Northwest Semitic languages
| Northwest Semitic | |
|---|---|
| Levantine | |
| Geographic distribution | Concentrated in the Middle East |
| Linguistic classification | Afro-Asiatic
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | nort3165 |
Northwest Semitic is a division of the
The term was coined by
Brockelmann's
It is clear that the Taymanitic script expressed a distinct linguistic variety that is not Arabic and not closely related to Hismaic or Safaitic, while it can tentatively be suggested that it was more closely related to Northwest Semitic.[8]
Historical development
The time period for the split of Northwest Semitic from
During the early 1st millennium, the Phoenician language was spread throughout the Mediterranean by
.From the 8th century BC, the use of
After the
Phonology
Sound changes
Phonologically, Ugaritic lost the sound *ṣ́, replacing it with /sˁ/ (ṣ) (the same shift occurred in Canaanite and Akkadian). That this same sound became /ʕ/ in Aramaic (although in Ancient Aramaic, it was written with qoph), suggests that Ugaritic is not the parent language of the group. An example of this sound shift can be seen in the word for earth: Ugaritic /ʔarsˁ/ (’arṣ), Punic /ʔarsˁ/ (’arṣ), Tiberian Hebrew /ʔɛrɛsˁ/ (’ereṣ), Biblical Hebrew /ʔarsˁ/ (’arṣ) and Aramaic /ʔarʕaː/ (’ar‘ā’).
The
) respectively. The effect of this sound shift can be seen by comparing the following words:| shift | Ugaritic | Aramaic | Biblical Hebrew | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ð (ḏ)→/z/ | 𐎏𐎐𐎁 ḏanabu |
דנבא danḇā |
זנב zānāḇ |
tail |
| *θ ( ṯ)→/ʃ/ (š )
|
𐎘𐎍𐎘 ṯalāṯu |
תלת təlāṯ |
שלש šālōš |
three |
| *θ̣ ( ẓ)→/sˤ/ (ṣ )
|
𐎑𐎍𐎍 ẓillu |
טללא ṭillālā |
צל ṣēl |
shadow |
Vowels
Proto-Northwest Semitic had three contrastive vowel qualities and a length distinction, resulting in six vocalic phonemes: *a, *ā, *i, *ī, *u, and *ū. While *aw, *ay, *iw, *iy, *uw, and *uy are often referred to as diphthongs, they do not seem to have had a different status as such, rather being a normal sequence of a short vowel and a glide.
Consonants
| Type | Manner | Voicing | Labial | Interdental | Alveolar | Lateral | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar/Uvular | Pharyngeal | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obstruent | Stop
|
voiceless
|
*p [p] | t ]
|
*k [k] | ||||||
| emphatic | *ṭ [tˤ] | *q/ḳ [kˤ] | *ʼ, ˀ [ʔ] | ||||||||
voiced
|
*b [b] | d ]
|
*g [ɡ] | ||||||||
Fricative
|
voiceless
|
*ṯ [θ] | *s [t͡s] | ɬ ]
|
*š [s~ʃ] | *ḫ [x~χ] | *ḥ [ħ] | *h [h] | |||
| emphatic | *ṯ̣/θ̣/ẓ [t͡θˤ] | *ṣ [t͡sˤ] | *ṣ́/ḏ̣ [t͡ɬˤ] | ||||||||
voiced
|
*ḏ [ð] | *z [d͡z] | *ġ/ǵ [ɣ~ʁ] | *ʻ, ˤ [ʕ] | |||||||
| Resonant | Trill | r ]
|
|||||||||
Approximant
|
*w [w] | l ]
|
*y [j] | ||||||||
Nasal
|
*m [m] | n ]
|
|||||||||
Suchard proposes that: "*s, both from original *s and original *ṯ, then shifted further back to a postalveolar *š, while deaffrication of *ts and *dz to *s and *z gave these phonemes their Hebrew values, as well as merging original *dz with original *ḏ. In fact, original *s may have been realized as anything between [s] and [ʃ]; both values are attested in foreign transcriptions of early Northwest Semitic languages".[citation needed]
Emphatics
In Proto-Northwest Semitic the emphatics were articulated with pharyngealization. Its shift to backing (as opposed to Proto-Semitic glottalization of emphatics) has been considered a Central Semitic innovation.[12]
According to Faber, the assimilation *-ṣt->-ṣṭ- in the Dt stem in Hebrew (hiṣṭaddēḳ ‘he declared himself righteous’) suggests backing rather than glottalization. The same assimilation is attested in Aramaic (yiṣṭabba ‘he will be moistened’).
