The Afro-Asiatic language family was formerly called Semitic-Hamitic, or, occasionally, Hamito-Semitic. It consists of languages spoken in north Africa and in the Near East, both in the past and presently. Afro-Asiatic is comprised of the Hamitic and Semitic branches. Hamitic consists of four sub-branches, all found in north Africa: Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, and Chadic; it includes such languages as Coptic, Tamazight, Tuareg, and Hausa. The Semitic branch is divided into East and West sub-branches, and is found in both the Near East and in north Africa. East Semitic includes Akkadian and Chaldean. West Semitic is further divided into Northern and...