Editing Proto-Semitic language (section)

==Phonology==
{{see also|Semitic languages#Phonology|Proto-Afroasiatic language#Phonology}}

===Vowels===
Proto-Semitic had a simple vowel system, with three qualities *a, *i, *u, and phonemic vowel length, conventionally indicated by a macron: *ā, *ī, *ū.{{sfnp|Huehnergard|2008|p=231}} This system is preserved in Classical Arabic.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=119}}

===Consonants===
The reconstruction of Proto-Semitic was originally based primarily on [[Arabic]], whose phonology and morphology (particularly in [[Classical Arabic]]) is extremely conservative, and which preserves as contrastive 28 out of the evident 29 consonantal phonemes.<ref name="Versteegh1997">{{cite book|last=Versteegh|first=Cornelis Henricus Maria "Kees"|author-link=Kees Versteegh|title=The Arabic Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tghviSsrF8C|year=1997|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-11152-2|page=13}}</ref> Thus, the phonemic inventory of reconstructed Proto-Semitic is very similar to that of Arabic, with only one phoneme fewer in Arabic than in reconstructed Proto-Semitic, with {{nounderlines|[[Samekh|*s]]}} and {{nounderlines|[[Shin (letter)|*š]]}} merging into Arabic {{IPAslink|s}} {{angbr|{{nounderlines|[[Sīn|س]]}}}} and {{nounderlines|[[Shin (letter)|*ś]]}} becoming Arabic {{IPAslink|ʃ}} {{angbr|{{nounderlines|[[šīn|ش]]}}}}. As such, Proto-Semitic is generally reconstructed as having the following [[phoneme]]s (as usually transcribed in Semitology):<ref>{{cite book|last = Sáenz Badillos|first = Angel|translator = John Elwolde|trans-title = A History of the Hebrew Language |title=Historia de la Lengua Hebrea|orig-year = 1988|year = 1993|publisher = Cambridge University Press|location = Cambridge, UK|isbn = 0-521-55634-1|pages = 18–19|chapter = Hebrew in the context of the Semitic Languages}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ '''Proto-Semitic consonant phonemes'''{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=54}}

|-
! Type
! [[Manner of articulation|Manner]]
! [[Voice (phonetics)|Voicing]]
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Interdental consonant|Interdental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]/[[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyngeal]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="6" | [[Obstruent]]
! rowspan="3" | [[Stop consonant|Stop]]
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Voiceless consonant|voiceless]]
| {{nounderlines|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|*p]]}} {{IPAblink|p}} || || {{nounderlines|[[Taw|*t]]}} {{IPAblink|t}} ||
| || {{nounderlines|[[Kaph|*k]]}} {{IPAblink|k}} || ||
|-
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]]
| ({{IPA link|pʼ}}){{efn|Woodard (2008, p. 219) suggests the presence of an emphatic p in some disparate Semitic languages may indicate that such an emphatic was present in Proto-Semitic.}}
| || {{nounderlines|[[Teth|*ṭ]]}} {{IPAblink|tʼ}}
|
| || {{nounderlines|[[Qoph|*q]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Qoph|ḳ]]}} {{IPAblink|kʼ}}|| ||{{nounderlines|[[Aleph|*ʼ]]}},{{nounderlines|[[Aleph|ˀ]]}} {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
|-
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Voiced consonant|voiced]]
| {{nounderlines|[[Bet (letter)|*b]]}} {{IPAblink|b}}
| || {{nounderlines|[[Dalet|*d]]}} {{IPAblink|d}} 
|
| || {{nounderlines|[[Gimel|*g]]}} {{IPAblink|g}} || ||
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Voiceless consonant|voiceless]]
| rowspan="3" |
|{{nounderlines|[[Ṯāʾ|*ṯ]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ṯāʾ|θ]]}} {{IPAblink|θ}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Samekh|*s]]}} {{IPAblink|s}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Shin (letter)|*š]]}} {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Shin (letter)|*ś]]}} {{IPAblink|ɬ}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Ḫāʾ|*ḫ]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ḫāʾ|k̇]]}} [{{IPA link|x}}~{{IPA link|χ}}]
|{{nounderlines|[[Heth|*ḥ]]}} {{IPAblink|ħ}}
|{{nounderlines|[[He (letter)|*h]]}} {{IPAblink|h}}
|-
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Emphatic consonant|emphatic]]
|{{nounderlines|[[Ẓāʾ|*ṯ̣]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ẓāʾ|θ̣]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ẓāʾ|ẓ]]}} {{IPAblink|θʼ}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Tsade|*ṣ]]}} {{IPAblink|sʼ}}
|
|{{nounderlines|[[Ḍād|*ṣ́]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ḍād|ḏ̣]]}} {{IPAblink|ɬʼ}}
|({{IPA link|xʼ}}~{{IPA link|χʼ}}){{efn|Huehnergard (2003, p.49) presents a minority opinion that an ejective velar fricative existed in Proto-Semitic.}}
|
|
|-
! style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Voiced consonant|voiced]]
|{{nounderlines|[[Ḏāl|*ḏ]]}} {{IPAblink|ð}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Zayin|*z]]}} {{IPAblink|z}}
|
|
|{{nounderlines|[[Ghayn|*ǵ]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Ghayn|*ġ]]}} [{{IPA link|ɣ}}~{{IPA link|ʁ}}]
|{{nounderlines|[[Ayin|*ʻ]]}},{{nounderlines|[[Ayin|ˤ]]}} {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Sonorant|Resonant]]
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| || || {{nounderlines|[[Resh|*r]]}} {{IPAblink|r}}||
| || || ||
|-
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{nounderlines|[[Waw (letter)|*w]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Waw (letter)|u]]}} {{IPAblink|w}}|| || || {{nounderlines|[[Yodh|*y]]}}/{{nounderlines|[[Yodh|i]]}} {{IPAblink|j}}
|{{nounderlines|[[Lamedh|*l]]}} {{IPAblink|l}}||
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 80%;" | [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| {{nounderlines|[[Mem|*m]]}} {{IPAblink|m}}|| || {{nounderlines|[[Nun (letter)|*n]]}} {{IPAblink|n}}||
| ||
|
|
|-
| colspan="11" | {{notelist}}
|}
The reconstructed phonemes *s *z *ṣ *ś *ṣ́ *ṯ̣, which are shown to be phonetically [[affricate]]s in the table above, may also be interpreted as [[fricative]]s ({{IPA|/s z sʼ ɬ ɬʼ θʼ/}}), as discussed below. This was the traditional reconstruction and is reflected in the choice of signs.

