Is Hebrew an Asian language

Answer 1

Traditional Jewish Answer

According to Jewish traditional linguistics, there are just three inclusive language branches: those of the descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem (Genesis ch.10).

Answer 2

The simple answer is, yes, it is an Afro-Asiatic language.

However, unlike European languages which are almost all of the same language tree (excepting Basque, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Maltese, and Turkish), Asian languages are from a vast variety of trees so the term "Asian language" is an oversimplification. The Afro-Asiatic Tree, of which Hebrew is a part, is a dominant branch in the Middle East and North Africa (excepting Turkish, Kurdish, and Farsi).

To show that the term "Asian Language" makes little sense, see the following discussion of "Asian Languages": Farsi and most South Asian languages are Indo-European. Burmese and Chinese are of the Sino-Tibetan Tree. Thai is of the Tai-Kadai Tree. Laotian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian are of the Austroasiatic Tree. Tagalog and Bahasa Indones are Austronesian. Korean and Japanese have their own individual trees and Central Asia is predominantly covered by Altaic languages.

If you are asking if Hebrew is an Asian Language or a European Language, it should be noted that the majority of linguists do not believe Modern Hebrew to be an Indo-European Language. Those who do make the assertion that it is usually do so in an attempt to delegitimize the State of Israel and not on a linguistics basis. (If Hebrew is a European language, then Jews belong in Europe as opposed to the Middle East the thought patterns go. However, nobody tells the Iranians who have a proven Indo-European language to go "back to Europe".) Hebrew does use a number of Indo-European loanwords, but the grammar and general vocab are sufficiently Semitic for it to belong to the Afro-Asiatic Tree.

Answer 3

According to Jewish traditional linguistics, there are just three inclusive language branches: those of the descendants of Japheth, Ham and Shem (Genesis ch.10). The first of those three is the Indo-European. The second includes East Asia, Native Americans, Austronesia, Africa, and others. The third group is the Semitic languages, which include Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and a few others.