Central Semitic languages
| Central Semitic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | West Asia |
| Linguistic classification | Afro-Asiatic
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | cent2236 |
The Central Semitic languages comprise one of the two groups of West Semitic languages, alongside Modern South Arabian languages and Ethiopian Semitic languages. They are therefore of the Semitic phylum of the Afroasiatic language family. The group is spoken across much of the Arabic peninsula and north into the Levant region.
Central Semitic can itself be further divided into two groups: Arabic and Northwest Semitic. Northwest Semitic languages largely fall into the Canaanite languages (such as Ammonite, Phoenician and Hebrew) and Aramaic.