What is Semitic?
Prof. Ayo
Africanologist
Semitic is a designation for a group of languages both in Africa and Asia. Schloezer introduced the term. According to the Genesis, people who spoke the Semitic languages are the decendants of Shem the son of Noah. On the other hand, the term Cushitic is given to the nations of kam, the son of Noah and the father of Cush.
The Biblical classification of nations is founded neither upon linguistic nor upon ‘race’. The term Hameto-Semitic was introduced by the famous German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius and is now replaced by Afro-Asiatic language family. Afro-Asiatic languages originated from Ethiopia.
“Proto-Semitic” language speakers have lived in the Ethiopian Rift Valley and plateaus since prehistory. In central and southern Ethiopia, there are thousand obelisks with hieroglyphic signs. They are widespread in southern and central Ethiopia extending from Gurageland to Lake Turkana. Father Azias has studied these ancient monuments.
The “Semitic” family is divided into three branches: eastern, northwestern and Southern. Arabic and Ethiopic (Geez) belong to southern Semitic. Semitic speaking people are not from the same race. For example different races such as black and brown speak the Arabic language. On the other hand the Cushitic and the so-called Ethio-semitic speaking people in Africa belong to the same race (ethiopid race).
The languages of Africa in general and that of Ethiopia in particular have been classified based on geography and racial basis. The Semitic and Cushitic dichotomy is an occidental divisive hypothesis masterminded by Leo Reinisch. In the age-old Ethiopian tradition it does not exist The Ethiopian classical language Geez is classified as the house of Kam. The son of Kam is Kush (Kusa, Kusayi). The holly city of Aksum was founded by Kush the first son of Kam. Aksum means the metropolis of Cushites. According to Aleka Taye the Agaw, the Amahara, the Gurage, the Argoba and the Tigree people of Ethiopia have a common ancestor.
Therefore, it is time to rectify the fake division of the Ethiopian people into Cushitic and Semitic groups.
For example, the Amharic language cognates more than 70 % to the Agaw language of central Ethiopia and yet Amharic is classified by western “scholars” as “Semitic” and the Agaw language as “ Hametic or Cushitic.” Geez is not a south Semitic language. It did not origin from south Arabia but in the heart of Africa in the Nile Valley. Geez is more ancient and more grammatically superior to Aramaic, Arabic and Greek.
There has been a considerable difference of opinion among genuine linguists as to the criteria to be applied when identifying an Ethiopic (Geez) language as a Semitic. The late Soviet scholars A.B Dolgopolsky and Igor Diakonoft did not classify Ethiopic as a “south Semitic”. Geez must have its own independent classification. Some characteristics, which do not allow Geez to classify it into “Semitic” language:
– the indication of the vowels,
– has no definite Article,
– its grammar is purely Kametic,
– posses very hard sound like Qe, Ge, Te, etc
– Geez and all other related Ethiopian languages have a sharp distiction between imperfect and subjenction
– Geez is written from left to right unlike the so-called Semitic scripts like Arabic and Hebrew.
True, Geez has come into contact with other neibouring languages such as Aramaic, Acadian, Greek, Arabic, and Coptic etc. In this regard the role played by Judaeo-Christian missionaries and merchants is very significant.
They had brought new vocabularies, which Geez has in common with other languages. Geez did not originate from Sabean. Quite contrary Sabean was derived from Hymaritic, a language that was spoken in province of Ethiopia across the Uatur or the Red Sea.
The Sabean inscription found in Yemen is not older than 100 BC. The very old inscription of Sabean emanated from the oldest city at Jeha in ancient Ethiopia. Geez does not resemble Sabean in vocabulary, syntax and proper name. Most of the inscription found Yemen is a contemporary record of events during the Aksumite Ethiopia.
Inscription written in Geez and Sabean from Ethiopian Soil date back to 6th century B.C
The different ethnic groups and languages of Ethiopia have become a guinea pig for western “scholars” who are using their art and science of divisiveness. In the name of self-determination of ethnic groups the ancient black nation has to be partitioned into Bantustans, which would be vassal states loyal to westerners.
I am finding it difficult to ascertain if Ge’ez or hebrew is older. It appears as if ge’ez was a language that is now almost mystical and most look to hebrew for all of historical answers but I am looking into things from a different perspective and this history would be helpful. Which is an older language and or were they used at the same time in different regions and why was one more popular than the other – hebrew being the populous as it has taken a precedent.
ge’ez had no vowels until King Ezana in 300AD
What about Arabic and Hebrew? Arabic has begun in the 8th century to use vowels and Hebrew very late in the 9th century AD. But Geez ( Ethiopic) has seven vowels in 3d century in order to translate the Bible from Greek and Hebrew to Ethiopic. Ethiopiac Bible is complete and more ancient in the world. The book of Enock is only in Ethiopic Geez but not in Greek or
in Hebrew.