Semitic studies, or Semitology, is the academic field dedicated to the studies of
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic,
Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...
and literatures and the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples. A person may be called a ''Semiticist'' or a ''Semitist'', both terms being equivalent.
It includes
Assyriology
Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
,
Hebraist,
Syriacist,
Mandaean, and
Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
studies, as well as comparative studies of Semitic languages aiming at the reconstruction of
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Semitic languages. There is no consensus regarding the location of the linguistic homeland for Proto-Semitic: scholars hypothesize that it may have originated in the Levant, the Sahara, ...
.
See also
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Asian studies
Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...
*
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...
*
Middle Eastern studies
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Philology
Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
*
Study of the Hebrew language
Sources
*
Gotthelf Bergsträsser: ''Einführung in die semitischen Sprachen: Sprachproben und grammatische Skizzen'', Nachdruck, Darmstadt 1993.
*
Carl Brockelmann
Carl Brockelmann (17 September 1868 – 6 May 1956) German Semitic studies, Semiticist, was the foremost Orientalism, orientalist of his generation. He was a professor at the universities in University of Wrocław, Breslau, Berlin and, from 1903, ...
: ''Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen'', Bd. 1-2, 1908/1913.
*
David Cohen: ''Dictionnaire des racines sémitiques ou attestées dans les langues sémitiques''.
*Giovanni Garbini, Olivier Durand: ''Introduzione alle lingue semitiche'' (1994), (review: Franz Rosenhal; The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, 1996).
*
Robert Hetzron (ed.): ''The Semitic Languages'', London 1997.
*Burkhart Kienast: ''Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft'', Wiesbaden 2001.
External links
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{{semitic-lang-stub