Semitic and Indo-European languages are generally considered two distinct language families. However, they share a large number of cognate words, which sometimes leads to debate about a potential, very distant, common origin.
Indo-European: Greek, Latin, Romance languages, Germanic, Celtic, Balto-Slavic, Indo-Iranian, among others.
Semitic languages: Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Mandaic, Old-South-Arabian, Phoenician, Syriac, Tigre, Tigrinya, Ugaritic, among others.
Hypotheses aiming to explain this phenomenon.
– Indo-Semitic hypothesis:
The Indo-Semitic hypothesis proposes a genetic link between Indo-European and Semitic languages, suggesting they share a common ancestor. While early proponents noted similarities in vocabulary and grammar, these are now often explained by ancient contact. Lately, the theory’s focus has shifted to comparing larger, hypothetical groupings like Afro-Asiatic and Eurasiatic.
– Germanic substrate:
The Germanic substrate hypothesis, (or The non-Indo-European substrate hypothesis), attempts to explain the distinctive nature of the Germanic languages within the context of the Indo-European languages. Based on the elements of Common Germanic vocabulary and syntax which do not seem to have cognates in other Indo-European languages.
Substrate is an underlying layer.
In linguistics, a substrate (or substratum) refers to a language that was spoken in a particular area before the introduction of another, dominant language, and whose influence persists in the newer language.
The non-Indo-European substrate theory was first proposed in 1910 by Sigmund Feist, who estimated that roughly a third of Proto-Germanic lexical items came from a non-Indo-European substrate and that the supposed reduction of the Proto-Germanic inflectional system was the result of pidginization with that substrate.
“Atlantic-Semitic languages” is the name of a hypothetical language group prominently postulated by the German linguist Theo Vennemann . According to this hypothesis, Germanic and Celtic languages reflect influences from Afro-Asiatic languages , particularly Semitic languages , so that very early language contact can be assumed.
– Pre-Hellenic substrate
The lexicon of Ancient Greek contains hundreds of foreign words. These words can be recognized, because they do not correspond with the Greek outcomes of Indo-European phonology and corresponding sound laws.
Moreover, the semantics of many Greek words are obviously not Indo-European, since their concepts were absent in this language of nomadic pastoralists from the Pontic steppes. Such concepts include words for certain plants, animals and sedentary habitation. According to the Hellenist (Renfrew, 1998) “The Greek language is unusual among the languages of Europe in the high proportion of its vocabulary which includes words which are not only not Greek words, but apparently not part of an Indo-European vocabulary either”.
“Ancient documents and archaeology have shown that the Semitic peoples, especially the Phoenicians and the people of Ugarit, were in contact with other Mediterranean peoples by means of colonizing, trade and correspondence about legal issues etc. Therefore, words were often mutually transmitted and became adopted in a foreign lexicon. This applied to Ancient Greek as well. Although the exact number is unknown, the Greek lexicon contains presumably hundreds of Semitic loanwords. However, when one tries to determine the exact donor language, several problems occur.” [01]
The hypothesis of a Hamito-Semitic substratum in the Insular Celtic languages.
Celtic languages include: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx (a Goidelic branch), Welsh, Breton, and Cornish (a Brythonic branch). During the first millennium BC, Celtic languages were spoken across much of Europe and central Anatolia. (Wikipedia)
(from a PhD study by Dr. Orin Gensler): For 90 years Celticists have known of a long list of features whereby Insular Celtic syntax deviates from the Indo-European norm, but agrees with Semitic, Egyptian, and/or Berber (hereafter “Mediterranean Hamito-Semitic”). Such features include VSO macrotype, conjugated prepositions, relative clause formation, subject-verb nonconcord, article placement in genitives (“house the-man”), verbal noun (VN: object in genitive) instead of infinitive, periphrastic tenses (BE+Prep+VN), initial mutations — some 17 altogether.
Struck by such resemblances, scholars proposed a variety of substratal or areal explanations: a prehistoric migration from North Africa to Britain (Morris-Jones, Pokorny), or a pre-Indo-European “Eurafrican” linguistic area (H. Wagner). These proposals, never well-received, have consistently been attacked as speculative and improvable.
The crux is the question of coincidence. Is there any basis beyond hunch for judging whether the ensemble of Celtic/Hamito-Semitic (CHS) similarities is likely to represent chance parallel development? And do the features show any natural typological affinity for one another?
This study opens up a new, empirical approach to the problem: a world wide sampling of 64 languages to determine which non-CHS languages are most CHS-like (and how much so, and where), which CHS features are rare “exotics” globally (i.e., a minority population “bucking a trend” vis-a-vis a dominant majority), which show intercorrelation, etc.
