Pronouns in the Semitic Languages - Akkadian, Aramaic, Arabic, & Hebrew Language Geography

This video introduces the basic pronouns in Semitic languages and how they relate to one another geographically. I am actively teaching Akkadian, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, and Hebrew. In addition to these classes, many of my students are Arabic speakers. I've left out a number of Semitic languages like Classical Ethiopic, Tigrinya, Amharic, Phoenician, and Ugaritic either because I am not presently teaching those courses or they don't fit on the map I was using.
If you're interested in studying any of these classes, do not hesitate to contact me. If you have questions or comments, please leave them in the video below.
I hope this video motivates many of you to study a sister Semitic language.
#aramaic #polyglot #arabic

[@goldensuki]

Your Arabic pronunciation is really good!

[@hm94goal]

this is interesting...in Maalula and Jubaadin where Western Aramaic is spoken, they use "أنح" for "we". while the Syrian coast mostly uses "atte" for "you" and "ettu" for "you" plural.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Great insight! Thank you for sharing.

[@hm94goal]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert you're welcome.

[@JoseAntonio-tt2mb]

Hebraico usa at feminino e ate masculino ,árabe anta masculino e ante feminino.

[@ihabalwash5829]

Very interesting. in Iraq, people still mostly use attah and atti in everyday conversations instead of the Arabic anta and anti. Also, they use ani in the middle and north of Iraq while in the south, they use anah(آنه) with a prolonged initial vowel.

[@user-ec9zy4lb8d]

He say anah 😮

[@katathoombz]

Just found this channel. The description and the video titles convince me to subscribe. Hope to find interesting insights to the Ancient Semitic languages - which happens to be my major at Uni Helsinki.

[@garethnboyd]

Love this kind of content!

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Excellent! Lots more to be released...

[@SemiticRoots]

Actually Arabic was originally attested mostly all the way up in southern Syria. The distribution of the Safaitic inscriptions for instance puts almost all of them north of your Arabic region. The original Proto-Semitic form of 3ms was suʔa, so you're right it had a glottal stop on the end, but it also had the sibilant like Akkadian.

[@brianfileman]

Great breakdown. Sadly, too many folk claim* bragging rights for the ‘original’ language. Many Arabic speakers insist* Arabic is the oldest, Aramaic speakers say it is Aramaic, Hebrew speakers insist it is Hebrew (and cite the Tower of Babel myth as ‘proof’). Of course Biblical Hebrew is just a dialect of Canaanite, plus several loan words. Given the historicity of Akkadian, it is clearly the ‘mother’ of the others, spread by empire. *Edited for some bad typing errors. Posted without checking. My bad.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I'm the kind of putting out videos with little typos in them.... I've convinced myself that one day I will republish them with corrections, but hey.... KZbin.

[@martinkullberg6718]

If people are interested to know , I am working on a conlang with many semittic loans ! Examples: Gramatical Dictionary form : ha ( the moast simple form of nouns) inspired by hebrew The 'eyn' ' per example could breakup words coro'es (colors) Ways of saying there is/ there are: Li ha/ li ha sud > semitic influence led to parafrase to this usage! Sound: my language knows segolization > ursu>urso> usro> ozro Verbs: leffze ~ a form of to love (borrowed from hebrew lev) The "we" form of verbs ending in -aimu,eynu,-anhu etc. > inluenced, inpired and innovated via words as anagnu in hebrew -ûmta (a tens of a verb) Function: -ûm (depicts inportance in sentence) The above are inpired by semitic sounds Loans : > = from Ha Élakrabbo ~ scorpion > arabic Ha Medrasfo ~ education > aramic Ha Meğhlo ~ king > hebrew Ha ossud ~ lion > arabic Writing: my language has a (not finnished yet) semittic inpired writing system. Aplhabet: alif, beyt,gimo etc. > semitic style Even so my language is a ibero-romance art lang called ha leyngva I use semittic language as a ofiginal way to make my language beautifull to differentiate from the typical candidates like latin and greek or french. There are also sounds inpired from swedish and dutch in it. I like some parts of it. I posted an spoken sample on youtube. Syalem'an teo 🙏 (peace to you)

[@obscuretongue5511]

This was really helpful. Thank you! How do the enclitic pronouns compare across all the Semitic languages? Is the language map pretty much the same?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

They are fairly similar across the board. The Aramaic 3ms possessive suffix does get a little wonky compared to the others.

[@sahhaf1234]

can we continue to hope for the syriac/aramaic lectures?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Oh yes. A steady stream.

[@sahhaf1234]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert Thanks..

[@AdinBenNehama]

This is very interesting to see, from a Hebrew speaker’s perspective!❤️

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thank you! Your feedback is always welcome. 🙂

[@sahhaf1234]

a similar program for the prepositions will be very interesting...

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

That could be interesting. There is so much to say about prepositions in Semitic languages. Great suggestion!

[@roycohen1618]

נחמד מאוד :)

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Todah Rabbah Roy!