The Proto-Semitic consonant system is based on triads of related [[voiceless consonant|voiceless]], [[voiced consonant|voiced]] and "[[emphatic consonant|emphatic]]" consonants. Five such triads are reconstructed in Proto-Semitic:
* [[Dental consonant|Dental]] [[stop consonant|stop]]s *d *t *ṭ
* [[Velar consonant|Velar]] [[stop consonant|stop]]s *g *k *ḳ (normally written *g *k *q)
* [[Dental consonant|Dental]] [[sibilant]]s *z *s *ṣ
* [[Interdental consonant|Interdental]] {{IPA|/ð θ θʼ/}} (written *ḏ *ṯ *ṯ̣)
* [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]] {{IPA|/l ɬ ɬʼ/}} (normally written *l *ś *ṣ́)

The probable phonetic realization of most consonants is straightforward and is indicated in the table with the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA). Two subsets of consonants, however, deserve further comment.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="16" |Voiceless consonants<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schneider |first=Roey |date=2024 |title=The Semitic Sibilants |url=https://www.academia.edu/87823763/The_Semitic_Sibilants |journal=The Semitic Sibilants |pages=31, 33, 36}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" |Proto-Semitic
![[Old South Arabian|Old South<br/>Arabian]]
![[Ancient North Arabian|Old North<br/>Arabian]] 
![[Modern South Arabian languages|Modern South<br/>Arabian]] <sup>1, 2</sup>
! colspan="2" |[[Modern Standard Arabic|Standard<br/>Arabic]]
! colspan="2" |[[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
! colspan="2" |[[Modern Hebrew|Modern<br/>Hebrew]]
! colspan="2" |[[Geʽez|Ge'ez]]
! colspan="2" |[[Phoenician language|Phoenician]]
! [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]
|-
!s₃ (s)
! {{IPA|[s] / [ts]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩯}}
|𐪏
|{{IPA|/s/}}
| rowspan="2" |<big>{{script|Arab|س|label=none}}</big>
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA|/s/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ס}}
|s
| {{script|Hebrew|ס}} || {{IPA|/s/}}
| rowspan="3" | {{script|Ethi|ሰ}} || rowspan="3" |  s
| {{script|Phnx|𐤎}} || s
| s
|-
!s₁ (š)
! {{IPA|[ʃ] / [s]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩪}}
|𐪊
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}, <small>sometimes</small> {{IPA|/h/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ש}}
|š
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebrew|שׁ}}|| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
| rowspan="3" | {{script|Phnx|𐤔}} || rowspan="3" |  š
| rowspan="3" | š
|-
!ṯ 
! {{IPA|[θ]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩻}}
|𐪛
|{{IPA|/θ/}}
|<big>{{Script|Arab|ث|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/θ/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ש}}, <small>later</small> {{script|Hebrew|ת}}
|*ṯ, š,<br /><small>later</small> t
|-
!s₂ (ś)
! {{IPA|[ɬ]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩦}}
|𐪆
|{{IPA|/ɬ/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ش|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ש}}, <small>later</small> {{script|Hebrew|ס}}
|*ś, s
| {{script|Hebrew|שׂ}} || {{IPA|/s/}}
| {{script|Ethi|ሠ}} || ś
|-
! colspan="16" |Emphatic consonants
|-
! colspan="2" |Proto-Semitic
!Old South<br/>Arabian
!Old North<br/>Arabian
!Modern South<br/>Arabian
! colspan="2" |Standard<br/>Arabic
! colspan="2" |Aramaic
! colspan="2" |Modern<br/>Hebrew
! colspan="2" |Ge'ez
