linguists who were a little too lazy to do all the research required. As in become fluent in all the languages of the area.

So what you say?
I didnt post in Anthropology because that board is dead.

 

[paragon]

Languages are classified in terms of their structure, vowels, pronunciation etc...
(1) Phonology - systematic organization of sounds
(2) Morphology - structure of a specific language
(3) Syntax - set of rule, principles and processes of sentences

There is a reason - Somali, Afar, Oromo are classified as cushitic.
While - Arabic, Amharic and Tigre are considered semetic.

I should let you know that Amharic and Tigre arose after a back-migration a few thousand years ago from Southern Arabia. These people used to speak a cushitic language but adopted an ethio-semetic one in it's place, so there was a split so to speak from other cushitic speakers.

 

[BenevolentGaraad]

Languages are classified in terms of their structure, vowels, pronunciation etc...
(1) Phonology - systematic organization of sounds
(2) Morphology - structure of a specific language
(3) Syntax - set of rule, principles and processes of sentences
.

Somali and Arabic similarities I would say extend to Phonology (as well as borrowed vocabulary).
What do we know about Oromo and Afar? Do they have the cayn, xa, kha, qaf, and the rest of the alphabet.
How much does the Somali vocab overlap with Oromo and Afar? More or less than its overlap with Arabic.

Im sure there are experts on these things, but they just arent google-able.

 

[Geeljire]

I cant find the info Im looking for with Google, and I know @Beeldaaje is a smart feller that know these things. And anyone else that has info can answer.

1. When was Somali classified as a Cushitic language, in the Afro-Asiatic family? And who made this classification?

Dont't know who specificically classified the language, im guessing it was a group of western linguists in the 19th centrury.

2. Those that classified it as such, what were their credentials? Did they know Somali, Arabic, Oromo, Afar, Amharic, etc?

Well, most likely and perhaps not. As a trained linguist you don't have to be purely fluent in the languages you study .

3. What are their mechanisms for classifying Somali as Cushitic, rather than Semitic? I know Somali and Arabic have their differences and similarities, but how does that compare to Somali and Oromo's differences and simmilarities? Somali and Afar? What is the criteria for Somali, Afar, and Oromo being Cushitic, while Amharic and Arabic are Semitic?

Like @paragon said they determined it by look at the similarities between the structures of sentences, sounds , the rules etc. Morphology,Syntax and Phonology. Basically they determined if these languages are related by studying the grammar or the make up.

Ofc Af Soomaal has its unique sounds and differences that characterizes and sets it apart from the rest. Somali has a rich phonology and morphology, including many cross-word sandhi and coalescence phenomena and it also has a rich usage of

Somali language compared to Oromo and Afar is a tone language. While Oromo language is more of a pitch-accent language. I could go on & on about the unique diffrences.

The fact that Ahmaric and Arabic are in seperate category inside the language family speaks to the fact they have key similarities they share with cushitic but at the same time have their own unique grammar components.

Im not bootyclapping for Arabs, Im just curious about this subject. I just have a minimal foundation in Arabic, and I dont know Oromo and Afar. Maybe if knew I all three languages, it would be obvious why the classifications are the way they are. At the same time, I have my suspicions that the people who classified the languages as such were 19th century linguists who were a little too lazy to do all the research required. As in become fluent in all the languages of the area.

So what you say?
I didnt post in Anthropology because that board is dead.

Well the relationship with Arabic stops at Afro Asiatic. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant of linguistics.

It also important to note that Afro Asiatic Language family originated in the horn and spread out from there.

If you do not trust western linguists you could always seek out Somali linguists and read their studies like that of Mohamed Dirye Abdullahi.

 

[paragon]

I should also mention that mo

Somali and Arabic similarities I would say extend to Phonology (as well as borrowed vocabulary).
What do we know about Oromo and Afar? Do they have the cayn, xa, kha, qaf, and the rest of the alphabet.
How much does the Somali vocab overlap with Oromo and Afar? More or less than its overlap with Arabic.

Im sure there are experts on these things, but they just arent google-able.

Lone words are not apart of the language, they are borrowed and they certainly don't change the language structure. The guttural sounds might be similar but I notice clear differences between Somali and Arabic in phonology. Somali sounds more similar to Oromo and Afar than it does Arabic we are talking about fundamental words here. And the linguists would not have grouped cushtic languages together if they didn't share greater affinities than semetic ones. And like the brother above said Afro-Asiatic languages have their origins in Africa.

 

[Geeljire]

@BenevolentGaraad Go to this website http://www.oocities.org/mdiriye/diriye.html to learn more about the Somali language by Mohamed Dirye Abdullahi.

He is master linguist and a expert of Somali culture. Alot of his publications and dissertations are up on his website.

 

[BenevolentGaraad]

@BenevolentGaraad Go to this website http://www.oocities.org/mdiriye/diriye.html to learn more about the Somali language by Mohamed Dirye Abdullahi.

He is master linguist and a expert of Somali culture. Alot of his publications and dissertations are up on his website.

tanag you very much. this is what I was looking for

 

[Baraf]

What about Beja?

 

[Geeljire]

What about Beja?

Beja is a bit tricky most linguists are split on that one. Most see it as a independent branch of it's own and others see it as a Cushitc language.
Not much scholarship have been dedicated to it, so its a bit contested.