Due to the presumed distance of relationship between the various branches, many scholars prefer to refer to Afroasiatic as a "linguistic phylum" rather than a "language family".
dˈuː tə ðə pɹɪzˈuːmd dˈɪstəns ʌv ɹᵻlˈeɪʃənʃˌɪp bᵻtwˌiːn ðə vˈɛɹiəs bɹˈæntʃᵻz, mˈɛni skˈɑːlɚz pɹɪfˈɜː tə ɹᵻfˈɜː tʊ ˌæfɹoʊˌeɪsɪˈæɾɪk æz ˈeɪ "lɪŋɡwˈɪstɪk fˈaɪləm" ɹˈæðɚ ðˌænə "lˈæŋɡwɪdʒ fˈæmɪli".