Grammar
Nouns
Three cases can be reconstructed for Proto-Northwest Semitic nouns (nominative, accusative, genitive), two genders (masculine, feminine) and three numbers (single, dual, plural).[13]
| Number/case | ‘dog(s)’ (m.) | ‘bitch(es)’ (f.) |
|---|---|---|
| sg.nominative | *kalbu(m) | *kalbatu(m) |
| sg.genitive | *kalbi(m) | *kalbati(m) |
| sg.accusative | *kalba(m) | *kalbata(m) |
| du.nominative | *kalbā(na) | *kalbatā(na) |
| du.genitive/accusative | *kalbay(na) | *kalbatay(na) |
| pl.nominative | *kalabū(na) | *kalabātu(m) |
| pl.genitive/accusative | *kalabī(na) | *kalabāti(m) |
Pronouns
Proto-Northwest Semitic pronouns had 2 genders and 3 grammatical cases.
| independent
nominative |
enclitic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | genitive | accusative | ||
| 1.sg. | *ʔanāku/ *ʔana | *-tu | *-ī, *-ya | -nī |
| 2.sg.masc. | *ʔanta | *-ka | *-ta | |
| 2.sg.fem. | *ʔanti | *-ki | *-ti | |
| 3.sg.masc. | *hūʔa | *-hu | *-a | |
| 3.sg.fem. | *hīʔa | *-hā | *-at | |
| 1.pl. | *naḥnu/ *naḥnā | *-nā | ||
| 2.pl.masc. | *ʔantum | *-kum | *-tum | |
| 2.pl.fem. | *ʔantin | *-kin | *-tin | |
| 3.pl.masc. | *hum(ū) | *-hum | *-ū | |
| 3.pl.fem. | *hin(na) | *-hin | *-ā | |
Numerals
Reconstruction of Proto-Northwest Semitic numbers.
| Number | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| One | *ʔaḥadum | *ʔaḥattum |
| Two | *ṯnāna | *ṯintāna |
| Three | *ṯalāṯatum | *ṯalāṯum |
| Four | *ʔarbaʕatum | *ʔarbaʕum |
| Five | *ḫamisatum | *ḫamisum |
| Six | *siṯṯatum | *siṯṯum |
| Seven | *sabʕatum | *sabʕum |
| Eight | *ṯamāniyatum | *ṯamāniyum |
| Nine | *tisʕatum | *tisʕum |
| Ten | *ʕaśaratum | *ʕaśrum |
Verbs
| Person/gender/number | Suffix conjugation (Perfect) | Meaning | Prefix conjugations (Imperfect) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3m.sg | *qaṭal-a | 'he has killed' | *ya-qṭul(-u/-a) | 'he will kill' |
| 3f.sg. | *qaṭal-at | 'she has killed' | *ta-qṭul(-u/-a) | 'she will kill' |
| 2m.sg. | *qaṭal-ta | 'you have killed' | *ta-qṭul(-u/-a) | 'you will kill' |
| 2f.sg | *qaṭal-ti | 'you have killed' | *ta-qṭul-ī(-na) | 'you will kill' |
| 1sg. | *qaṭal-tu | 'I have killed' | *ʔa-qṭul(-u/-a) | 'I will kill' |
| 3m.pl. | *qaṭal-ū | 'they have killed' | *ya-qṭul-ū(-na) | 'they will kill' |
| 3f.pl. | *qaṭal-ā | 'they have killed' | *ta-qṭul-na | 'they will kill' |
| 2m.pl. | *qaṭal-tum | 'you have killed' | *ta-qṭul-ū(-na) | 'you will kill' |
| 2f.pl | *qaṭal-tin | 'you have killed' | *ta-qṭul-na | 'you will kill' |
| 1pl. | *qaṭal-nā | 'we have killed' | *na-qṭul(-u/-a) | 'we will kill' |
The G fientive or G-stem (Hebrew qal) is the basic, most common, unmarked stem. The G-stem expresses events. The vowel of the prefix of the prefix conjugations in Proto-Northwest Semitic was *-a- and the stem was *-qṭul- or *-qṭil-, as in *ya-qṭul-u 'he will kill', while the stem of the suffix conjugation had two *a vowels, as in *qaṭal-a 'he has killed'.
