Derived stem

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Derived stems (also called D stems) are a

binyan
(literally meaning "construction"), and sometimes correspond with additional semantic meaning such as passive or causative action.

Semitic languages make extensive use of

conjugational paradigm. As a result, these derived stems are considered part of the system of morphological derivation, and not conjugation or inflection
.

Typically, one stem is associated with the ordinary simple active verbs while others may be canonically associated with other grammatical functions such as the passive, the causative, the intensive, the reflexive, etc., or combinations thereof. These functions should not be taken as universal or absolute, but are better understood as relational, depending on the particular source of the derived stem.[3] These grammatical functions are also not present in all Semitic languages. Some Neo-Aramaic languages, for example, have only two stems, one for monosyllabic verbs and the other for disyllabic verbs, with hardly any cases of related verbs in each stem.[3][4]

Synchronic examples

For example, in

geminate
). Thus:

  • In the basic stem, "he wrote" in Arabic is "kataba", and in Hebrew is "katav".
  • In a causative stem, "he dictated" in Arabic is "ʔaktaba" and in Hebrew is "hiḵtīv".
  • In the passive stem, "it was written" in Arabic is "inkataba" and in Hebrew is "niḵtav".
  • In a reflexive stem, "he corresponded" in Arabic is "kātaba" and in Hebrew is "hitkatːēv".

The following two tables show the full paradigm of templates for the nine most common Arabic stems and the seven most common Hebrew stems, and illustrate some of the different meanings and functions that stems can have.

The first column gives the traditional stem abbreviation used by Comparative Semiticists and the second column gives typical stem names used in Arabic and Hebrew grammars; the Arabic system uses Roman numerals, and the Hebrew uses binyanim forms with the root letters √p-ʕ-l (with p sometimes becoming f by begadkefat). The next columns give the canonical functions of each stem, and their templates (the three Cs stand in for the three Consonants of the root, and V stands for some Vowel). Finally, the meaning and form of the stems with the √k-t-b root is given in the 3rd person masculine singular perfect, which lacks inflectional affixes.[3]

Standard Arabic[3][5]
Stem Form Grammatical Function Template Meaning √k-t-b ك-ت-ب
G I base CaCVCa he wrote KaTaBa كتب
Gt VIII reflexive of G iCtaCaCa he copied iKtaTaBa => iKtaBa اكتتب => اكتب
D II multiplicative, transitivizing CaCːaCa he made to write KaTːaBa كتتب
tD V reflexive of D taCaCːaCa - -
L III conative, associative CāCaCa he corresponded KāTaBa كاتب
tL VI reflexive of L taCāCaCa he exchanged letters taKāTaBa تكاتب
C or Š IV causative ʔaCCaCa he dictated ʔaKTaBa أكتب
Št X reflexive of Š istaCCaCa he asked to write istaKTaBa استكتب
N VII passive, reflexive of G inCaCaCa he subscribed inKaTaBa انكتب
Hebrew[6][7]
Stem Binyan Grammatical Function Template Meaning √k-t-b כ-ת-ב
G qal קל or paʕal פעל base CaCVC he wrote KaTaV כתב
D piʕel פיעל transitivizing, intensive CiCːēC he addressed/inscribed[8][9] KiTːēV כיתב
Du puʕal פועל passive of D CuCːaC he was addressed/inscribed KuTːaV כותב
tD hitpaʕel התפעל reflexive of D hitCaCːēC he corresponded hitKaTːēV התכתב
C or Š hifʕil הפעיל causative hiCCīC he dictated hiḴTīV הכתיב
Cu or Šu hufʕal הופעל passive of Š huCCaC it was dictated huḴTaV הוכתב
N nifʕal נפעל passive/reflexive of G niCCaC it was written niḴTaV נכתב

The tD Stem for Arabic is not given for the √k-t-b root because it does not occur, illustrating that not each root has an actual form for each stem; in fact, √k-t-b has a more complete stem paradigm than many other roots.

In each Semitic language, the number of derived stems is different. In Hebrew, both biblical and modern, there are

Modern Aramaic languages have two,[4][3]
and so on.

