On Some Alleged Developments of the Proto-Semitic Phoneme/T/In Iron Age Canaanite Dialects (original) (raw)
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The Semitic languages have been considered an extremely interesting field in phonology since the works of Jakobson (1957) and Jakobson (1963). In this thesis we discuss some major topics in Semitic phonology, considering in parallel the most recent developments in phonological theory. The goal is to achieve interesting conclusions about these topics relying on results of formal phonology, showing the strong interface between theory and analysis. The introduction (chapter 1) contains the theorical background of this entire work, generative phonology, a synthetic overview on the Semitic languages taken into account (Hebrew, Arabic, Tigre), and a brief exposition of some descriptive problems in Semitic phonetics and phonology. Chapter 2 presents the principles and the necessity for phonological theory in linguistics, following its historical development from the origins (Trubetzkoy) to the `Generative Revolution'. Then, we explain the importance of phonological rules and the way they interact/conflict with constraints. An example application of rules and constraints to Tiberian Hebrew is included too. Chapter 3 focuses on one major problem in contemporary phonology, namely opacity. After presenting the phenomenon 'per se' and in its manifestation in various non-Semitic langugages, we deal with the particular case of Tiberian Hebrew spirantization, comparing various theorical proposals and considering possible solutions. We discuss various formal approaches, namely derivational, stratal, and ``morphological''. We refuse the hypothesis that opacity is not a real phonological problem, because empirical data show phonological opacity is well attested across the languages of the world and, probably not being always solvable in terms of morphological uniformity principles, a neat morphological approach is clearly uneconomical and inadequate. Chapter 4 offers a description of Semitic `gutturals', mainly from an articulatory point of view. Then, the discussion focuses on the proposal of describing the gutturals as a `universal' natural class. This proposal is in contrast with others, like that which considers the gutturals not a natural class as intended by McCarthy, but as a series of patternings specific to Semitic and some non-Semitic languages, ruled out not by universal availability, but according to phonetic feature and parameters. After a discussion on some theorical and descriptive problems of the first proposal, we conclude that formalization of gutturals-related and gutturals-induced processes, although descriptively accurate to a great extent, cannot justify the existence of the guttural as a universal natural class, but rather as a series of language-specific patternings partly due to phonetic properties of the gutturals. Chapter 5 is a research proposal on a recently detected problem in Semitic phonology, namely the occurrence of [tħ-] and [th-] in Tigre. Since this language generally does not allow initial clusters, it is problematic, both at a theorical and at a typological level, to explain those forms (mainly in the imperfect inflection) which present the initial clusters mentioned above. We think the adoption of a uniform model to explain all the phenomena common to Tigre and the other Semitic languages taken in consideration is necessary for an effective further research.
The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels
In historical linguistics, the prevailing view is that sound change is phonetically regular: within one language variety, the same sound in the same phonetic environment always undergoes the same sound changes, regardless of other factors like word meaning or part of speech. Many of the sound changes previously identified for Biblical Hebrew, however, seem to operate irregularly or only affect certain categories of words. Earlier attempts to make sense of these processes are either hindered by outdated assumptions about the nature of Hebrew, rely on implausible appeals to analogy, or offer explanations that are contradicted by other Hebrew data. This dissertation takes a fresh, holistic look at the sound changes affecting the vowels of Biblical Hebrew, starting from the reconstructed Proto-Northwest-Semitic stage. The sound changes investigated include the Canaanite Shift (*ā > *ō), the contraction of diphthongs and triphthongs, (pre-)tonic and pausal lengthening, changes of *i > *a and *a > *i, and the loss of word-final vowels. Additionally, the interaction of these sound laws with various morphological changes is examined in a concise historical morphology of Biblical Hebrew. The conclusion is that purely phonetic conditions can indeed be established for practically all sound changes affecting the Biblical Hebrew vowels.
La présence de termes hébraïques dans les langues vernaculaires des communautés juives d'Afrique du Nord constitue un élément d'importance pour l'étude historique de la langue hébraïque. On repère en effet deux démarches a priori antithétiques. D'une part, au niveau oral des langues non juives, l'insertion de mots hébraïques entraîne la création de néologismes. Mais, d'autre part, ces apports étrangers à la langue locale ont permis de préserver les strates archaïques de l'hébreu post-biblique. Dans cet article, nous confrontons les langues vernaculaires d'Afrique du Nord aux traditions de lecture de la Thora, aux meilleurs manuscrits de la Mishna et autres documents d'époque dignes de foi. S'impose alors à nous la fidélité et la précision de la phonologie comme de la morphologie de l'hébreu intégré au judéo-arabe tunisien. Dans le champ de la phonologie, on remarque que l'accent tonique pénultième -caractéristique de l'hébreu ancien -perdure dans le judéo-tunisien. D'autres exemples viennent étayer notre thèse: ainsi le redoublement du resh et la consonne vav, le «v» se prononçant «w». Dans le champ de la morphologie, deux exemples témoignent de deux stades differents dans l'élaboration de l'hébreu ancien: l'emploi du pluriel «-iyot» (yeshiviyot), les formes pausales telles que (se¨uda mafsaqet et non mafseqet). D'autres formes attestent des traditions plus anciennes de l'hébreu: Ìomesh, kummar, afiqomen, gehinnam ainsi que de mots araméens (¨arubba, ma¨al) et d'expressions (¨ese® ¢d-d¢bb®ot et tÌayat ¢m-mitim).
of Hebrew made during the period extending from the Septuagint to the Hexapla.1 Nevertheless, these transcriptions have yet to be fully exploited. In this article, I shall argue that they allow us to date both Hebrew sound changes (*h > h and, to a lesser extent, *g > c) and Greek translations of Hebrew books (2 Esdras and, to a lesser extent, Judith). I do not deny that linguistic dating of ancient literary material can be a perilous endeavor, particularly when it involves phonological change. Indeed, the example of such dating that springs to my mind is more of a cautionary tale than a model to be followed.2 For Joshua Blau, on his eighty-fifth birthday. I am greatly indebted to W. Clarysse, L. H. Feldman, J. H. Johnson, and S. Z. Leiman for their consistently gracious replies to my queries. As for Joshua Blau, my debt to him is not easily described in a brief footnote. He has been an inspiration to me on both the scholarly and the personal levels. In this article, my indebtedness to his On Polyphony in Biblical Hebrew is obvious throughout. I take this opportunity to reveal the unofficial subtitle of that monograph, which is not widely known. When I told him many years ago that my monograph on the pronunciation of 0 (The Case for Fricative-Laterals in Proto-Semitic) was to bear the subtitle "a study of original sin," he replied that, by the same token, his monograph on the pronunciation of n could be subtitled "a study of the het qadmon." 1 See, e.g., A. Sienz-Badillos, "El hebreo del s. II d. C. a la luz de las transcripciones griegas de Aquila, Simmaco y Teodocion," Sefarad 35 (1975): 107-30 and the literature cited there.
JOSHUA BLAU, Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew: An Introduction
Journal of Semitic Studies, 2013
(hardback). (Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic; 2) Although not strictly a reference grammar, it is difficult to imagine anyone with a serious interest in Biblical Hebrew morphophonology not having constant recourse to this volume as a supplement to the standard reference grammars. The linguistic detail is set within an often discursive and easily-assimilable style, which will facilitate use of the volume as, for example, a textbook for graduate courses in Biblical Hebrew grammar. The work is an updated and revised English version of Torat ha-hege ve-haṣurot