Materials and Language: Pre-Semitic Root Structure Change Concomitant with Transition to Agriculture
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Jnf Blueprint Negev: 2009 Campaign Update
JNF BLUEPRINT NEGEV: 2009 CAMPAIGN UPDATE In the few years since its launch, great strides have been made in JNF’s Blueprint Negev campaign, an initiative to develop the Negev Desert in a sustainable manner and make it home to the next generation of Israel’s residents. In Be’er Sheva: More than $30 million has already been invested in a city that dates back to the time of Abraham. For years Be’er Sheva was an economically depressed and forgotten city. Enough of a difference has been made to date that private developers have taken notice and begun to invest their own money. New apartment buildings have risen, with terraces facing the riverbed that in the past would have looked away. A slew of single family homes have sprung up, and more are planned. Attracted by the River Walk, the biggest mall in Israel and the first “green” one in the country is Be’er Sheva River Park being built by The Lahav Group, a private enterprise, and will contribute to the city’s communal life and all segments of the population. The old Turkish city is undergoing a renaissance, with gaslights flanking the refurbished cobblestone streets and new restaurants, galleries and stores opening. This year, the municipality of Be’er Sheva is investing millions of dollars to renovate the Old City streets and support weekly cultural events and activities. And the Israeli government just announced nearly $40 million to the River Park over the next seven years. Serious headway has been made on the 1,700-acre Be’er Sheva River Park, a central park and waterfront district that is already transforming the city. -
Classical and Modern Standard Arabic Marijn Van Putten University of Leiden
Chapter 3 Classical and Modern Standard Arabic Marijn van Putten University of Leiden The highly archaic Classical Arabic language and its modern iteration Modern Standard Arabic must to a large extent be seen as highly artificial archaizing reg- isters that are the High variety of a diglossic situation. The contact phenomena found in Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic are therefore often the re- sult of imposition. Cases of borrowing are significantly rarer, and mainly found in the lexical sphere of the language. 1 Current state and historical development Classical Arabic (CA) is the highly archaic variety of Arabic that, after its cod- ification by the Arab Grammarians around the beginning of the ninth century, becomes the most dominant written register of Arabic. While forms of Middle Arabic, a style somewhat intermediate between CA and spoken dialects, gain some traction in the Middle Ages, CA remains the most important written regis- ter for official, religious and scientific purposes. From the moment of CA’s rise to dominance as a written language, the whole of the Arabic-speaking world can be thought of as having transitioned into a state of diglossia (Ferguson 1959; 1996), where CA takes up the High register and the spoken dialects the Low register.1 Representation in writing of these spoken dia- lects is (almost) completely absent in the written record for much of the Middle Ages. Eventually, CA came to be largely replaced for administrative purposes by Ottoman Turkish, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was function- ally limited to religious domains (Glaß 2011: 836). -
Identifying Semitic Roots: Machine Learning with Linguistic Constraints
Identifying Semitic Roots: Machine Learning with Linguistic Constraints Ezra Daya∗ University of Haifa Dan Roth∗∗ University of Illinois Shuly Wintner† University of Haifa Words in Semitic languages are formed by combining two morphemes: a root and a pattern. The root consists of consonants only, by default three, and the pattern is a combination of vowels and consonants, with non-consecutive “slots” into which the root consonants are inserted. Identifying the root of a given word is an important task, considered to be an essential part of the morphological analysis of Semitic languages, and information on roots is important for linguistics research as well as for practical applications. We present a machine learning approach, augmented by limited linguistic knowledge, to the problem of identifying the roots of Semitic words. Although programs exist which can extract the root of words in Arabic and Hebrew, they are all dependent on labor-intensive construction of large-scale lexicons which are components of full-scale morphological analyzers. The advantage of our method is an automation of this process, avoiding the bottleneckof having to laboriously list the root and pattern of each lexeme in the language. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of machine learning to this problem, and one of the few attempts to directly address non-concatenative morphology using machine learning. More generally, our results shed light on the problem of combining classifiers under (linguistically motivated) constraints. 1. Introduction The standard account of word-formation processes in Semitic languages describes words as combinations of two morphemes: a root and a pattern.1 The root consists of consonants only, by default three (although longer roots are known), called radicals. -
