A Morphological Reconstruction of T-Stems in Proto-Semitic
A central morphological feature of Semitic languages is the so-called ‘t-stems’ associated with the G, D and C stems. These forms attach a /t/ to the verbal root and often convey reflexive, reciprocal, or mediopassive action. The Semitic languages attest a puzzling mix of prefixed and infixed t-stem...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Journal of Semitic studies
Year: 2024, Volume: 69, Issue: 2, Pages: 707-726 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | A central morphological feature of Semitic languages is the so-called ‘t-stems’ associated with the G, D and C stems. These forms attach a /t/ to the verbal root and often convey reflexive, reciprocal, or mediopassive action. The Semitic languages attest a puzzling mix of prefixed and infixed t-stem forms, and thus it has been challenging to reconstruct the original Proto-Semitic (PS) structure. The general consensus is that PS prefixed the /t/ to the root and the daughter languages underwent a series of complex phonological changes. This study argues that the /t/ was infixed in the G-stem and prefixed in the D-stem in PS. This reconstruction easily accounts for the variety of forms attested in the Semitic languages and only requires paradigm levelling in one stem to account for the attested variety. I argue this by raising problems with the consensus view and presenting inscriptional evidence of systemwide levelling in Northwest Semitic. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-8556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgae016 |