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  • From: Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Reflection on Randall's Statement
  • Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:24:13 -0800 (PST)

   Randall Buth has written, inter alia:

"... inside a language
family where older, genetically-tight sister languags
have established three-vowel systems."

  Yes, of course the three vowel system is known
from the earliest Akkadian evidence. It is however
interesting to ask whether these early Semites had
indeed only three vowels, or simply chose to compress
their vowel markings to the three.

  The Masoretes, much later, had two additional ones:
Segol and Tseireh, not to mention the differences
bweteen Hatafim and regular vowels.

  And, interestingly, while classical Arabic has only
the three traditional vowels familiar from the Akkadian,
the spoken Arabic has a clear Segol/Tseireh vowel: Khirbeh,
sheikh and so on.

  Hehagav,

  Uri Hurwitz                           Great Neck, NY















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