Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Herman Meester <crazymulgogi AT gmail.com>]

2006/2/1, Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>:
> On 31/01/2006 22:21, Herman Meester wrote:
>
> > ...
> >
> >
> >It is quite possible that Hebrew once had (no longer visible) case
> >endings, in the same way modern standard Arabic (on the higher
> >stylistic level at least) still has.
> >
> >
>
> As I understood it, these endings are never actually used in modern
> Arabic, but only in classical texts, and I suppose a few deliberate
> imitations of classical texts. If I am wrong here, I would be interested
> to know - as I am trying to study Arabic.

They actually are used on a daily basis - for example by newsreaders
and anchormen or -women on radio and television, in formal speeches,
poems, declarations, etc.; and all that in spoken language of course.
Arabic has many "levels", and the "highest" level of speech is
considered to be the level where all case endings are pronounced
correctly. It takes some education, but to pronounce this all
correctly is something people are respected for. It is certainly not
about imitation of classical forms. Often it is obligatory to
pronounce a case ending - if you want it or not. For example where we
find suffixes,
e.g.
dhahabtu li-baytinaa (I went to our house)
ra'aytu baytanaa (I saw our house)

> >However, if we have original case endings that have ossified and no
> >longer function as case endings, such as the word layla לילה, which is
> >probable the "accusative" of layl ליל, cf.  יומם ולילה yomam wa-layla,
> >then this is indicated with a mater lectionis ה hey.
> >
> >The fact that לילה layla, unlike feminine words ending on -a ה, has
> >penultimate stress, proves this. ...
> >
>
> Is the directional he suffix also an ossified accusative ending? This is
> also unstressed, I think, and is also written with a he mater lectionis.

In any case it (for example habbáyta "home", yámma "to the sea") is a
"case ending", whatever the name we attach to it. That particular hey
is not an original consonant.


> >... Third, Hebrew doesn't
> >have real open syllables that have patach. ...
> >
>
> Patah is found in stressed open syllables in words with non-final stress
> like TAXAT "under" and BAYIT "house", and in the dual suffix -AYIM. But
> I suppose such words are basically segolates, with patah instead of
> segol next to a guttural or a yod, and so were originally closed by two
> consonants which became separated by the late addition of an unstressed
> vowel.

Yes:
bayit < *bayt
taxat < *taxt
`enayim < *`aynaym
m'dabbèret < *m(u)dabbèrt
etc.
The segolates are all originally patterns with the ending -VCC ; at
least, that is something undisputed in the field of comp. sem.
linguistics. As there are so many segolates, this is something
important for those who like to count syllables in the psalms.

Herman