! colspan="2" |Phoenician
! Akkadian
|-
!ṣ
! {{IPA|[sʼ] / [tsʼ]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩮}}
|𐪎
|{{IPA|/sʼ/}}, <small>rarely</small> {{IPA|/ʃʼ/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ص|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/sˤ/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|צ}}
|ṣ
| rowspan="3" | {{script|Hebrew|צ}} || rowspan="3" | {{IPA|/t͡s/}}
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Ethi|ጸ}} || rowspan="2" | ṣ
| rowspan="3" | {{script|Phnx|𐤑}} || rowspan="3" |  ṣ
| rowspan="3" | ṣ
|-
!ṯ̣
! {{IPA|[θʼ]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩼}}
|𐪜
|{{IPA|/θʼ ~ ðˤ/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ظ|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/ðˤ/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|צ}}, <small>later</small> {{script|Hebrew|ט}}
|*ṱ, ṣ,<br /><small>later</small> ṭ
|-
!ṣ́
! {{IPA|[ɬʼ] / [tɬʼ]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩳}}
|𐪓
|{{IPA|/ɬʼ/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ض|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/dˤ/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ק}}, <small>later</small> {{script|Hebrew|ע}}
|*ṣ́, q/ḳ,<br /><small>later</small> ʿ
| {{script|Ethi|ፀ}} || ṣ́
|-
! colspan="16" |Voiced consonants
|-
! colspan="2" |Proto-Semitic
!Old South<br/>Arabian
!Old North<br/>Arabian
!Modern South<br/>Arabian
! colspan="2" |Standard<br/>Arabic
! colspan="2" |Aramaic
! colspan="2" |Modern<br/>Hebrew
! colspan="2" |Ge'ez
! colspan="2" |Phoenician
! Akkadian
|-
!z
! {{IPA|[z] / [dz]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩸}}
|𐪘
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ز|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ז}}
|z
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebrew|ז}} || rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/z/}}
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Ethi|ዘ}} || rowspan="2" | z
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Phnx|𐤆}} || rowspan="2" |  z
| rowspan="2" | z
|-
!ḏ
! {{IPA|[ð]}}
|{{script|Sarb|𐩹}}
|𐪙
|{{IPA|/ð/}}
|<big>{{script|Arab|ذ|label=none}}</big>
|{{IPA|/ð/}}
|{{script|Hebrew|ז}}, <small>later</small> {{script|Hebrew|ד}}
|*ḏ, z,<br /><small>later</small> d
|-
| colspan="16" |Notes
# s₁ (š) is {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, <small>sometimes</small> {{IPA|[h]}} and {{IPA|[j<sup>ɦ</sup>]}} (in [[Soqotri language|Soqotri]]) - {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and {{IPA|[ɕ<sup>w</sup>]}} (for some speakers of [[Shehri language|Jibbali]])
# ṯ {{IPA|[θ]}}, ḏ {{IPA|[ð]}} and ṯ̣ {{IPA|[θʼ]}} merge with {{IPA|[t]}}, {{IPA|[d]}}, and {{IPA|[tʼ]}} in Soqotri
|}

====Emphatics====
The sounds notated here as "[[emphatic consonant]]s" occur in nearly all Semitic languages as well as in most other Afroasiatic languages, and they are generally reconstructed as [[glottalization]] in Proto-Semitic.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cantineau |first=J. |year=1952 |title=Le consonantisme du sémitique |journal=Semitica |pages=79–94 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=61}}<ref group="nb">That explains the lack of voicing distinction in the emphatic series, which would be unnecessary if the emphatics were pharyngealized.</ref> Thus, *ṭ, for example, represents {{IPA|[tʼ]}}. See below for the fricatives/affricates.

