Due to concerns that "Afroasiatic" could imply the inclusion of all languages spoken across Africa and Asia, the name "Afrasian" () was proposed by Igor Diakonoff in 1980.
dˈuː tə kənsˈɜːnz ðˈæt "ˌæfɹoʊˌeɪsɪˈæɾɪk" kʊd ɪmplˈaɪ ðɪ ɪŋklˈuːʒən ʌv ˈɔːl lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz spˈoʊkən əkɹˌɑːs ˈæfɹɪkə ænd ˈeɪʒə, ðə nˈeɪm "ɐfɹˈeɪʒən" wʌz pɹəpˈoʊzd baɪ ˈiːɡoːɹ dˈaɪəkˌɑːnɔf ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi.