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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: stoneyb <stoneyb AT touchwood.net>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] comparative historical linguistics was Re:Nun-Tav-Vetroot
  • Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:17:22 -0500

If you carry a tag saying Londoner, then it identifies, or singles you out, as in German: ER ist aus London. If you cuddle a poodle, then the tag identifies you as: they ARE from London.

In Hebrew it is the inserted (infixed) personal pronouns that make the distinction between a verb (act) and a noun (object). If they refer to the object itself, then the word is a "noun", and if they refer to external causative bodies (actors, agents), then the word is a "verb".

Hebrew starts out with a root, say the root GDL or the root GML. The root refers to a material state. I consider the root as being a meaningful composition of uni-consonantal roots, or existence markers. The letter L in both roots is such a marker indicating elevation or loftiness. The sound A is just a puff of air between two consonants (fancifully put, its semantic field has zero measure). Hence in speech the roots may be pronounced as GADAL and GAMAL.
The sounds U (more or less as in boot) and I (more or less as in beet) are universal personal pronouns (possibly of onomatopoeic origin) or markers of identity, and so are their (latter) variants O and E.

Now, he root GDL means 'big'. In the word GDIL=GD+I+L the 'I' marker identifies the object itself, and hence 'gdil' is a noun. Indeed, 'gdil' is an extended tassel---a big outgrowth. The word GDILI=GD+I+L +I has two such identifiers one for the object and one for its owner---me, and so GDILI is 'my gdil.' In the same way, GDILO=GD+I+L +O is 'his gdil.' By the same pattern GMUL=GM+U+L is 'reward'.

In the word HIGDIL=HI+GD+I+L, which is of the Hifil, הפעיל, paradigm, the two identity markers refers to actor 'HI' causing actor 'I' to be in the state GDL. Hence HIGDIL is a verb.
Yet, GUDAL=G+U+DAL may mean 'the thumb,' or the big digit of the hand, or it may mean 'he was grown'

On Nov 28, 2006, at 7:50 AM, stoneyb wrote:



-----Original Message-----
From: Isaac Fried [mailto:if AT math.bu.edu]
All a pronoun is is a universal identity marker, and is therefore
meaningful in all the cases I brought up.

I don't know what a "universal identity marker" is, but a pronoun by
definition must act both syntactically and semantically as a substitute
for a contextually identificable noun to which it refers. "-er" does
not. It can transform a verb into a noun representing the verb's agent
(play > player), or a noun representing an activity into another noun
representing one who pursues that activity (football > footballer), or a
noun representing a place into another noun representing an inhabitant
or native of that place (London > Londoner). But it can't refer to a
noun and it can't act as a noun.

Translated into programming jargon: a pronoun is a variable, "-er" is a
function.

Notice that the equality does not say er=are.
Well, it appears from your address that you're the mathematician, but
the equation you presented was "prison+er=prison+are" - if I subtract
"prison" from both sides "er=are" is exactly what I get!

Stoney Breyer
Writer/Touchwood, Inc.



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