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[Mark Allen Peterson]

This is way off topic but I'm desperately posting it to all my language lists

In three weeks I need to give three one-hour lectures on historical
linguistics.  I've done this so many times with Indo-European materials I
can do it with my eyes closed.

BUT-- my current crop of students are all native speakers of Arabic.  I
would like to give examples from Afro-Asiatic rather than, or in addition
to, Indo-European.  Alas, the only Afro-Asiatic language I know is Arabic
and that none-too-well as yet.

Is there anyone out there who can offer:

1) a very simple introductory article on Afro-Asiatic languages suitable
for undergraduate anthropology and linguistics majors

2) A good overview of the current state of the literature for me?

Thanks,

Mark Allen Peterson
American University in Cairo