ProtoAfroasiatic

Proto-Afroasiatic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Afroasiatic language family, a broad stock that includes Semitic languages (such as Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Akkadian), Berber, Egyptian (Coptic and earlier stages), Cushitic, Chadic, and Omotic. As a proto-language, it is not directly attested but inferred from systematic comparison of its descendant languages. The origins and homeland of Proto-Afroasiatic are debated; most scholars place its emergence in the late Neolithic, roughly 12,000–8,000 BCE, with proposals ranging from Northeast Africa to the Levant.

Reconstruction relies on the comparative method. Researchers assemble phonological, morphological, and lexical correspondences across branches to infer a likely sound system, grammar, and core lexicon. A commonly proposed feature set includes an emphasis-based consonant inventory with pharyngealized or glottalized consonants, a set of labiovelars, and a vowel system with limited contrast. The language is also reconstructed as having a root-and-pattern morphology, often with triliteral roots, and basic pronominal and nominal affixes.

Because Afroasiatic contains diverse branches and limited direct evidence for Proto-Afroasiatic, reconstructions are debated and revised as new data emerge. There is no single universally accepted inventory for Proto-Afroasiatic, and some proposed features are controversial. Nevertheless, work on Proto-Afroasiatic provides a framework for understanding shared traits across Afroasiatic languages and their historical development.