Origin of “Semitic” Languages

About the Book

From the author of the Origins of Arabic Numerals—a Natural History of Numbers, an AuthorHouse publication, and Natural Foundations of Arab Civilisation—Origins of Alphabets, Numeration, Numerals, Measurements, Weights, Litigation, and Money . . . Book of Origins Part II (in Arabic) Origin of Semitic Languages Introductory Etymological Study of the Prehistoric Ancestral Linguistic Nuclei and Monosyllables of Semitic Languages Primarily Based on Akkadian and Southern and Northern Arabic Adel S. Bishtawi The unity of what is traditionally called Semitic languages may be traced in the roots, in the inflections, and in the general features of the syntax. Almost a thousand years before the publication in 1781 of Repertorium fuer biblische und morgenlaendische Literatur, linguists studying certain features of Canaanite (Phoenician), Hebrew, Arabic, and Ethiopic (Ḥabaši) noted the interrelationship of these languages. Other studies pointed to a prehistoric ancestral origin for these and more than sixty other languages, first named Ursemitische and later Proto-Semitic. Research involving the history of the Arabic numerals established their prehistoric origin and confirmed a linguistic link between small numbers and small words. The scope and depth of the multilayered research were expanded in an attempt to identify the origin of Semitic languages and, probably, the origin of languages. It took more than two years to realise that the pioneering linguists of Arabic were not aware of the main building blocks of the language they treated and that the smaller biconsonantals, not triconsonantals as is widely believed, were the original roots of the Semitic languages. At one time in the remotest horizon of their history, the language consisted of a very limited number biconsonantals and monosyllabic root morphemes. Words expressing the basic needs of primitive man, such as water, food, hut, stone, danger, etc., could be several thousand years older than the oldest attested Semitic language (i.e., Akkadian) or several tens of thousands. Akkadian, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Arabic are formidable communicate tools, yet their biconsonantal roots, or linguistic nuclei, were found to be surprisingly small. Four hundred and thirty roots were identified in two categories, primaries and secondaries. Most are paired in units constituting the main body in the larger linguistic clusters, tens of which were listed and discussed in the Origin of Semitic Languages. With what could be the greatest linguistic secret in history now unveiled, other important surprises may follow. With careful etymological analysis of linguistic nuclei, many of which were adapted or borrowed from animals and ancient environment, the true origin of scores of biblical names and ancient locations can be more correctly identified. Moreover, new windows can be opened on the various aspects of early societies to provide what appears to be a sufficiently clear picture of the first steps on the long road to civilisation and, probably, human consciousness.

About the Author

Historian, novelist, and researcher in the origins of civilisation, Adel S. (Said) Bishtawi was born in Nazareth in 1945. He read English and world literature at Damascus University and took a course in linguistics at Central London Polytechnic. Bishtawi started his reporting career in the mid-1960s, cofounded in London the Asharq Al Awsat and Al-Hayat newspapers, and became central managing editor of the Emirates News Agency in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He was a production assistant for a number of TV documentaries and later produced, directed, and wrote Muslims along the Silk Road, a five-part documentary tracing the culture, heritage, and legacy of Muslim pioneers and merchants along the Silk Road. Bishtawi interviewed for TV and press world political leaders including Indian prime minister Indira Ghandi, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Afghan president Hafizullah Amin (shortly before his execution along with members of his family at the start of the Russian invasion of his country), Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky, Malaysian prime minister Mahatir Muhammad, Pakistani president Mohammad Zial-ul-Haq, Pakistani prime minister Mohammad Khan Junejo, and many others. Bishtawi has published about twenty books including The Andalusian Moriscos (History of the Moriscos after the Fall of Granada), Traces of a Tattoo, Times of Death and Roses, Gardens of Despair, Martyrdom of the Andalusian Nation, History of Injustice in the Arab World, Manifest Destiny of Imperial Decline, and The Book of Origins, Volume I: Natural Foundations of Arab Civilisation—Origins of Alphabets, Numeration, Numerals, Measures, Weights, Litigation, and Money. Over a period of forty years, the author published hundreds of articles, interviews, and poems in Arabic and English. He appears on TV shows and participates in international conferences and seminars on history, literature, religion, economic, and current affairs. . Recent published works by Bishtawi—all available on AuthorHouse and Amazon—are: • Origin of the Arabic Numerals (English) • Times of Death and Roses (English) • Traces of a Tattoo (English) For more information please visit: http://www.bishtawi.com/ http://www.arabicnumerals.net/ http://www.thebookoforigins.com/