[@DiffQ_Bro]

Hi professor, are you certain it's shu > hu (shu evolving into hu) as opposed to hu > shu (hu evolving into shu)? Because it's clearly hu > shu from Middle Chinese into modern Mandarin. Perhaps Proto-Semitic had "h" and only Akkadian shifted?

[@jaredknows7090]

This is one of those interesting sound changes that you can also find within distantly related languages in other branches of Afroasiatic. For example in Chadic (specifically Hausa), a corresponding masculine produces 's' in some forms

[@AO-bk6wx]

I’m not an expert but from what I know, the third person pronouns beginning with h- are only found in the central semitic branch. They’re missing in Old South Arabian and Ethiopic, which instead start with or at least contain s-/sh- consonants like Akkadian, so do other branches of Afroasiatic like Egyptian, the Cushitic languages, as well as the Chadic languages. That’s more than enough evidence to conclude that the h- consonant for third person pronouns shifted from s/sh, not the other way around, hence why it’s reconstructed for Proto-Semitic.

[@Ntuthu-ZA]

It would be interesting to see a comparison with Bantu languages of Africa. I’m noticing some similarities with the Nguni languages, and it is not the first time. Bani (bani/banu Israel) is bana/bantu/bantwana in Sotho/Nguni languages. I believe the Congo and Ewe languages are even closer to Arabic and Hebrew. Nguni: Me = mina/nna We = thina (pronounced teena)/re nna Them = bona🎉 He/her = yena They = zona It = yona The “na” and the “ti” are very common.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I'd like to see that. Unfortunately, I do not think I am qualified to produce such a video, though if I did I would be starting from scratch.

[@nayokaldou6251]

Standard Arabic here. There are diffrent prounciations for each Arabic dialect.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Good point. That may be a fun video in and of itself!

[@sahhaf1234]

the map @9:00 was very interesting...

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I've loved maps since I was a kid.

[@BornInUSSR12]

Very interesting. I wonder why you do not include Phoenecian in these reviews.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Same reason why I do not include Ugaritic, most likely.

[@1faedo]

Very nice presentation on pronouns belonging to the Semitic Languages. Have you any ideas of how letter "h" turns to be "š" in some Akkadian pronouns ?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

The shift usually begins with /š/ and then moves to /s/ and from there to /h/. It is a common phenomenon in phonology, and it exists quite a big between Latin /s/ and Greek /h/: Super vs. Hyper, etc.

[@stephencachia5561]

Very interesting - here they are in Maltese, which as you know is a Semitic language derived from a medieval dialect of Arabic spoken in Sicily: Jien/a (I), int/i (you singular), hu/wa (he), hi/ja (she), aħna (we), intom (you plural), huma (they). English translations in brackets. Jien, int, hu and hi mean exactly the same as jiena, inti, huwa and hija; they're just shortened forms.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I'm really happy that you found my channel. I was looking at learning Maltese this summer as we may have some business reasons to go to Malta. Please feel free to chime in whatever you feel it most appropriate. P.S. We can just say that the shortened forms are Aramaic. 😎

[@stephencachia5561]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert thanks grazzi ħafna 👍🇲🇹♥️

[@FernandoVinny]

Comparison of numbers is a good idea

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

That's a great suggestion. I'll try to get it up soon.

[@moneyaintathing817]

Wow, Tigrigna is closer to Akadian. I used to think Tigrigna was Hebrew or Arabic mixed with an African language. But your chart shows that Tigrina is actually closest to Akadian than the rest of Semitic languages .

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Tigrinya is a great language!

[@LCCWPresents]

That would make sense Akkadian is a (the) root language for northern and southern Semitic languages. Ge’ez script when you really think about it looks more similar to cuneiform than Arabic or Hebrew. Ge’ez is probably similar to Quebec French in the sense that Ge’ez has been region locked in one area, forcing it to keep some older Semitic language sounds, rules, and framer. Where northern Semitic languages (Arabic and modern Hebrew to an extent) have had more contacts with other language families and have intergrated more diverse number of people and there cultures.

[@moneyaintathing817]

@LCCWPresents I agree, the fact that the horn of African region has been cutoff from the rest of the world, Tigrigna has kept most of the ancient form of words preserved. The words in tigrigna are the preferred way of pronunciation in the modern standardized arabic. How in the world does tigrigna pronounce words the right way, while or the modern arabic speakers pronounce words in an unacceptable way as far as the standaized arabic is concerned.

[@AKdianiraq12]

The Akkadian language is the language of my Semitic ancestors. Where is your country located to say that it is an Akkadian language?؟؟​@@moneyaintathing817

[@ExposeThem314]

It came from Sabaen

[@muistichOrion]

What about the dual pronouns like هما and أنتما ?

[@Yallah-2023]

It's kinda funny how Tigrigna and Amharic came back to proto-semitic-like forms after having lost the original third person pronouns. (Amh: issu, issua, Tgr: (n)issu, (n)issa; he, she)

[@Yallah-2023]

The pronouns are also quite similar to Oromo(Cushitic); ani(I), nuhi(we), ati(you.sg), isa(him), isi(her), isaan(they)

[@yonj3269]

If the Canaanite and Akkadian languages were in our current era, how would loanwords such as KZbin, television, and the like be conjugated?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thank you for inspiring this video reply: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4bFo3SAoJVjjZY

[@reynaalgharafa]

Thank you

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

You're very welcome! Hope it was of benefit to you.

