Some implications of etymology and lexical reconstruction for the history and pre-history of the Near Eastern / North African / Mediterranean areal

Alexander Militarev (Institute of Oriental and Classical Studies, Russian State University for the Humanities)

Journal of Language Relationship, № 17/3-4, 2019 - p.246-262

Abstract: In this paper, we propose several new or updated Afro-Asiatic etymologies and reconstructed protoforms which may assist in further reconstruction of certain unclear aspects and features of the history and prehistory of the Near East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean area — such as ancient ethnocultural contacts suggested by earlier undisclosed lexical borrowings; the possible origins of the Libyan script; ideas that may have given rise to such diverse concepts as Egyptian Ka or Biblical tohu wa-bohu and sheol; names for various monsters in ancient Semitic cultures; and certain social, emotional, and ethical aspects of Neolithic life hinted at by the respective reconstructed Afro-Asiatic protoforms.

Keywords: etymology, linguistic reconstruction, ancient history, Afro-Asiatic languages, Semitology, Bible studies

PDF