Supporting Information
Supporting Information Everett et al. 10.1073/pnas.1417413112 SI Text languages in the ANU database (with a max of 12 tones in a lan- Intrafamily Analysis. The geographic distribution of complex to- guage), MH once again correlated with tone (Pearson’s = 0.276, nality within the relevant language families straddling very diverse P < 0.001). MAT was not associated with number of tones in ecologies is consistent with the hypothesis being proffered. For a significant manner. In the case of the 83 Nilo-Saharan languages example, complex tone is thought to have been a feature of Proto- in the database (with a maximum of six tones), MH was associated Afro-Asiatic, according to some analyses (1). This feature has with number of tones (Pearson’s = 0.172, P = 0.06), whereas been lost in the northern branches of that family, which have MAT was not. (Given the locations of the Nilo-Saharan and gradually moved northward over the last few millennia according Niger-Congo languages, the absence of MAT associations is not to one widely accepted theory on this family’s development (2). surprising. As stated in the text, the MH data are most crucial for The most recent estimate of the Proto-Afro-Asiatic homeland testing our account.) places it in West Africa, although there appears to be little In short, the significant within-family discrepancies are plainly consensus on this issue (3). In contrast, the Proto-Nilo-Saharan in line with the predictions and offer strong additional support homeland is conjectured to have been in eastern Africa, with for our hypothesis. -
Recent Developments in Semitic and Afroasiatic Linguistics Five Teaching Modules at Addis Ababa University, March 10–14, 2014 1
Recent developments in Semitic and Afroasiatic linguistics Five teaching modules at Addis Ababa University, March 10–14, 2014 1. Why is a broader Afroasiatic perspective useful for the study of Semitic March 10, 2014 Lutz Edzard, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and University of Oslo 1 Introductory remarks: internal classification Even though the topic of this introductory chapter is not genealogical sub- grouping per se, it may be useful to briefly consider both the inner structure of Semitic, which, at least from a synchronic perspective, is by now more or less uncontroversial, and the wider structure of the Afroasiatic1 macro-family, whose inner structure continues to be under discussion. Leaving aside the question of a Semitic Urheimat, which is still highly controversial, one has sug- gested models based on shared innovations or isoglosses such as the one on the following page. Faber (1997: 6), taking up and developing proposals inter alia by Hetzron (1976), Goldenberg (1977), and Huehnergard (1990), provides a model based on the following list of basic isoglosses: – East Semitic is characterized by the development of an adjectival ending -ūt (pl. m.) and by the dative suffixes -kum and -šum; – West Semitic is characterized by the suffix conjugation denoting past tense (as opposed to the Akkadian stative) and a prohibitive negator ʾal; – “Central Semitic” is characterized by a series of pharyngealized consonants, a prefix conjugation without gemination of the second root consonant and the leveling of prefix vowels in this conjugation, -
The Biradical Origin of Semitic Roots
Copyright by Bernice Varjick Hecker 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Bernice Varjick Hecker certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Biradical Origin of Semitic Roots Committee: Robert D. King, Supervisor Robert T. Harms Richard P. Meier Esther L. Raizen Peter F. Abboud THE BIRADICAL ORIGIN OF SEMITIC ROOTS by Bernice Varjick Hecker, M.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May, 2007 Dedication To Mark Southern, who awakened and sustained my interest in the Ancient Near East. Acknowledgments I would first like to thank Prof. Harms, who supervised my earlier paper, for teaching me that there is no way to conclusively prove a theory about an early stage of a prehistoric language but that it was possible to demonstrate its likelihood. His comments at an early stage of this work were invaluable in showing me how to go about doing so. I would also like to thank Prof. King, my dissertation supervisor, who was an unfailing font of support and who gave me excellent advice and direction. My husband, Ran Moran, was the sine qua non of this project. There is no way that I could have completed it without his help, both in accommodating to my schedule and in expending all the resources that I brought to bear on writing this dissertation. v The Biradical Origin of Semitic Roots Publication No._____________ Bernice Varjick Hecker, Ph.D. -
