On the Consolidation of Grammatical Terminology in Medieval Hebrew: The Case of Yehuda Hadassi's System
This article serves two purposes: first, it underscores the pivotal role of Hebrew terminology in the Middle Ages, particularly its importance in the study of language grammar, and the profound questions that research should address to comprehend it. If we consider terminology as the "meta-lang...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Hebrew studies
Year: 2025, Volume: 66, Issue: 1, Pages: 125-141 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article serves two purposes: first, it underscores the pivotal role of Hebrew terminology in the Middle Ages, particularly its importance in the study of language grammar, and the profound questions that research should address to comprehend it. If we consider terminology as the "meta-language of language," a mirror of a language's linguistic thought, then we can delve into the linguistic perspectives it articulates., The second purpose is to illuminate the grammatical terms that emerged in the Jewish center of Byzantium and that reflect the linguistic tradition in this community, specifically in the essay Eškol Ha-Kop̅er of the Byzantine Karaite sage Yehuda Hadassi (the 12th century). So, in the second chapter, I will trace Hadassi's terms related to phonology and morphology while trying to demonstrate their origins, unique characters, and connection to the grammatical concepts they express., As I shall show, in the 12th century in Byzantium, Hebrew grammatical terminology was still in its formative stage. Hadassi's use of the early Karaite terms and epithets, along with Byzantine-Karaite ones, Tiberian school, and Andalusian system terms, the traditional and the innovative, showcases the diversity of their origins. Some terms are exclusive to the Byzantine school, and some are believed to be his own creations. This diversity and the unique characteristics of the terms make the 12th-century Hebrew grammatical terminology a fascinating subject of study., Another prominent characteristic of that school's grammatical terminology is that its terms were more "descriptive" than "defining." This means that many of the terms used by Hadassi are figurative and even picturesque, indicating their immaturity. Some of them are worded in a cumbersome way., Despite their immaturity and awkwardness, the terms have generally succeeded in satisfactorily clarifying the grammatical phenomena and reflecting the linguistic perceptions that prevailed at their times. |
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| ISSN: | 2158-1681 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/hbr.2025.a976433 |
