What is Semitic languages?
{{No sources|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox language family |name=Semitic |region=[[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], [[Horn of Africa|Northeast Africa]] and [[Malta]] |familycolor=Afro-Asiatic |protoname=[[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] |child1=[[East Semitic languages|East Semitic]] (extinct) |child2=[[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] |iso2=sem |iso5=sem |map = Semitic languages.svg |mapcaption = Approximate historical distribution of Semitic languages.}} The '''Semitic languages''' are a branch of [[Afroasiatic languages]] spoken in [[North Africa]], [[Arabia]], the [[Horn of Africa]] and the [[Middle East]]. The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family, which originated in the [[Middle East]]. Semitic languages are spoken by more than 470 million people across much of Western [[Asia]], [[North Africa]] and the [[Horn of Africa]], as well as in large communities of people from different countries in [[North America]] and [[Europe]]. The name was taken from [[Shem]], a son of [[Noah]] in [[Genesis]] (chapters 6-11). Some examples of Semitic languages are [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Aramaic language|Aramaic,]] [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], and [[Maltese language|Maltese]]. == Related pages == *[[Canaanite languages]] {{stub}} [[Category:Semitic languages| ]]