In modern Semitic languages, emphatics are variously realized as [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngealized]] ([[Arabic]], [[Aramaic]], [[Tiberian Hebrew]] (such as {{IPA|[tˤ]}})), glottalized ([[Ethiopian Semitic languages]], [[Modern South Arabian languages]], such as {{IPA|[tʼ]}}), or as [[tenuis consonant]]s ([[Turoyo language]] of [[Tur Abdin]] such as {{IPA|[t˭]}});<ref>Dolgopolsky 1999, p. 29.</ref> [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] and [[Maltese language|Maltese]] are exceptions and emphatics merge into plain consonants in various ways under the influence of [[Indo-European languages]] ([[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] for Maltese, various languages for Hebrew).

An emphatic labial *ṗ occurs in some Semitic languages, but it is unclear whether it was a phoneme in Proto-Semitic.
* The classical Ethiopian Semitic language [[Geʽez]] is unique among Semitic languages for contrasting all three of {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/f/}}, and {{IPA|/pʼ/}}. While {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/pʼ/}} occur mostly in loanwords (especially from [[Greek language|Greek]]), there are many other occurrences whose origin is less clear (such as ''hepʼä'' 'strike', ''häppälä'' 'wash clothes').<ref>Woodard 2008, p. 219.</ref>
* According to Hetzron, Hebrew developed an emphatic labial phoneme ''ṗ'' to represent unaspirated {{IPA|/p/}} in Iranian and Greek.<ref>Hetzron 1997, p. 147.</ref>

====Fricatives====
The reconstruction of Proto-Semitic has nine fricative sounds that are reflected usually as [[sibilants]] in later languages, but whether all were already sibilants in Proto-Semitic is debated:
*Two voiced fricatives {{transliteration|sem|*ð, *z}} that eventually became, for example, {{IPA|/z/}} for both in Hebrew and Geʽez (/ð/ in early Geʽez), but {{IPA|/ð/}} and {{IPA|/z/}} in Arabic respectively
* Four voiceless fricatives
** {{transliteration|sem|*θ}} ({{transliteration|sem|*ṯ}}) that became {{IPA|/ʃ/}} in Hebrew (שׁ) but {{IPA|/θ/}} in Arabic and /s/ in Geʽez (/θ/ in early Geʽez)
** {{transliteration|sem|*š}} ({{transliteration|sem|*s₁}}) that became {{IPA|/ʃ/}} in Hebrew (שׁ) but {{IPA|/s/}} in Arabic and Geʽez
** {{transliteration|sem|*ś}} ({{transliteration|sem|*s₂}}) that became {{IPA|/s/}} (שׂ, transcribed [[Shin (letter)#Hebrew shin/sin|''ś'']]) in Hebrew, {{IPA|/ʃ/}} in Arabic and /ɬ/ in Geʽez
** {{transliteration|sem|*s}} ({{transliteration|sem|*s₃}}) that became {{IPA|/s/}} in Hebrew, Arabic and Geʽez
* Three emphatic fricatives ({{transliteration|sem|*θ̣, *ṣ, *ṣ́}})

The precise sound of the Proto-Semitic fricatives, notably of {{transliteration|sem|*š}}, {{transliteration|sem|*ś}}, {{transliteration|sem|*s}} and {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}}, remains a perplexing problem, and there are various systems of notation to describe them. The notation given here is traditional and is based on their pronunciation in Hebrew, which has traditionally been extrapolated to Proto-Semitic. The notation {{transliteration|sem|*s₁}}, {{transliteration|sem|*s₂}}, {{transliteration|sem|*s₃}} is found primarily in the literature on [[Old South Arabian]], but more recently, it has been used by some authors to discuss Proto-Semitic to express a noncommittal view of the pronunciation of the sounds. However, the older transcription remains predominant in most literature, often even among scholars who either disagree with the traditional interpretation or remain noncommittal.<ref>For an example of an author using the traditional symbols but subscribing to the new sound values, see Hackett, Joe Ann. 2008. Phoenician and Punic. ''The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia'' (ed. Roger D. Woodard). Likewise, Huehnergard, John and Christopher Woods. 2008. Akkadian and Eblaite. ''The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Aksum'' (ed. Roger D. Woodard). p. 96: "Similarly, there was a triad of affricates, voiced {{IPA|/ᵈz/}} ({{angbr|z}}) voiceless {{IPA|/ᵗs/}} ({{angbr|s}}), and emphatic {{IPA|/ᵗsʼ/}} ({{angbr|{{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}}}}). These became fricatives in later dialects; the voiceless member of this later, fricative set was pronounced [s] in Babylonian, but [š] in Assyrian, while the reflex of Proto-Semitic {{transliteration|sem|*š}}, which was probably simple [s] originally, continued to be pronounced as such in Assyrian, but as [š] in Babylonian." Similarly, an author remaining undecided regarding the sound values of the sibilants will also use the conventional symbols, for example, [[Joseph Greenberg|Greenberg, Joseph]], The Patterning of Root Morphemes in Semitic. 1990. p. 379. ''On language: selected writings of Joseph H. Greenberg''. Ed. Keith M. Denning and Suzanne Kemme: "There is great uncertainty regarding the phonetic values of ''s'', ''ś'', and ''š'' in Proto-Semitic. I simply use them here as conventional transcriptions of the three sibilants corresponding to the sounds indicated by ''samekh'', ''śin'', and ''šin'' respectively in Hebrew orthography."</ref>