Notes on the Emergence of New Semitic Roots in the Light of Compounding
ISSN 0806 -198X Notes on the Emergence of New Semitic Roots in the Light of Compounding LUTZ EDZARD (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg / University of Oslo) Abstract Independently of the question as to whether bi- or triradical roots have historical preponderance in Semitic, there are clear cases of Semitic verbal and nominal roots that have emerged through a process of com- pounding or integration of additional elements (verbal or nominal affixes and even prepositions). In this paper, an attempt will be made to establish a hierarchical typology of such processes of morpho- phonological re-analysis, in both historical and modern times. Key words: affix, re-analysis, root, compounding 1 Introduction It has long been recognized that new roots in Semitic can emerge through the re-analysis of verbal or nominal affixes. On the one hand, there has been the theory of “matrices et éty- mons”, propagated notably by Georges Bohas (e.g., BOHAS 2000) and a number of his pupils, which builds on the observation that roots with two common consonants and a hom- organic, but different third consonant, often share a common semantics. Christopher Ehret (notably EHRET 1995) has developed this theory even further, in trying to reconstruct uni- consonantal semantic core elements at an early stage of Afroasiatic. This well-known line of thought will not be pursued here (for an overview of the pros and cons, cf. e.g., ZA- BORSKI 1991). Rather, with a focus on Arabic and Hebrew, I will give an overview of vari- ous processes that can be described as “compounding”, which involve either the integration of grammatical morphemes—verbal and nominal affixes, including prepositions—or the creation of new roots by exploiting acronyms or the conjunction of clipped elements, cap- tured by the Arabic term na ḥt, literally ‘sculpture’. -
Inflected Article in Proto-Arabic and Some Other West Semitic Languages*
ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, 9, 2000, I, 24-35 INFLECTED ARTICLE IN PROTO-ARABIC AND SOME OTHER WEST SEMITIC LANGUAGES* Andrzej Z a b o r s k i M. Zebrzydowskiego 1, 34-130 Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Poland The Arabic, Canaanite and Modern South Arabian definite article has a common origin and goes back to an original demonstrative pronoun which was a compound inflected for gen der, number and probably also for case. It can be reconstructed as *han(V)~ for masc. sing., *hat(V)~ for fern. sing, and *hal(V)- for plural. Assimilations of -n- and -t- to the following consonant (including -n-l- > -11- and -t-l- > II) neutralized the opposition of gender and number and led to a reinterpretation of either hcil/’al- or han/’an-> ’am- synchronically as basic variant. In Aramaic the suffixed definite article was due not to simple suffixation o f hā but to a resegmentation of the postposed compound demonstrativehā-zē-[n(ā)] and suffixation of enclitic hā> -ā which has been generalized. The problem of the definite article in the West Semitic languages has been discussed by many scholars, so that there is a rather abundant literature on the subject and opinions differ widely. Older studies were briefly reviewed by Barth (1907), while in the most recent contribution D. Testen (1998) discusses most of the newer studies (e.g. Wensinck 1931, Ullendorf 1965, Lambdin 1971, Rundgren 1989) and he develops a hypothesis going back at least to Stade (1879, § 132a; cf. Croatto 1971) saying that the Arabic, Canaanite and Modern South Arabian1 definite article goes back to an “assertative” particle */ (sic!) which is continued both by la- i.e. -
A Tale of Two Morphologies
A Tale of Two Morphologies Verb structure and argument alternations in Maltese Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie vorgelegt von Spagnol, Michael an der Geisteswissenschaftliche Sektion Sprachwissenschaft 1. Referent: Prof. Dr. Frans Plank 2. Referent: Prof. Dr. Christoph Schwarze 3. Referent: Prof. Dr. Albert Borg To my late Nannu Kieli, a great story teller Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. iii Notational conventions .................................................................................................................... v Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... viii Ch. 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. A tale to be told ............................................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Three sides to every tale ........................................................................................................................... 4 Ch. 2. Setting the stage ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.1. No language is an island ....................................................................................................................... -