[@ladaylyn]

It looks like Amharic is very close to Akadian.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Especially in the realm of prepositions.

[@moneyaintathing817]

Thank you for your efforts and knowledge. Let me add Tigrigna pronouns to your list. Akkadian/Tigrigna Anaku/Ane, Atta/Atta, Atti/Atti, Su/Esu, Si/Esa, Ninu/Nihna(نحنا pronounced), Attunu/ Attum, Attina/ Attin, sunu/ esatom, SINA/Esaten. When it comes to the third person pronouns, Tigrigna is the closest of all the rest of the Semitic languages. I used to think Atta in tigrigna was a corrupted Anta. And Esu I used to think was indigenous African third person pronoun. The E in Esu is so faint that if you say Su anyone will u derstan that u ou are saying Esu meaning "He" But this shows that Tigrigna is actually more pristine than Arabic and Hebrew as it still kept Akkadian pronouns intact. Tigrigna is more of Persian language origin than it is African.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

It would be awesome if I could learn Tigrinya someday.

[@tsehaye777]

Tigrigna is not Persian, its African just because the narrative is "Civilization does not equal Africa" doesn't mean you have to fit in everything to that narrative There is a Reason why the Closest Language to the first Civilization is Geez there is a reason All Sabean and himyaritic languages connect to Geez , there is a reason why simple facts are jumped over to reach for Arabic (nomads) and Persians who came from?

[@tsehaye777]

Look at the word ending of the Akkadian "um" and gues what old Geez words end with... maybe it's more appropriate to just call ita coincidence when it comes to Geez than imply something more

[@tsehaye777]

And Geez is still spoken in its modern form Tigre in Eritrea , but we can call it a dead language if its more appropriate, just don't apply that logic to Old English and today's English fir example

[@tsehaye777]

Remember that geographical red lines no go zones of any form of historical credit are only applied to Africa, its ok for others even if its cross continental or across oceans

[@christinarampai2400]

Wonder what language did biblical Abraham speak. Must be very different from modern Hebrew.

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

The Scriptures offer a suggestion: "My father was a wandering Aramean..." (Deut 26:5)

[@yonj3269]

What like ING in Akkadian?

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Could you ask this question another way? I'm not sure I'm understanding what your question is about the Akkadian language.

[@yonj3269]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert I will explain more. How do we say (study - studying) and (Connection - Connect) in Akkadian

[@ADeeSHUPA]

​@@yonj3269 あっぷ

[@ronshlomi582]

Semitic languages to not have a present progressive such as in English. They would just use the simple present.

[@ordinaryorthodox9980]

Yes, but what were their preferred pronouns?

[@brianphillips1864]

Pronouns. YAZZZZZZZZ. 😊

[@JoseAntonio-tt2mb]

Línguas muito parecidas

[@nasserfirelordarts6574]

As a Lebanese, gotta admit that our Dialect of Arabic is really a mix of Aramaic/Syrriac and Arabic...

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

I know a few items that I could discuss about how Lebanese Arabic has Aramaic in it, but I really need to observe some more. Any suggestions?

[@nasserfirelordarts6574]

@@ProfessorMichaelWingert To my knowledge Prof. there's our use of Aramaic pronouns and singular + plural forms. There's also our pronunciation of words with consonants that sound more Aramaic (or sometimes Hebrew) than Arabic. Ex: Shemes as opposed to Shams (sun) Regarding borrowing words, this is probably my weakest point because I'm very far from fluent in Aramaic to actually tell which words are borrowed without them being identified for me... but to my knowledge, Kebbeh (the minced meat dish) is borrowed from Aramaic, or atleast has Aramaic origin. PS: love your vids

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Thanks so much for your kind words and great feedback. @@nasserfirelordarts6574

[@eng.am.a.m.a3646]

Arabic is the mother language of the rest

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Who is the father in that case?

[@eng.am.a.m.a3646]

The Arabic too, it has 13 million vocabulary @@ProfessorMichaelWingert

[@eng.am.a.m.a3646]

Grammar, vocabulary, poetry, nouns, synonyms...the rest of the dialects are weak in comparison@@ProfessorMichaelWingert

[@eng.am.a.m.a3646]

once you know the Arabic you will notice that the Arabic is the ocean but the dialects are rivers @@ProfessorMichaelWingert

[@TS-788]

​@@eng.am.a.m.a3646 historians and linguists didn't know how to break it to you but arabic is not even a great great great grand child,its a bedouin ethnic intermixing product from loan Geez(Ert/Ethiopic) Aramaic and Hebrew, and you won't find a shred of evidence to the contrary

[@nabiltoma5153]

Assyrische Sprache ist die erste Sprache ܐܢܐ ܐܝܘܢ ܐܬܘܪܝܐ

[@ProfessorMichaelWingert]

Sag mehr, bitte.