Comparative morphology

There are different ways of naming stems, most systems classify stems by their morphological patterns but others simply number them. In Arabic, a system using Roman numerals is frequently used, as well as a more traditional system where the forms with the root letters √f-ʕ-l (roughly meaning "to do") are used as names of each stem. Hebrew also uses this latter system, although the cognate root used is √p-ʕ-l (with p sometimes surfacing as f by begadkefat). In Akkadian, forms with the √p-r-s root "to decide" are most often used. The convention using Latin letter abbreviations (such as G, Dt and Š) is a morphological shorthand used most often by comparative Semiticists, and emphasizes the relationships between stems within and between languages.

  • G-Stem is the base stem, from the German Grund ("ground")
  • D-Stem typically has a Doubled second root letter
  • L-Stem typically Lengthens the first vowel
  • N-Stem has a prefix with N
  • C- or Š-Stem often has a Causative meaning and has a prefix with Š (ʃ pronounced like English sh), S, H, or ʔ (the glottal stop).
  • t Stems (such as tG, tD, and Št) have an affix with t.

The following table compares some of the important stems of six different Semitic languages:

comparative method and internal reconstruction, the Grammatical Function and Template for the Proto-Semitic derived stems have been reconstructed.[6] The asterisk
(*) in the Proto-Semitic Template column indicates that these forms are hypothetical and reconstructed.

Basics of Semitic Verbal Derivation[6]
Stem Proto-Semitic Function

(Reconstructed)

Proto-Semitic

Template

East Semitic Northwest Semitic Arabic South Semitic
Akkadian Bibl. Hebrew Syriac Std. Arabic Geʿez Shehri[12]
G base *CaCVCa iCaCːVC CaCVC CCVC CaCVCa CaCVCa CVCVC
tG reflexive/mediopassive of G *tCVCVCa iCtaCːiC - ʔitCCiC iCtaCaCa taCaCCa əCteˈCeC
D multiplicative/transitivizing of G *CaCːaCa uCaCːaC CiCːēC CaCːiC CaCːaCa CaCːaCa -
tD reflexive of D *tCaCːVCa uCtaCːaC hitCaCːēC ʔitCaCːaC taCaCːaCa - -
L associative/intensive/causative - - - - CāCaCa CāCaCa eˈCoCəC
tL reflexive/mediopassive of L - - - - taCāCaCa - -
Š causative *šaCCaCa ušaCCaC hiCCīC ʔaCCiC ʔaCCaCa ʔaCCaCa eCˈCeC
Št reflexive/mediopassive of Š *štaCCVCa uštaCCaC - ʔitːaCCaC istaCCaCa ʔastaCCaCa ŝəCˈCeC
ŠtG causative of tG *šatCVCVCa uštaCaCːaC - - - - ŝəˈCeCəC
N reciprocal/passive of G *nCaCVCa inCaCːiC niCCaC - inCaCaCa - -

Because the L Stem is only attested in the geographically and genetically proximate Arabic and South Semitic languages, it is thought to be a later innovation, not present in Proto-Semitic. By contrast, since separate but morphologically similar Št and ŠtG Stems are attested in the relatively distantly related Akkadian and Shehri, these are posited to have been different stems in Proto-Semitic, but to have merged in most later Semitic languages.[6]

References

  1. JSTOR 4178229
    .
  2. ^ a b Andrew Kingsbury Simpson (2009). "The Origin and Development of Nonconcatenative Morphology" (PDF). Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bat-El, Outi. "Semitic Templates." The Blackwell Companion to Phonology. van Oostendorp, Marc, Colin J. Ewen, Elizabeth Hume and Keren Rice (eds). Blackwell Publishing, 2011. Blackwell Reference Online.
  4. ^ .
  5. .
  6. ^
    OCLC 787653677.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  7. ^ Ussishkin, Adam P. (2000). The Emergence of Fixed Prosody (PDF) (Ph.D.). UC Santa Cruz.
  8. ^ "המונח במילוני האקדמיה | מונחי האקדמיה". terms.hebrew-academy.org.il. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  9. ^ "'כִּתֵּב' on Morfix Dictionary". www.morfix.co.il. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  10. ISSN 0022-4480
    .
  11. ^ Wright, W. (1896). A grammar of the Arabic language: translated from the German of Caspari, and edited with numerous additions and corrections (PDF). Cambridge.
  12. OCLC 612174986.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )

External links