The traditional view, as expressed in the conventional transcription and still maintained by some of the authors in the field<ref>Lipiński, Edward. 2000. Semitic languages: outline of a comparative grammar. e.g. the tables on p.113, p.131; also p.133: "Common Semitic or Proto-Semitic has a voiceless fricative prepalatal or palato-alevolar ''š'', i.e. {{IPA|[ʃ]}} ...", p.129 ff.</ref><ref>Macdonald, M.C.A. 2008. Ancient North Arabian. In: The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia (ed. Roger D. Woodard). p. 190.</ref><ref>Blau, Joshua (2010). Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. p. 25–40.</ref> is that {{transliteration|sem|*š}} was a [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] ({{IPA|[ʃ]}}), {{transliteration|sem|*s}} was a [[voiceless alveolar sibilant]] ({{IPA|[s]}}) and {{transliteration|sem|*ś}} was a [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] ({{IPA|[ɬ]}}). Accordingly, {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}} is seen as an emphatic version of {{transliteration|sem|*s}} ({{IPA|[sʼ]}}) {{transliteration|sem|*z}} as a voiced version of it ({{IPA|[z]}}) and {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ́}} as an emphatic version of {{transliteration|sem|*ś}} ({{IPA|[ɬʼ]}}). The reconstruction of {{transliteration|sem|*ś ṣ́}} as lateral fricatives (or affricates) is certain although few modern languages preserve the sounds. The pronunciation of {{transliteration|sem|*ś ṣ́}} as {{IPA|[ɬ ɬʼ]}} is still maintained in the [[Modern South Arabian languages]] (such as [[Mehri language|Mehri]]), and evidence of a former lateral pronunciation is evident in a number of other languages. For example, [[Biblical Hebrew]] ''baśam'' was borrowed into [[Ancient Greek]] as ''balsamon'' (hence English "balsam"), and the 8th-century Arab grammarian [[Sibawayh]] explicitly described the Arabic descendant of {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ́}}, now pronounced {{IPA|[dˤ]}} in the standard pronunciation or {{IPA|[ðˤ]}} in Bedouin-influenced dialects, as a pharyngealized [[voiced lateral fricative]] {{IPA|[ɮˤ]}}.<ref>{{citation|first=Charles|last=Ferguson|title=The Arabic Koine|journal=Language|volume=35|number=4|year=1959|page=630|doi=10.2307/410601|jstor=410601}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation|first1=Kees|last1=Versteegh|title=The Arabic Language|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=1997|isbn=90-04-17702-7}}
</ref> (Compare Spanish ''[[wikt:alcalde#Spanish|alcalde]]'', from [[Andalusian Arabic]] {{lang|ar|اَلْقَاضِي}} ''al-qāḍī'' "judge".)

The primary disagreements concern whether the sounds were actually fricatives in Proto-Semitic or whether some were affricates, and whether the sound designated {{transliteration|sem|*š}} was pronounced {{IPA|[ʃ]}} (or similar) in Proto-Semitic, as the traditional view posits, or had the value of {{IPA|[s]}}. The issue of the nature of the "emphatic" consonants, discussed above, is partly related (but partly orthogonal) to the issues here as well.

With respect to the traditional view, there are two dimensions of "minimal" and "maximal" modifications made:
#In how many sounds are taken to be [[Affricate consonant|affricate]]s. The "minimal affricate" position takes only the emphatic {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}} as an affricate {{IPA|[t͡sʼ]}}. The "maximal affricate" position additionally posits that {{transliteration|sem|*s *z}} were actually affricates {{IPA|[t͡s d͡z]}} while {{transliteration|sem|*š}} was actually a simple fricative {{IPA|[s]}}.<ref>For example, {{harvp|Huehnergard|2008|pp=229–231}}.</ref>
#In whether to extend the affricate interpretation to the interdentals and laterals. The "minimal extension" position assumes that only the sibilants were affricates, and the other "fricatives" were in fact all fricatives, but the maximal update extends the same interpretation to the other sounds. Typically, that means that the "minimal affricate, maximal extension" position takes all and only the emphatics are taken as affricates: emphatic {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ θ̣ ṣ́}} were {{IPA|[t͡sʼ t͡θʼ t͡ɬʼ]}}. The "maximal affricate, maximal extension" position assumes not only the "maximal affricate" position for sibilants but also that non-emphatic {{transliteration|sem|*θ ð ś}} were actually affricates.

