Biblical Hebrew Forum

["wattswestmaas" <wattswestmaas AT eircom.net>]

Well in response to what was written below it is one of the most fundemental
realisations that there are basically three classes of nouns:  Primitive
(10%), nouns derived from nouns(30%) nouns derived from verbs (70%)?

As for the abstract/concrete mindset  --  Why do think that this is
outdated? I am curious.


I would add that the abstract/concrete-mindset idea seems to be a bit
outdated, or at least the lines are more blurred than they were a century
ago.  I would also quibble just a bit with the idea that most nouns are
"derived" from verbs; it seems rather to be the case that both a noun and a
verb may be "derived" (if that's the applicable word) from a common
root-set,
e.g. DBR can be either a noun or a verb depending on what the speaker/writer
wanted to say/write.  I don't think it's really the case that DFBFR is
derived from DIB."R, but rather they both project from a common entry in the
mental lexicon and are surface realized with the appropriate pronunciation
according to what the speaker intended.

Is that obfuscatory enough?????