Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ISAAC FRIED <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Ari;

If it has a "living tradition" how can it be "completely", or even  
"partially", dead?

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Apr 23, 2009, at 12:07 PM, AMK Judaica wrote:

> Incidentally, for the semiticists/linhuists out there, I'm curious  
> whether you think it is or easier (or fraught with greater  
> pitfalls) to reconstruct an ancient language that still has a  
> living tradition or one that is complete dead.
>
>
>
> -Ari Kinsberg
>
> Brooklyn, NY
>
> > From: amkjudaica AT hotmail.com
> > To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:21:09 -0400
> > Subject: [b-hebrew] FW: Beit/Veit
> >
> >
> > yigal,
> >
> >
> >
> > how do we know the pronounciation of ugaritic and akkadian (or for  
> > that matter, classical arabic)?
> >
> >
> >
> > thanks,
> >
> > ari kinsbeg
> >
> > brooklyn, new york
> >
> > > Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:18:23 +0300
> > > From: leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il
> > > To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > > Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Beit/Veit
> > >
> > > Hi again,
> > >
> > > That was exactly my point: as far as we can tell, Biblical Hebrew  
> > > did not
> > > have a "v" sound. Not only doesn't Arabic, but neither did  
> > > Ugaritc or
> > > Akkadian, which are much closer in time to Biblical Hebrew. So  
> > > yes, Isaac's
> > > wife was something like "Reb'ka" (with what the Mesoretes called  
> > > a Sh'va),
> > > which is how the Greek got "Rebekka".
> > >
> > >
> > > The problem with D and Dh (Th as in "that") is just like B/V -  
> > > since Greek
> > > does not have a Dh sound, we have no way of knowing whether when  
> > > Greek wrote
> > > Delta, they heard Dalet or Dhalet or both. The only thing that we  
> > > know is
> > > that in Biblical Hebrew the difference was not "regular" enough  
> > > to warrent
> > > two letter-signs like in Ugaritic, but by the time of the  
> > > Mesorets, they
> > > were able to include the differences in the BGDKPT rule. The  
> > > same, BTW, is
> > > true for Gimmel, however it was "originally" pronounced.
> > >
> > > Yigal Levin
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Yodan" <yodan AT yodanco.com>
> > > To: "'b-hebrew'" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> > > Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 8:56 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Beit/Veit
> > >
> > >
> > > > Yigal, thank you and thanks to Karl and Kevin.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > A question to you and to others:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Does the fact that Arabic doesn't have a "v" consonant support the
> > > > possibility that Hebrew too didn't have a "v" consonant (we know  
> > > > that VAV
> > > > was pronounced like WAW, and this is still the case in some Hebrew
> > > > "dialects")? If so, perhaps what later became VEIT was  
> > > > pronounced like
> > > > BEIT?
> > > > (e.g. Ribka later became Rivka?).
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > A somewhat related question: Does anyone know if DALED is  
> > > > believed to have
> > > > been pronounced as an emphatic consonant, like in Arabic,  
> > > > perhaps in
> > > > addition to another pronunciation (like "d" or like "th" in  
> > > > "that", as do
> > > > Yemenite Jews)?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Thanks!
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Rivka Sherman-Gold
> > >
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