Affricates in Proto-Semitic were proposed early on but met little acceptance until the work of Alice Faber (1981),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Faber |first1=Alice |title=Phonetic Reconstruction. |journal=Glossa |year=1981 |volume=15 |pages=233–262}}</ref> who challenged the older approach. The Semitic languages that have survived often have fricatives for these consonants. However, Ethiopic languages and Modern Hebrew, in many reading traditions, have an affricate for {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}}.<ref name="Dp33" />

The evidence for the various affricate interpretations of the sibilants is direct evidence from transcriptions and structural evidence. However, the evidence for the "maximal extension" positions that extend affricate interpretations to non-sibilant "fricatives" is largely structural because of both the relative rarity of the interdentals and lateral obstruents among the attested Semitic language and the even greater rarity of such sounds among the various languages in which Semitic words were transcribed. As a result, even when the sounds were transcribed, the resulting transcriptions may be difficult to interpret clearly.

The narrowest affricate view (only {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}} was an affricate {{IPA|[t͡sʼ]}}) is the most accepted one.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=62}} The affricate pronunciation is directly attested in the modern Ethiopic languages and Modern Hebrew, as mentioned above, but also in ancient transcriptions of numerous Semitic languages in various other languages:
* Transcriptions of [[Ge'ez]] from the period of the [[Axumite Kingdom]] (early centuries AD): ''ṣəyāmo'' rendered as Greek ''τζιαμω'' ''tziamō''.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=62}}
* The Hebrew reading tradition of {{transliteration|sem|ṣ}} as {{IPA|[t͡s]}} clearly goes back at least to medieval times, as shown by the use of Hebrew {{lang|he|צ}} ({{transliteration|sem|ṣ}}) to represent affricates in early [[New Persian]], Old Osmanli [[Turkic languages|Turkic]], [[Middle High German]], [[Yiddish]], etc. Similarly, in [[Old French]] ''c'' {{IPA|/t͡s/}} was used to transliterate {{lang|he|צ}}: Hebrew ''{{transliteration|sem|ṣɛdɛḳ}}'' "righteousness" and ''{{transliteration|sem|ʼārɛṣ}}'' "land (of Israel)" were written ''cedek, arec''.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=62}}
* There is also evidence of an affricate in Ancient Hebrew and Phoenician {{transliteration|sem|ṣ}}. Punic {{transliteration|sem|ṣ}} was often transcribed as ''ts'' or ''t'' in Latin and Greek or occasionally Greek ''ks''; correspondingly, Egyptian names and loanwords in Hebrew and Phoenician use {{transliteration|sem|ṣ}} to represent the [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] palatal affricate ''ḏ'' (conventionally described as voiced {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}} but possibly instead an unvoiced ejective {{IPA|[t͡ʃʼ]}}).{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=63}}
* Aramaic and Syriac had an affricated realization of {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}} until some point, as is seen in [[Classical Armenian]] loanwords: Aramaic {{lang|arc-Hebr|צרר}} 'bundle, bunch' → Classical Armenian ''crar'' {{IPA|/t͡sɹaɹ/}}.<ref name="Dp32"/>
 
