Hamito-Semitic and Austronesian Language Families: Obvious Genetic relatedness

Hamito-Semitic and Austronesian Language Families: Obvious Genetic relatedness

El Rabih Makki
Lebanese University

Hamito-Semitic and Austronesian language families have in common many indispensible grammatical forms; both derivational and inflectional, which compel us to make the inevitable conclusion that they must have come from a common source. The same assertion can be made as to certain basic vocabulary found in both families, especially those denoting parts of the body, things in the physical world, family relation, pronouns, some numerals, many essential verbs, nouns, and adjectives. The common existence of such grammatical, phonological and vocabulary forms in language families whose members are far apart in space and time makes it evident that they must have belonged to a common Hamito-Semitic-Austronesian speech before its split into two separate Hamito-Semitic and Austronesian languages. Another amazing fact is that both families also share some common tendencies in their evolution.

The present work aims to elucidate the similarities noted between the two language families on all levels of structure, explain the dissimilarities whenever found in strictly scientific terms, and account for all linguistic phenomena encountered in the study.

ISBN 9783862886012 (Hardbound). LINCOM Etymological Studies 04. 214pp. 2015.