Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔanāku

This Proto-Semitic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Semitic edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Afroasiatic *ˀanāku. Compare Egyptian jnk and Proto-Berber *ənăkkʷ.

Pronoun edit

*ʔanāku m or f

I (first-person singular personal pronoun)

Reconstruction notes edit

A reduced form *ʔana appears to have coexisted with *ʔanāku in West Semitic (if not earlier), but most descendants only have a reflex of one of the two forms.

Descendants edit

From *ʔanāku:

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒀀𒈾𒆪 (anāku)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Canaanite:
      - Biblical Hebrew: אָנֹכִי (ʾānōḵî)
        Israeli Hebrew: אָנֹכִי (anokhí)
      - Moabite: 𐤀𐤍𐤊 (ʾnk)
      - Phoenician: 𐤀𐤍𐤊𐤉 (ʾnky) 𐤀𐤍𐤊 (ʾnk)
        Punic: 𐤀𐤍𐤊 (ʾnk), 𐤀𐤍𐤊𐤉 (ʾnky)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎐𐎋 (ảnk /⁠ʾanākū⁠/)

From *ʔana:

West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: أَنَا (ʔanā)
    - Egyptian Arabic: أنا (ʔana)
    - Gulf Arabic: آنا (āna)
    - Maltese: jien, jiena
    - Moroccan Arabic: آنا (ʔāna), أنا (ʔana)
    - South Levantine Arabic: أنا (ʔana)
    - Tunisian Arabic: آنا (ʔāna)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic: אֲנָא (ʾănā)
      - Classical Syriac: ܐܶܢܳܐ (ʾenā)
      - Turoyo: ܐܳܢܳܐ (ono)
    - Canaanite:
      - Biblical Hebrew: אֲנִי (ʾănî)
        Israeli Hebrew: אֲנִי (aní)
      - Phoenician: 𐤀𐤍𐤉 (ʾny)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎐 (ản /⁠ʾanā⁠/)
- Ethiopian Semitic:
  - Amharic: እኔ (ʾəne)
  - Ge'ez: አነ (ʾänä)
  - Tigrinya: ኣነ (ʾanä)

References edit

Huehnergard, John (2019) “Proto-Semitic”, in Huehnergard, John and Na'ama Pat-El, editors, The Semitic Languages, 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN

		1st person	2nd person m	2nd person f	3rd person m	3rd person f
Nominative	Singular	*ʔanāku	*ʔanta	*ʔanti	*šuʔa	*šiʔa
	Dual	*niḥnu	antumā / antumay		šumā / šumay
	Plural	*niḥnu	*ʔantum(ū)	*ʔantin(ā)	*šum(ū)	*šin(ā)
Oblique	Singular	— (enclitics used instead)			*šuʔātī	*šiʔātī
	Dual				šumātī / šumāytī
	Plural				*šumūtī	*šinātī