The "maximal affricate" view, applied only to sibilants, also has transcriptional evidence. According to Kogan, the affricate interpretation of Akkadian {{transliteration|sem|s z ṣ}} is generally accepted.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=66}}
* [[Akkadian cuneiform]], as adapted for writing various other languages, used the {{transliteration|sem|z-}} signs to represent affricates. Examples include /ts/ in [[Hittite language|Hittite]],<ref name="Dp32">Dolgopolsky 1999, p. 32.</ref> Egyptian affricate ''{{IPA|ṯ}}'' in the [[Amarna letters]] and the [[Old Iranian]] affricates {{IPA|/t͡ʃ d͡ʒ/}} in [[Elamite language|Elamite]].{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=67}}
* Egyptian transcriptions of early Canaanite words with {{transliteration|sem|*z, *s, *ṣ}} use affricates (''{{IPA|ṯ}}'' for {{transliteration|sem|*s}}, ''{{IPA|ḏ}}'' for {{transliteration|sem|*z, *ṣ}}).{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|pp=67–68}}
* [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] loanwords in the "older stratum" of Armenian reflect {{transliteration|sem|*s *z}} as affricates {{IPA|/t͡sʰ/}}, {{IPA|/d͡z/}}.<ref name="Dp33">Dolgopolsky 1999, p. 33.</ref>
* Greek borrowing of Phoenician [[Shin (letter)|𐤔]] {{transliteration|sem|*š}} to represent /s/ (compare Greek [[Σ]]), and [[samekh|𐤎]] {{transliteration|sem|*s}} to represent {{IPA|/ks/}} (compare Greek [[Ξ]]) is difficult to explain if {{transliteration|sem|*s}} then had the value {{IPA|[s]}} in Phoenician, but it is quite easy to explain if it actually had the value {{IPA|[t͡s]}} (even more so if {{transliteration|sem|*š}} had the value {{IPA|[s]}}).{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=69}}
* Similarly, Phoenician uses 𐤔 {{transliteration|sem|*š}} to represent sibilant fricatives in other languages rather than 𐤎 {{transliteration|sem|*s}} until the mid-3rd century BC, which has been taken by Friedrich/Röllig 1999 (pp.&nbsp;27–28)<ref>Quoted in {{harvp|Kogan|2011|p=68}}.</ref> as evidence of an affricate pronunciation in Phoenician until then. On the other hand, Egyptian starts using ''s'' in place of earlier ''{{IPA|ṯ}}'' to represent Canaanite ''s'' around 1000 BC. As a result, Kogan{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=68}} assumes a much earlier loss of affricates in Phoenician, and he assumes that the foreign sibilant fricatives in question had a sound closer to {{IPA|[ʃ]}} than {{IPA|[s]}}. (A similar interpretation for at least Latin ''s'' has been proposed<ref>{{Citation|last=Vijūnas|first=Aurelijus|year=2010|title=The Proto-Indo-European Sibilant */s/|journal=Historische Sprachforschung|volume=123|pages=40–55|url=https://www.academia.edu/6149816|place=Göttingen|issn=0935-3518|doi=10.13109/hisp.2010.123.1.40}}</ref> by various linguists based on evidence of similar pronunciations of written ''s'' in a number of early medieval [[Romance languages]]; a technical term for this "intermediate" sibilant is [[voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant]].) However, it is likely that Canaanite was already dialectally split by that time and the northern, Early Phoenician dialect that the Greeks were in contact with could have preserved the affricate pronunciation until c. 800 BC at least, unlike the more southern Canaanite dialects that the Egyptians were in contact with, so that there is no contradiction.

There is also a good deal of internal evidence in early Akkadian for affricate realizations of {{transliteration|sem|s z ṣ}}. Examples are that underlying ||{{transliteration|sem|*t, *d, *ṭ + *š}}|| were realized as ''ss'', which is more natural if the law was phonetically ||{{transliteration|sem|*t, *d, *ṭ + *s}}|| > {{IPA|[tt͡s]}},<ref name="Dp32"/> and that {{transliteration|sem|*s *z *ṣ}} shift to {{transliteration|sem|*š}} before {{transliteration|sem|*t}}, which is more naturally interpreted as deaffrication.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=66}}

Evidence for {{transliteration|sem|*š}} as {{IPA|/s/}} also exists but is somewhat less clear. It has been suggested that it is cross-linguistically rare for languages with a single sibilant fricative to have {{IPA|[ʃ]}} as the sound and that {{IPA|[s]}} is more likely.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=69}} Similarly, the use of Phoenician 𐤔 {{transliteration|sem|*š}}, as the source of Greek [[Σ]] ''s'', seems easiest to explain if the phoneme had the sound of {{IPA|[s]}} at the time. The occurrence of {{IPA|[ʃ]}} for {{transliteration|sem|*š}} in a number of separate modern Semitic languages (such as [[Neo-Aramaic]], [[Modern South Arabian]], most Biblical Hebrew reading traditions) and Old Babylonian Akkadian is then suggested to result from a push-type [[chain shift]], and the change from {{IPA|[t͡s]}} to {{IPA|[s]}} "pushes" {{IPA|[s]}} out of the way to {{IPA|[ʃ]}} in the languages in question, and a merger of the two to {{IPA|[s]}} occurs in various other languages such as Arabic and Ethiopian Semitic.

On the other hand, Kogan has suggested that the initial merged ''s'' in Arabic was actually a "hissing-hushing sibilant",<ref>{{harvp|Kogan|2011|p=70}}, quoting Martinet 1953 p. 73 and Murtonen 1966 p. 138.</ref> presumably something like {{IPA|[ɕ]}} (or a "retracted sibilant"), which did not become {{IPA|[s]}} until later. That would suggest a value closer to {{IPA|[ɕ]}} (or a "retracted sibilant") or {{IPA|[ʃ]}} for Proto-Semitic {{transliteration|sem|*š}} since {{IPA|[t͡s]}} and {{IPA|[s]}} would almost certainly merge directly to [s]. Furthermore, there is various evidence to suggest that the sound {{IPA|[ʃ]}} for {{transliteration|sem|*š}} existed while {{transliteration|sem|*s}} was still {{IPA|[ts]}}.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=70}} Examples are the Southern Old Babylonian form of Akkadian, which evidently had {{IPA|[ʃ]}} along with {{IPA|[t͡s]}} as well as Egyptian transcriptions of early Canaanite words in which {{transliteration|sem|*š s}} are rendered as ''{{transliteration|sem|š ṯ}}''. (''ṯ'' is an affricate {{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}} and the consensus interpretation of ''š'' is {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, as in Modern Coptic.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=70}})

