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Home , Arabic, Semitic languages

Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

Course Hours: TTh 3:20-4:40PM BE-101 Course Website: https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal/site/0f36a7fb-b02e-45d7-93ec- 227516db3464

Instructor: Charles Haberl Office: Lucy Stone Hall, Room B-312 Office Hours: TTh 11:00AM-12:00M Phone: (848) 445-8444 : [email protected]

Description: “Introduction to the ” aims to introduce students to the Semitic family and the broader Afroasiatic language phylum. The of the subject languages, which include Akkadian, Ethiopic, , , Hebrew, and , among others, will be examined from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective. Subjects to be discussed include writing systems; the historical and of the Semitic ; classification of individual Semitic languages and proposed divisions/subgroupings within the family; historical reconstruction; and the , , and of the various Semitic languages.

Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:  Understand and apply basic principles and concepts in historical and comparative linguistics;  Understand different theories about the classification of the Semitic languages and their place within the broader Afroasiatic language phylum;  Explain the development and divergence of languages within the Semitic family of languages across and place.

Prerequisites: Students wishing to participate in this course should be familiar with at least one Semitic language, such as Arabic or Hebrew. Although knowledge of a Semitic language is not required for this course, students who have fulfilled at least one year of study in either of these languages or the equivalent will undoubtedly benefit much more from the material.

Required Texts: Rubin, . A Brief Introduction to the Semitic Languages. Piscataway, NJ: , 2010. ISBN 9781617198601.

Campbell, Lyle. : An Introduction. 2nd Edition. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2004. ISBN 0262532670. Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic Languages 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

Grading Policy: Your progress toward fulfilling the course learning goals will be periodically assessed through periodic exercises (completed both in class and at home) and a term paper.

Assessment Exercises: During the course of the semester, the instructor will administer six exercises to be completed as homework, each of which will be worth 10% of the grade. You may work either individually or in groups to complete these exercises.

Term Paper: The term paper will be worth 40%. The paper should be on a specific historical problem or phenomenon within the Semitic language family. There are no other restrictions, provided that the problem/phenomenon is investigable - i.., that there is sufficient material in languages you can read to make it a feasible paper topic. The term paper is due on the last day of class.

Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me. As the course is accelerated, any absences will present a serious challenge to fulfillment of the learning goals.

Please note: You are responsible for all reading assigned during the session you miss. If you report an absence on a date on which an exercise is assigned, you may submit the exercise any time prior to the subsequent class period. Students who miss a scheduled exercise without reporting their absence will not have the opportunity to make it up.

Disabilities Policy: The University disability policies and procedures are available at http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/. Students with disabilities who require accommodations must follow the procedures outlined at http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/request.html Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic Languages 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

PROVISIONAL COURSE SYLLABUS

Class will meet twice weekly most weeks. The readings for each lesson should be completed before each discussion section. Additional course readings (beyond those in the required texts) will be available on Sakai.

Week One (1/17-1/19)  Introduction Preparation: None  The Semitic Languages Preparation: Rubin, pp. 1-21; Zohar, “Pastoralism” Week Two (1/24-1/26)  Describing Languages Preparation: Campbell, “Phonetic Symbols and Conventions”  The and Linguistic Typology Preparation: Campbell, ch. 1; Polotsky, “Semitics;” Week Three (1/31-2/2)  Semitic Writing Systems Preparation: Outline, pp. 6-9  Schemes Preparation: Campbell, ch. 14 Week Four (2/7-2/9)  Phonology: the Preparation: Campbell, ch. 2, Faber, “Second Harvest”  Phonology: the Consonants Preparation: Rubin, 23-28; Outline, pp. 10-32 Week Five (2/14-2/16)  : *No Class*

 Phonology: The Preparation: Outline, pp. 33-55 Saturday, 02/18 & , 02/19 The Fourtieth Annual Meeting of the North Conference on Afroasiatic Linguistics Rutgers University Continuing Studies Conference Center, 178 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ

Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic Languages 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

Week Six (2/21-2/23)  Tuesday: International Mother Day, Teleconference/Lecture Hall Archibald S. Library, 169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ  Borrowing Preparation: Campbell, ch. 3 Week Seven (2/28-3/1)  Analogical Change Preparation: Campbell, ch. 4  Linguistic Reconstruction Preparation: Campbell, ch. 5; Hetzron, “Two Principles” Week Eight (3/6-3/8)  Classification and Subgrouping Preparation: Campbell, ch. 6, 7; Huehnergard, “Remarks”  Introduction to Morphology; paper topics due. Preparation: Outline, pp. 56-72 Week Nine (3/13-3/15) SPRING BREAK  Tuesday: *No Class*

