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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] b-hebrew Digest, Vol 98, Issue 28

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  • From: "Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] b-hebrew Digest, Vol 98, Issue 28
  • Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:45:41 -0300

david,

it has always been clear to me that many very ancient semitic roots were
bi-consonantal rather than tri-consonantal.

B), $B, GZ, BN, QM, GR, PL, TR, SM, LK, CM, DK, HK, $X, LP, RM, CD, GL, PR,
$L, CP, QB, QR, ....

and that they represent the older semitic root structure. assuming, say, 15-16
consonants this would give some 250 roots, clearly not enough for a
full-fledged language. gradually, a third (and even fourth) consonant was
added, providing some 3000-4000 roots, which are quite sufficient.

the third consonant, added to the two extent consonants, served
to refine and sub-divide the original notion of the verb. clearly the
process was not nearly as uniform as may appear from this description.
nevertheless, i imagine that this process may be used as a timer for the
separation of semitic into its branches/languages/dialects.

then, in later hebrew, a third letter was forced into the original
biconsonantal verbs in order to fit them into the general rule - a kind
of a sodomite bed. the others that did not fit just disappeared.

if i remember correctly, ancient egyptian had a similar consonant-adding
mechanism, which also refined the meaning
of the word.

nir cohen

>>> I was reading the wikipedia entry on arabic and came across this curious
tidbit, any comments?
"With research scientists realized that the triconsonantal root consists
of: 1) two beginning sounds - a rootcell and 2) the third sound which is
a precision element. I.e.: the rootcell f-r has the meaning of scattering in
space. Then, f-r-g means cleaving, f-r-d - making separate, f-r-s - tearing to
pieces; the rootcell f-q means the main idea of absence, so: f-q-d means
loosing, f-q-r means poverty and so on. "

Shavua Tov,

David Kolinsky
Monterey, CA




  • Re: [b-hebrew] b-hebrew Digest, Vol 98, Issue 28, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat., 03/13/2011

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