Diem (1974) suggested that the Canaanite sound change of {{transliteration|sem|*θ}} > {{transliteration|sem|*š}} would be more natural if *š was {{IPA|[s]}} than if it was {{IPA|[ʃ]}}. However, Kogan argues that, because {{transliteration|sem|*s}} was {{IPA|[ts]}} at the time, the change from {{transliteration|sem|*θ}} to {{transliteration|sem|*š}} is the most likely merger, regardless of the exact pronunciation of {{transliteration|sem|*š}} while the shift was underway.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|pp=92–93}}

Evidence for the affricate nature of the non-sibilants is based mostly on internal considerations. Ejective fricatives are quite rare cross-linguistically, and when a language has such sounds, it nearly always has {{IPA|[sʼ]}} so if {{transliteration|sem|*ṣ}} was actually affricate {{IPA|[tsʼ]}}, it would be extremely unusual if {{transliteration|sem|*θ̣ ṣ́}} was fricative {{IPA|[θʼ ɬʼ]}} rather than affricate {{IPA|[t͡θʼ t͡ɬʼ]}}. According to Rodinson (1981) and Weninger (1998), the Greek placename ''Mátlia'', with ''tl'' used to render Ge'ez ''ḍ'' (Proto-Semitic ''*ṣ́''), is "clear proof" that this sound was affricated in [[Ge'ez]] and quite possibly in Proto-Semitic as well.{{sfnp|Kogan|2011|p=80}}

The evidence for the most maximal interpretation, with all the interdentals and lateral obstruents being affricates, appears to be mostly structural: the system would be more symmetric if reconstructed that way.

The shift of {{transliteration|sem|*š}} to ''h'' occurred in most Semitic languages (other than Akkadian, [[Minaean language|Minaean]], [[Qatabanian language|Qatabanian]]) in grammatical and pronominal morphemes, and it is unclear whether reduction of {{transliteration|sem|*š}} began in a daughter proto-language or in Proto-Semitic itself. Some thus suggest that weakened {{transliteration|sem|*š̠}} may have been a separate phoneme in Proto-Semitic.<ref>Dolgopolsky 1999, pp. 19, 69–70</ref>

===[[Prosody (linguistics)|Prosody]]===
Proto-Semitic is reconstructed as having non-phonemic stress on the third [[Mora (linguistics)|mora]] counted from the end of the word,<ref>{{cite book|author=Kogan L.|title=The Semitic languages|chapter=Proto-Semitic Phonetics and Phonology|place=Berlin — Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2011|pages=124|isbn=978-3-11-018613-0}}</ref> i.e. on the second syllable from the end, if it has the structure ''CVC'' or ''CVː'' (where ''C'' is any consonant and ''V'' is any vowel), or on the third syllable from the end, if the second one had the structure ''CV''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Huehnergard J.|title=The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia|chapter=Afro-Asiatic|place=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|pages=232|isbn=978-0-511-39338-9}}</ref>

=== [[Morphophonology]] ===

Proto-Semitic allowed only syllables of the structures ''CVC'', ''CVː'', or ''CV''. It did not permit word-final [[consonant cluster|clusters]] of two or more consonants, clusters of three or more consonants, [[hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]] of two or more vowels, or long vowels in closed syllables.<ref>{{cite book|author=Huehnergard J.|title=The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia|chapter=Afro-Asiatic|place=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|pages=231|isbn=978-0-511-39338-9}}</ref>

Most roots consisted of three consonants. However, it appears that historically the three-consonant roots had developed from two-consonant ones (this is suggested by evidence from internal as well as external reconstruction). To construct a given grammatical form, certain vowels were inserted between the consonants of the root.<ref>{{cite book|author=Moscati S., Spitaler A., Ullendorff E., von Soden W.|title=An Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages| place=Wiesbaden|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz|year=1980|pages=72–73|isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Weninger S.|title=The Semitic languages|chapter=Reconstructive Morphology|place=Berlin — Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2011|pages=152–153|isbn=978-3-11-018613-0}}</ref> There were certain restrictions on the structure of the root: it was impossible to have roots where the first and second consonants were identical, and roots where the first and third consonants were identical were extremely rare.<ref>{{cite book|author=Huehnergard J.|title=The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia|chapter=Afro-Asiatic|place=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|pages=233|isbn=978-0-511-39338-9}}</ref>