East Semitic languages
| East Semitic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: | formerly Mesopotamia |
| Linguistic classification: | Afro-Asiatic
|
| Subdivisions: | |
The East Semitic languages were a branch of Semitic languages. It is extinct. The main languages were Akkadian and Eblaite, and possibly Kishite. All these languages have long been extinct.[1][2][3][4][5][6] They were influenced by the non-Semitic Sumerian language and used cuneiform writing.
The two main language Groups of Semitic languages are East Semitic and West Semitic. East Semitic languages are different from West Semitic languges in many ways. People believe that the distinction was because speakers of East Semitic languages wandered furether east, to Mesopotamia during the 3rd millennium BC. Akkadian texts of the time write this. By the early 2nd millennium BC, East Semitic languages, in particular Akkadian, had come to dominate the region.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Benjamin Read Foster; Karen Polinger Foster (2009). Civilizations of Ancient Iraq. Princeton University Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0691137223.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rebecca Hasselbach (2005). Sargonic Akkadian: A Historical and Comparative Study of the Syllabic Texts. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 3. ISBN 9783447051729.
- ↑ I. E. S. Edwards; C. J. Gadd; N. G. L. Hammond (1971-10-31). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 9780521077910.
- ↑ Lauren Ristvet (2014). Ritual, Performance, and Politics in the Ancient Near East. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 9781107065215.
- ↑ Donald P. Hansen; Erica Ehrenberg (2002). Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen. Eisenbrauns. p. 133. ISBN 9781575060552.
- ↑ Lucy Wyatt (2010-01-16). Approaching Chaos: Could an Ancient Archetype Save C21st Civilization?. John Hunt. p. 120. ISBN 9781846942556.