Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Use and Misuse of Waw in Verb Tenses

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Use and Misuse of Waw in Verb Tenses
  • Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 07:45:38 +0200

Dear list-memebers,

For the benefit of those following this discussion I will say a few words about "semantic meaning" (uncancellable meaning), which seems to be a strange animal in the minds of many. However, the concept is not strange at all but very simple.

In Hebrew we have the verb $YR ("to sing"), which signals an action which is durative and dynamic (dynamic=change). Regardless of whether this root is used as an infinitive, a participle, a WAYYIQTOL, or as a YIQTOL these two properties are always the same. We can say that this root is marked for durativity and dynamicity, and these properties can never be taken away from this root. This is semantic (uncancellable) meaning, and the existence of this root (and thousands of other roots with similar characteristics) *proves* (is not only evidence of) that uncancellable semantic meaning can be pinpointed in a dead language.

The default interpretation of the root ML) is "to be full," which signals stativity. However, in clauses where this verb takes an object or there is an adverbial, the meaning can be "to fill.". This shows that stativity applied to ML) is not semantic meaning, but only conversational pragmatic implicature (it can change). In fact, any Hebrew verb whose default interpretation is stativity can have a fientive interpretation as well in other contexts. Thus, stativity in Hebrew is not a semantic property.

The important question in connection with this discussion is whether it is possible to find semantic meaning in the WAYYIQTOL and the YIQTOL, and in that case, whether this semantic meaning is similar or different. However, that semantic meaning can be pinpointed in a dead language is beyond question.



Best regards

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page