Abstract
The article discusses the discrepancy between the *yaqattal and *yaqtulu imperfectives (the former known from East Semitic, Ethiosemitic and Modern South Arabian and the latter from Central Semitic). It argues that original nominalised phrases such as “he is a killer” came about based on an earlier “he is one who killed”, and that these were subsequently reinterpreted as imperfectives. A comparison is made with Modern South Arabian “insubordination”, and further lines are drawn into the attested development of Biblical Hebrew and Ugaritic and to the problems such a development imply for exegetical work. Arguments con-cerning the cladistics of West Semitic are also offered, and the possibility of an initial rise of *yaqtulu already in Proto-West Semitic is cautiously supported.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 435-451 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Ugarit-Forschungen |
Volume | 50 (2019) |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Bibliographical note
ISBN: 978-3-86835-280-1Subject classification (UKÄ)
- General Language Studies and Linguistics
- History of Religions
- Religious Studies
Free keywords
- yaqattal
- yaqtulu
- Central Semitic
- relatives
- grammaticalization
- nominalization
- Northwest Semitic
- Hebrew
- Ugaritic