Semitic languages

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/semitic-languages

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the earliest attested language?Akkadian, dating to the mid-3rd millennium BCE, written in cuneiform
2. What is the core morphological process?Predominantly triliteral root system combined with templatic morphology for word derivation
3. Where did Semitic languages start?They probably began in the Arabian Peninsula or the Fertile Crescent. The oldest one we know is Akkadian, written about 4,000 years ago.
4. How do Semitic languages build new words?They use a root of three consonants, like ʿ-r-b, and add vowels and endings to make many related words. This helps create many words from one idea.

Afro-Asiatic: A large language family comprising Semitic, Egyptian, Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, and Omotic branches.
Proto-Semitic: The hypothetical reconstructed ancestor language from which all Semitic languages are believed to have descended.
Templatic Morphology: A word-formation system where root consonants are placed into vowel patterns (templates) to create different words.
Lingua Franca: A common language adopted for communication between speakers whose native languages are different.