The G stative is like the fientive but expressing states instead of events. The prefix conjugation of stative roots, the vowel of the prefixes was *-i- and it contained and *a vowel, e.g. *yi-kbad-u 'he will become heavy', while the second vowel of the suffix conjugation was either *-i-, as in *kabid-a 'he is/was/will be heavy', or *-u-, as in *ʕamuq-a 'it is/was/will be deep'. Whether the G-stem stative suffix conjugation has *i or *u in the stem is lexically determined.
The N-stem (Hebrew nip̄ʕal) is marked by a prefixed *n(a)-. It is mediopassive which is a grammatical voice that subsumes the meanings of both the middle voice and the passive voice. In other words, it expresses a range of meanings where the subject is the patient of the verb, e.g. passive, medial, and reciprocal. The stem of the suffix conjugation is *naqṭaland the stem of the prefix conjugations is *-nqaṭil-; as is the case with stative Gstem verbs, the prefix vowel is *-i-, resulting in forms like *yi-nqaṭil-u 'he will be killed'.
The D-stem (Hebrew piʕel) is marked by gemination of the second radical in all forms. It has a range of different meanings, mostly transitive. The stem of the suffix conjugation is *qaṭṭil-, and the same stem is used for the prefix conjugations. It is not clear whether the Proto-Northwest-Semitic prefix vowel should be reconstructed as *-u-, the form inherited from Proto-Semitic (i.e. *yuqaṭṭil-u), or as *-a-, which is somewhat supported by evidence from Ugaritic and Hebrew (*yaqaṭṭil-u).
The C-stem (Hebrew hip̄ʕil) more often than not expresses a causative meaning. The most likely reconstructions are *haqṭil- (from older *saqṭil-) for the stem of the suffix conjugation and *-saqṭil- for the stem of the prefix conjugations. The reconstructed prefix vowel is the same as that of the D-stem, and similarly, the participle is to be reconstructed as *musaqṭilum.
All of the stems listed here, except the N-stem, could bring forth further derivation. The "internal passive stems" (Gp, Dp, and Cp; Hebrew passive qal, puʕal, and hɔp̄ʕal) aren't marked by affixes, but express their passivity through a different vowel pattern. The Gp prefix conjugation can be reconstructed as *yu-qṭal-u 'he will be killed'. Reflexive or reciprocal meanings can be expressed by the t-stems, formed with a *t which was either infixed after the first radical (Gt, Ct) or prefixed before it (tD).
The precise reconstruction are uncertain.
