Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Stephen C. Carlson" <scarlson AT mindspring.com>]

"Walter R. Mattfeld" <mattfeld12 AT charter.net> wrote:
>Are you saying that AT NO TIME EVER did the Hebrews accept into the Hebrew
>language "loanwords" ?

Actually, there is a method for distinguishing between cognates and 
loanwords, and it involves looking at the reconstructed proto-Semitic etymon 
and seeing if the reflexes of the word are consistent or inconsistent with 
the set of sound changes for each language.  Since this has not been done in 
this thread, it is premature to assert that the term in question is a 
loanword.

Stephen

--
Stephen C. Carlson, 
mailto:scarlson AT mindspring.com 
"Poetry speaks of aspirations, and songs chant the words."  Shujing 2.35