The results are illuminating. Nothing remotely close to the CHS type recurs elsewhere. The “best matches” (and not very good ones) come from all over the world. But Africa (especially West Africa) is most CHS-like of all continents, arguing that the CHS type has a natural home in Africa; by contrast, the type is radically out of place in Europe. Nearly half the individual CHS features are exotics, making coincidence maximally unlikely as an explanation. Several features do show moderate intercorrelation, but not the exotics. The CHS type is thus a highly unusual configuration globally, and far more at home in Africa than Europe. Independent parallel development can never categorically be disproven; but the coincidence would be a remarkable one indeed.
“The linguistic structure of Insular Celtic compels me to assume that, long before the arrival of Celtic or Belgic tribes, British islands were populated by people, who spoke languages or dialects which, from the point of view of E. Lewy’s typology could be described as Hamito-Semitic, languages not necessarily connected with but of a similar type as Berber and Egyptian and, somewhat more distantly Hebrew and Arabic.” [Heinrich Wagner (1959) Das Verbum in den Sprachen der britischen Inseln].
Examples
These words are not recent loanwords, they are found in ancient lexicons.
A- Greek words:
10- Greek: (χρυσός/khrysós = gold).
Greek suffix “-ós” is epenthetic.
Akkadian: (ḫurāṣu = gold)
Akkadian “ḫ” pronounced => “kh”.
khrys = khurāṣu
02-Greek: “Πυγή/Pygí” (= buttocks)
Akkadian “pūqu” (= buttocks)
03- Greek: (ωτιον/otiyon = ear).
Arabic: (udun = ear).
04- Greek: “οδός/ūdós” (= way, road)
Arabic: “hūda/هدى” (= way, path).
Greek suffix “-ós” is epenthetic.
05-Greek: “ακτή/akti” (= shore)
Akkadian: “aḫātu” (= shore)
Akkadian “ḫ” pronounced => “kh”.
akti = akhātu
Hebrew: “gaddāh/גדה” (= shore)
06- Greek: “κάννα/kannē” (= reed/cane).
Akkadian: (qanû/qanûm (= read/cane).
Syriac: “ܩܢܝܐ/qanyɑ” (= read/cane).
Hebrew: “קנה/qanah” (= read/cane).
Dry reed stick is straight, inflexible and hollow throughout its whole length, this makes it a good measuring stick. In ancient Mesopotamia, words such as “kīnu”, “kânu” & “kēnu” which denote: (correct calculations or measurements) are derived from: “qanû/reed”. [02] (kânu is the etymon of English: canon).
07- Ancient Greek: “ἀγρός/aɡrós” (= field, arable land)
(etymon of English: acre).
Akkadian “ugāru/ikkaru” (= field, farm)
08-Ancient Greek: “κύμινον/kúminon” (=cumin)
Akkadian: “kamūnu” (=cumin)
Hebrew: “כמון/kammōn” (=cumin)
09-Greek: “αρχείο/archeío” (=daily, monthly or annual record)
Akkadian: “arḫu/arkhu” (=The Moon, month, monthly)
Hebrew: “תַאֲרִיך/ta’arikh” (=history)
Hebrew: “ירח/Yareakh” (=Moon)
10-Greek: “γη/gi” (=land, earth)
Sumerian: “ki” (=land, earth)
Arabic: “قاع/qah” (ground, land).
B- Latin words:
01- Latin: (picherius = pot, jar).
Latin “ch” pronounced => “kh”.
Latin suffix “-us” is epenthetic.
Akkadian: (Paḫāru = pot, potter)
Akkadian “ḫ” pronounced => “kh”.
pikheri = Pakhāru
02- Latin: (taurus = bull).
Aramaic:(tawrā = bull).
03- Latin: (sura = calf).
Akkadian: (šūru = bull).
04- Latin: (miro = to look at).
“ mirare ‘look at’ ”
Akkadian: (amāru = to look at).
05-Latin: “ex” (= out of)
Akkadian: “akāšu” (= expel).
06- Latin: “cupa” (= tub, cask, tun, vat).
Akkadian: “kappu” (= bowl of wood, gold or silver)
Hebrew:“כַּף/kaf” (= bowl, pan)
Arabic: “kawb” (= drinking vessel).
07- Latin: “curto” (= to cut).
Akkadian: “karātu” (= to cut)
Hebrew: “כּרת/karát” (= to cut).
Amharic: “ቁረጥ/kureti” (= to cut).
Arabic: “qarat/قرط”(= to cut)
08- Latin: (irrigo = to irrigate).
Arabic: (araqa = to pour water).
09- Latin: “pars” (= portion, part).
Hebrew: “pirsha/פרשה” (= portion, section).
Arabic: “fursa/فرصه” (= piece).
Arabic: *F → is Semitic: *P
10- Latin: “costa” (= rib, side, wall).
Italian: “costa” (= coastline, shore)
Danish: “kyst” (= coast)
Akkadian: “Kisadu” (= edge, rim, bank, shore).
11- Latin: “litera” (= letter, handwriting).
Akkadian: “altur” (= to write)
12- Latin: “sero” (= to join, to bind together).
Arabic: “ṣăr/صر” (= to tie, to squeeze).
Hebrew: “ṣār/צר” (= narrow, tight).
13- Latin “Alpes” (mountains). There is no consensus among scholars as to the meaning of “Alpes”: “high elevation”?, “grazing pastures”? or “whiteness”?
Akkadian: halpû (var. halba & halpi) (= frost, ice, cold weather, to be cold).
14- Latin: “ager” (= field, estate, farm).
(etymon of English: agriculture).
Sumerian: “agar” (= field, cultivated land).
15- Latin: “pupilla” (pupil of the eye).
Syriac: “ܒܸܒܸܠܬܵܐ/bibilta” (darkness, the pupil , the iris of the eye).
16- Latin: “cano” (= to sing).
Amharic: “qenē” (= song)
Arabic: “ghinaʼ” (= singing).
C- Germanic words:
01- German: (ton = clay).
[Proto-Semitic: *ṭīn=clay]
Syriac: (ṭīnā = mud, clay).
Arabic: (ṭīn طين = mud, clay).
02- Proto-Germanic: “auzon” (= ear).
Akkadian: “uznu” (= ear).
Hebrew: “auzin/אֹזֶן” (= ear).
06- Lombardic: “zan” (=tooth)
German: “zahn” (= tooth).
Arabic: “sin/سن” (= tooth).
Hebrew: “šin/שֵׁן” (= tooth).
Syriac: “šina/ܫܸܢܵܐ” (= tooth).
Akkadian: “šinnu” (= tooth).
03- Proto-West Germanic *sparwō = sparrow
Ugaritic: 𐎕𐎔𐎗 (ṣpr) = sparrow
Aramaic: צִפְּרָא (ṣippərā) = sparrow
Hebrew: צִפּוֹר (ṣipur) = sparrow
04- Danish: “ged” (= goat).
Akkadian: “gadû” (= goat)
Arabic: “jadi” (= goat).
Semitic: *G → Arabic: *j [ d͡ʒ ].
04- Norwegian Nynorsk “klubbe”
From Old Norse “klubba“.
= “weaponry club“, “gavel”, “mallet”
Akkadian: “kalappu and kalabbu” (= pick-axe)
05- Swedish: “krus” (= jar).
Arabic: “khurs/خرص” (= jar).
Sumerian: “sa-kur” (= jar) (before metathesis: kur-sa)
06- Swedish: “illa” (= incorrect or wrong).
Arabic: “ḣilla” (= something incorrect or wrong).
07- Norwegian: “kutte” (ko͝ottă) (= to cut).
(pronounced final -e)
Arabic: “qăttăḣ/قطع”(= to cut)
08- Danish: “kilde“: spring, well, water source.
Arabic “qalte/قلته”: a natural water pool that forms in a rocky cavity.
(borrowed into English as: guelta).
09- Old Norse: “iss” (= ice)
Akkadian: “eš” (= cold).
10- English: berry ( = Any small fleshy fruit)
(= any of various kernels or seeds).
Proto-Semitic *piry-.
Hebrew פְּרִי (pərī)
Ugaritic 𐎔𐎗 (pr /pirû/).
Ge’ez: ፍሬ • (fəre)
( = fruit, seed, progeny, offspring)
11-English: “cabinet”. (archaic: a small private room.)
(“small room”, diminutive of Old French cabane “cabin“.)
Akkadian: “kibānu” (= sleeping quarter).
12- English: (kin = one’s relatives, clan).
Akkadian: (qinnu = family, clan).
13-English: “walk” (= to move along or travel on foot.).
Akkadian: “alaku” (=to go, to move along, walk)
Hebrew: “halakh/הלך” (= wayfarer, a person who travels on foot.).
Arabic: “halak/هلك” (= to go away, to disappear, to pass away, to waddle.)
14- English: “bug” (= small insect).
Akkadian: “bāqu” or “baqqu” (=small fly, mosquito)
Arabic: “băq/بق” (= cimex, mosquitoes).
derived from “băqqă” (to spread suddenly)
15- English: “coffin”
Arabic: “kafan/كفن” (= coffin)
Arabic “kafan” is attested as early as 7th century.
16-English: “chapel”.
From Old French chapele, from medieval Latin cappella, diminutive of “cappa“.
Akkadian: “kubu” (= chapel, building).
17- English: (while = a period of time).
Arabic: (wihla = a while).
D- Celtic words:
01- Old Irish “carn” (= horn).