| G fientive | G stative | D | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| perfect | *qaṭal-a | *kabid-a | *qaṭṭil-a | *ha-qṭil-a |
| imperfect | *ya-qṭul-u | *yi-kbad-u | *yV-qaṭṭil-u | *yVsa-qṭil-u |
| participle | *qāṭil-um | *kabid-um | *mu-qaṭṭil-um | *musa-qṭil-um |
| Gp | N | Dp | Cp | |
| perfect | *quṭVl-a | *na-qṭal-a | *quṭṭVl-a | *hu-qṭVl-a |
| imperfect | *yu-qṭal-u | *yin-qaṭil-u | *yu-qVṭṭal-u | *yusV-qṭal-u |
| participle | *qaṭīl-um, *qaṭūl-um | *na-qṭal-um or *mun-qaṭil-um? | *mu-qVṭṭal-um | *musV-qṭal-um |
| Gt | tD | Ct | ||
| perfect | *qtaṭVl-a? | *ta-qaṭṭVl-a | *sta-qṭVl-a? | |
| imperfect | *yi-qtaṭVl-u | *yVt-qaṭṭVl-u | *yVsta-qṭVl-u | |
| participle | *mu-qtaṭVl-um | *mut-qaṭṭVl-um | *musta-qṭVl-um |
Conjunctions
- *wa, 'and'
- *pa/ʔap, 'and then, and so'
- *ʔaw, 'or'
- *huʼāti and *hiʼāti, direct object markers
- *ha, 'to, for'
- *ka also *kī, (and *kaj?) 'like, as'
- *bal, 'without, non-'
- *bi, 'in, with'
- *la, 'to, for' (dat/dir)
- *min(V), 'from'
- *ʕad(aj), 'up to, until'
- *ʕal(aj), 'on, against'
- *jiθ, 'there is/are'
Notes
- .
- ^ a b The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, Chapter V, page 425
- ^ Kurzgefasste vergleichende Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen, Elemente der Laut- und Formenlehre (1908), quote "Das Westsemitische gliedert sich in zwei Hauptgruppen, das Nord- und das Südwestsemitische... Das Nordwestsemitische umfaßt das Kanaanäische und das Aramäische...Das Südwest semitische umfaßt das Arabische und Abessinische."
- ^ Linguist List Central Semitic composite tree (with Aramaic and Canaanite grouped together in Northwest Semitic, and Arabic and Old South Arabian as sisters) Archived 2009-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
Linguist List bibliography of sources for composite tree Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
Rubin, Aaron D. 2007. The Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages, Language and Linguistics Compass, vol. 1.
Huehnergard, John. 2004. "Afro-Asiatic," The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages (Cambridge, pp. 138–159).
Faber, Alice. 1997. "Genetic Subgrouping of the Semitic Languages," The Semitic Languages (Routledge, pp. 3–15)
Huehnergard, John. 1991. "Remarks on the Classification of the Northwest Semitic Languages," The Balaam Text from Deir 'Alla Re-evaluated (Brill, pp. 282–293).
Huehnergard, John. 1992. "Languages of the Ancient Near East," The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Volume 4, pp. 155–170.
Voigt, Rainer M. 1987. "The Classification of Central Semitic," Journal of Semitic Studies 32:1–19.
Goldenberg, Gideon. 1977. "The Semitic Languages of Ethiopia and Their Classification," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 40:461–507.
Ethnologue Central Semitic entry (with Arabic and Canaanite grouped together against Aramaic)
The Ethnologue classification is based on Hetzron, Robert. 1987. "Semitic Languages," The World's Major Languages (Oxford, pp. 654–663).
The older grouping of Arabic with South Semitic was "based on cultural and geographical principles", not on principles of empirical historical linguistics (Faber, 1997, pg. 5). "However, more recently, [Arabic] has been grouped instead with Canaanite and Aramaic, under the rubric Central Semitic..., and this classification is certainly more appropriate for Ancient North Arabian" (Macdonald, M.C.A. 2004. "Ancient North Arabian," The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages Cambridge, pp. 488–533. Quote on pg. 489). - ^ "Semitic". Ethnologue. SIL International. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
- ^ Huehnergard, John (1995). "What is Aramaic?". Aram (7): 282.
- ISBN 9781614517269.
- ^ Kootstra, Fokelien. "The Language of the Taymanitic Inscriptions and its Classification".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Edwin JEANS (1860). A Catalogue of Books, in all Branches of Literature, both Ancient & Modern ... on sale at E. Jeans's, bookseller ... Norwich. J. Fletcher. pp. 33–.
- ISBN 9789004369214.
- ISBN 9780429655388.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9783110186130.
- ISBN 978-90-04-39025-6.
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