Word Classes in Egyptian, Semitic and Cushitic (Afroasiatic) Elsa Oréal, Martine Vanhove
Word classes in Egyptian, Semitic and Cushitic (Afroasiatic) Elsa Oréal, Martine Vanhove To cite this version: Elsa Oréal, Martine Vanhove. Word classes in Egyptian, Semitic and Cushitic (Afroasiatic). Oxford Handbook of Word Classes, In press. hal-03033191 HAL Id: hal-03033191 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03033191 Submitted on 1 Dec 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. 27. Word classes in Egyptian, Semitic and Cushitic (Afroasiatic) Elsa Oréal and Martine Vanhove 27.1 Introduction Today, the exact number of living Afroasiatic languages is still disputed, with upwards of 375 languages, though the actual number may be less (for a discussion, see Frajzyngier and Shay (2012: 1). The number of speakers is probably around 300,000,000. The languages are spoken in Northern and Central Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Near and Middle East, and Central Asia (Arabic only). Afroasiatic (AA) is the phylum with the longest written record: Over five millennia. Thus, it provides linguists with a wealth of documentation that, among other things, shows the fluidity of some word categories on a long-term scale. Nevertheless, this exceptional time-depth only applies to three of the six Afroasiatic families. -
The Diversity of the Tibeto-Burman Language Family and the Linguistic Ancestry of Chinese*
BULLETIN OF CHINESE LINGUISTICS 1.2:211-270, 2007 The Diversity of the Tibeto-Burman Language Family * and the Linguistic Ancestry of Chinese George van DRIEM Leiden University 1. Japhetic, Atactic, Turanian and Indo-Chinese In mediaeval Europe, most scholars came to terms with the world’s linguistic diversity within the framework of a Biblical belief system. Even at the end of the eighteenth century, pious scholars such as Sir William Jones believed that the myth of the Tower of Babel explained how ‘the language of Noah’ had been ‘lost irretrievably’ (1793: 489). Another Biblical view attempted to explain the world’s linguistic stocks as deriving from Noah’s three sons after the deluge had abated in the well-known Judæo-Christian myth of the ark. The descendants of Shem populated the earth with Semitic speaking peoples, whereas the descendants of Ham today spoke ‘Scythian’ languages, whilst all other languages derived from the progeny of Noah’s eldest son Japhet. The Semitic languages most notably include Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament. The Semitic language family is known today as Afroasiatic. Scythian or ‘Scythisch’ is a language family first identified in Leiden by Marcus van Boxhorn (1647), although van Boxhorn did not invoke Biblical mythology in any of his own writings. His theory of language relationship was renamed Indo-Germanic or Indo-European in the 19th century. In 1647, ‘Scythisch’ specifically included Sanskrit, known to van Boxhorn through the vocabulary recorded by Ctesias of Cnidos in the fifth century BC,1 and all the then known branches of Indo-European, viz. -
Israel a History
Index Compiled by the author Aaron: objects, 294 near, 45; an accidental death near, Aaronsohn family: spies, 33 209; a villager from, killed by a suicide Aaronsohn, Aaron: 33-4, 37 bomb, 614 Aaronsohn, Sarah: 33 Abu Jihad: assassinated, 528 Abadiah (Gulf of Suez): and the Abu Nidal: heads a 'Liberation October War, 458 Movement', 503 Abandoned Areas Ordinance (948): Abu Rudeis (Sinai): bombed, 441; 256 evacuated by Israel, 468 Abasan (Arab village): attacked, 244 Abu Zaid, Raid: killed, 632 Abbas, Doa: killed by a Hizballah Academy of the Hebrew Language: rocket, 641 established, 299-300 Abbas Mahmoud: becomes Palestinian Accra (Ghana): 332 Prime Minister (2003), 627; launches Acre: 3,80, 126, 172, 199, 205, 266, 344, Road Map, 628; succeeds Arafat 345; rocket deaths in (2006), 641 (2004), 630; meets Sharon, 632; Acre Prison: executions in, 143, 148 challenges Hamas, 638, 639; outlaws Adam Institute: 604 Hamas armed Executive Force, 644; Adamit: founded, 331-2 dissolves Hamas-led government, 647; Adan, Major-General Avraham: and the meets repeatedly with Olmert, 647, October War, 437 648,649,653; at Annapolis, 654; to Adar, Zvi: teaches, 91 continue to meet Olmert, 655 Adas, Shafiq: hanged, 225 Abdul Hamid, Sultan (of Turkey): Herzl Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): Jewish contacts, 10; his sovereignty to receive emigrants gather in, 537 'absolute respect', 17; Herzl appeals Aden: 154, 260 to, 20 Adenauer, Konrad: and reparations from Abdul Huda, Tawfiq: negotiates, 253 Abdullah, Emir: 52,87, 149-50, 172, Germany, 279-80, 283-4; and German 178-80,230,