: *No Class*

Week Ten (3/20-3/22)  Morphology: Preparation: Rubin, 29-34  Nominal Morphology Preparation: Rubin, 34-43; Campbell, ch. 8 Week Eleven (3/27-3/29)  Nominal Morphology Preparation: Outline, pp. 73-96  Verbal Morphology Preparation: Rubin, 43-57

Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic Languages 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

Week Twelve (4/3-4/5)  Verbal Morphology Preparation: Outline, pp. 97-119  “Weak” Verbs Preparation: Outline, pp. 119-33 Week Thirteen (4/10-4/12)  “Derived” Verbal Stems Preparation: Outline, pp. 133-38  Historical and Comparative Syntax Preparation: Campbell, ch. 9; Rubin, 59-79 Week Fourteen (4/17-4/19)  Semantics and the Lexicon Preparation: Campbell, ch. 10  Explaining Linguistic Change Preparation: Campbell, ch. 11 Week Fifteen (4/24-4/26)  Areal Linguistics Preparation: Campbell, ch.12  Distant Genetic Relationship; the Afroasiatic Language Phylum Preparation: Campbell, ch. 13; final paper due. Exam Period

Spring 2012 [Introduction to the Semitic Languages 01:013:409 / 563:397 / 685:496:02]

Semitic Numerals and Paradigms Compared

Hebrew Syriac Arabic Akkadian 1 ʼɛḥɔḏ ḥaḏ ʼaḥad- ʼištēn 2 šnayim tren ʼiθnāni šinā 3 šɔloš tlāṯ θalāθ- šalāš 4 ʼarbaʻ ʼarbaʻ ʼarbaʻ- ʼerbe 5 ḥɔmeš ḥameš ḫams- ḫamiš 6 šeš šeṯ sitt- šediš 7 šɛḇaʻ šḇaʻ sabʻ- sebe 8 šmonɛ tmāne θamāni- samāne 9 tešaʻ tšaʻ tisʻ- tiše 10 ʻɛśɛr ʻsar ʻašr- ʼešer

“write!” sg. . kṯoḇ kṯuḇ ʼuktub šuṭur f. kiṯḇi kṯuḇ ʼuktubi šuṭrī pl. m. kiṯḇu kṯuḇ(un) ʼuktubūn šuṭrā f. kṯoḇna kṯuḇ(en) ʼuktubna šuṭrā “be!” sg. m. hɛ̆ye hwi kun biši f. hăyi hwāy kūni bišī pl. m. hăyu hwaw kūnu bišiā f. hăyɛnɔ hwāyeyn kunna bišiā

Neo-Mandaic Gəʻəz Mehri Persian Turkish 1 ehdā ʼaḥadu t̩ɑ̄ṭ yek bir 2 tren kəlʼe θroh do iki 3 klāṯā šalās ɬhəlēt se üč 4 arbā ʼarbāʻ ʼarba čɑ̄hɑ̄r dört 5 hɑmšā ḫams ḥayməh panj beš 6 šettā səds hēt šeš altı 7 šuḇḇā sabʻu hōba haft yedi 8 təmānā samāni θəmōni hašt sekiz 9 eččā təsʻu sɑ̄ noh dokuz 10 asrā ʻašru ʼōɬər dah on

A “Family Tree” of the Semitic Languages

“Semitic”

ca. 4115 BCE ca. 3615 BCE “East Semitic” “West Semitic” †Eblaite †Akkadian 24th–23rd c. BCE ca. 26th BCE–1st CE

ca. 2715 BCE ca. 2040 BCE “South Semitic” “Central Semitic”

ca. 1500 BCE “Northwest Semitic” † ca. 8th c. BCE–6th c. CE ca. 1315 BCE “Ethiopian” †Ugaritic “Canaanite” Aramaic Arabic 15th–12th c. BCE Hebrew †Phoenician from 9th c. BCE from 4th c. CE from 12th c. BCE ca. 10th c. BCE–5th c. CE

ca. 415 BCE ca. 240 BCE “Northern Ethiopian” “Southern Ethiopian” †Geʿez, Tigre, Tigrinya , Harari, Argobba, Gafat, Gurage from 4th c. CE from 14th c. CE ca. 440 CE “Modern South Arabian” Raziḥi (?) Mehri, Ḥarsūsi, Soqoṭri, Jibbāli

NB. The dates I have given for the division of each branch are almost certainly pure fantasy. See Kitchen, Ehret, Shiferaw Assefa, and Connie . Mulligan, “Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of Semitic languages identifies an Early origin of Semitic in the ,” The Proceedings of the Royal Society B vol. 276 no. 1668 (August 2009), pp. 2703-10.