Rhotic phonemes in Semitic languages – the case of Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew

Bartosz Pietrzak

Abstract


Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew represent two opposite directions of the development of Proto-Semitic phonological system. This also refers to the rhotic phonemes /r/ and /ġ/. The comparison of the situation of their respective allophones portrays a different fate of these phonemes in Semitic languages in general. The comparison is based mostly on the description provided by Semitic languages researchers, including the medieval Arabic grammarian Sibawayh. Additionally, it takes into consideration the results of a statistical analysis on the situation of the phoneme /ġ/ in Biblical Hebrew.


Keywords


rhotic phonemes; Semitic languages; Hebrew

Full Text:

PDF

References


KBSD = Baumgartner, Walter; Koehler Ludwig; Jakob Stamm Johann, J. (2008). Wielki słownik hebrajsko-polski i aramejsko-polski Starego Testamentu. Vol. 1. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Vocatio".

al-Ğanābī, ˀAḥmad Naṣīf (1981). Malāmiḥ min Taˀrīḫ al-Luġa al-ˁArabīyya. Baġdād: Dār ar-Rašīd li-n-Našr.

Barr, J.(1968). Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Benett, P. R. (2008). Gramatyka porównawcza języków semickich. Warszawa: Dialog.

Bergsträsser, G. (1983). Introduction to the Semitic Languages. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.

Blau, J. (2010). Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.

Ibn Manḏ̣ūr, Muḥammad bin Mukarram (1968). Lisān al-ˁArab. Vol. XI. Bayrūt: Dār Ṣādir.

Kaye, A. S. (1997). Arabic Phonology, [in:] Alan S. Kaye (ed.), Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. pp. 187-204.

Kutscher, E. Y. (1982). A History of the Hebrew Language. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press.

Lipiński, E. (1997). Semitic Languages Outline of a Comparative Grammar. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies.

Pietrzak, B. (2016). Studium porównawcze leksyki z rdzennym fonemem języczkowym /ġ/ w językach hebrajskim biblijnym i klasycznym arabskim. MA Thesis.. Cracow: Jagiellonian University.

Qudūr, A. (2011). Aswāṭ al-luġa ˁinda Sibawayh. Murāğaˁa wa-tafsīr. Mağallat mağmaˁ al-luġa al-ˁarabīyya bi-Dimašq, 86(2), 363-388.

Rendsburg, G. A. (1997). Ancient Hebrew Phonology, [in:] Alan S. Kaye (ed.), Phonologies of Asia and Africa, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. pp. 65-84.

Sáenz-Badillos, A. (1996). A History of the Hebrew Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sibawayh (1982). Al-Kitāb. vol. IV. al-Qāhira: Maktabat al-Ḫānğī.

Segert, S. (1997). Old Aramaic Phonology, [in:] Alan S. Kaye (ed.), Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. pp. 115-125.

Steiner, R. C. (2005). On the Dating of Hebrew Sound Changes (ġ > ʕ & ḫ > ḥ) and Greek translation (2 Esdras and Judith). Journal of Biblical Literature, 124(2), 229-267.

Watson, J. C. E. (2002). The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2018.42.1.33
Date of publication: 2018-04-06 09:58:07
Date of submission: 2017-10-01 16:38:39


Statistics


Total abstract view - 736
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 428

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2018 Bartosz Pietrzak

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.