Akkadian: “qarnu” (= horn)
Hebrew:“קֶרֶן/keren” (= horn)
Arabic: “qarn/قرن” (= horn).
02- Proto-Celtic *aryeti (= to plough).
Arabic: “ḥarṯu/حرث” (= ploughing).
Hebrew: “haroš/חֲרוֹשׁ” (= to plough).
03- Scots: (sairie = sad, sorrowful)
Arabic: (ḥaseer = sad, sorrowful).
04- Welsh: “ardda” (= field, garden).
Arabic: “ardd/أرض” (= land).
Arabic: “rawda/روضه” (= garden).
Obvious & Divergent cognates
Cognates are words in different languages that have been inherited from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.
Obvious cognates are words in different languages that share a common origin, making them look, sound, or even read almost identically, such as English “night” and German “Nacht“.
Divergent cognates are words in different languages that share a common ancestor word, but have evolved so differently in sound, spelling, or meaning that their relationship isn’t immediately obvious. For example: English “horn” and Latin “cornū“: These are cognates from a common ancestor. The English word horn has undergone a phonemic change: (k → ḵ → h).
The divergence of cognate words, from their shared ancestor, is a natural process influenced by various factors that lead to phonetic, morphologic and semantic changes, these factors include:
01- Fused affixes.
02- Diachronic Excrescence.
03- Metathesis.
04- Phonemic changes.
05- Allophonic changes.
06- Compounding words
07- Elision & Contraction
01- Fused affixes.
In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme (a meaningful unit) or a (functional word) added to a word’s beginning (prefix), middle (infix), or end (suffix) to change its meaning or grammatical function, forming new words or inflections. The main types are prefixes (before, e.g., un-), suffixes (after, e.g., -ing, -ness), and infixes (inside, rare in English, common in other languages).
Fused affix result from a gradual, historical linguistic process where a functional word loses its independent status and becomes inseparably attached to a word stem.
Example: “de-” in Latin “declaro” (to make clear/ English: declare) is a fused prefix.
Likewise, “d-” in English “dusk” appears to be a fused prefix:
Syllabic root: dusk → da-sa-ka → sa-ka (after metathesis) → ka-sa
Compare Spanish: “ocaso” [ukasu] = (Sunset/ West)
02- Diachronic Excrescence
In linguistics, excrescence is the insertion or addition of a consonant, as a result of articulatory interaction or habits, without grammatical justification (like the t-sound in prince [printce] or the p-sound in hamster [hampster].) . Over time, through diachronic changes, such addition can become a fossilized part of the word’s root.
Excrescence arises for a variety of reasons: breaking up difficult consonant clusters, adhering to syllable structure rules (like avoiding empty onsets) or improving sonority flow.
Example_01: “-b-” in English “number” is an excrescence.
Example_02: “-n-” in English “stand” is a excrescence.
Likewise, “-n-” in English “country” appears to be an excrescence:
Phonetic root: country → [k-n-t-r] → [k-∅-t-r] → [k-t-r]
Compare Arabic: “qutr” [q-t-r] = (country)
03- Metathesis
Metathesis is the transposition of sounds or syllables in a word.
Example: “aks” → “ask“. (aks, the older form, underwent a metathesis)
04- Phonemic changes
Phonemic change occurs when a phoneme turns into a deferent phoneme.
A phoneme is a family of similar sounds which a language treats as being “the same”. Members of this family are called its allophones.
Example: Greek “kyriakon” → Old Norse “kirk” → German “Kirche” (church). (Palatalization of /k/).
Palatalization of ‘k‘ is a common phonemic change where the velar /k/ shifts its place of articulation forward, closer to the palate, often resulting in an affricate like [ch] or t͡s, or even a fricative like [s] or [sh].
05- Allophonic changes
Allophonic change occurs when a phoneme turns into a new allophone.
An allophone is one of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme.
Example: English “Guess you” sounds like “guesh you” (Palatalization of /s/).
Palatalization of [s] is a common phonemic change where the alveolar /s/ moves its place of articulation towards the palate, often transforming into the Palato-alveolar [sh].
Diachronically, /s/ and /sh/ are two allophones of the same phoneme.
06- Compounding words
Compounding words is the process of joining two or more words to create a new word with a distinct meaning, such as: “sun” + “flower” = “sunflower”. Divergent cognates may disguise as parts of compound words.
07- Elision & Contraction
Elision is the omission or dropping of one or more sounds (vowels, consonants, or syllables) in a word.
Contraction refers to phonological processes by which a sequence of sounds that constitutes a compound word is reduced or fused.
[01] – “A Study on the Origins of Loanwords in Ancient
Greek”, Joanne van der Poel, 2019.
[02] – https://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/dosearch.php?searchkey=5840&language=id
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