Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative GrammarThe first comparative grammar of the Semitic languages, by H. Zimmern, was published a hundred years ago and the last original work of this kind was issued in Russian in 1972 by B.M. Grande. The present grammar, designed to come out in the centenary of the completion of Zimmern's work, fills thus a gap. Besides, it is based on both classical and modern Semitic languages, it takes new material of these last decades into account, and situates the Semitic languages in the wider context of Afro-Asiatic. The introduction briefly presents the languages in question. The main parts of the work are devoted to phonology, morphology, and syntax, with elaborate charts and diagrams. Then follows a discussion of fundamental questions related to lexicographical analysis. The study is supplemented by a glossary of linguistic terms used in Semitics, by a selective bibliography, by a general index, and by an index of words and forms. The book is the result of twenty-five years of research and teaching in comparative Semitic grammar. |
Contents
PREFACE | 15 |
SEMITIC LANGUAGES | 21 |
B Cushitic | 30 |
ProtoSemitic | 42 |
Classification of Semitic Languages | 48 |
East Semitic | 55 |
West Semitic | 59 |
Arabic | 74 |
E Stems and Voices | 386 |
F Infinitive and Participle | 424 |
Adverbs | 462 |
Connective and Deictic Particles | 480 |
SYNTAX | 491 |
Nominal Phrases | 504 |
LEXICON | 555 |
GLOSSARY OF SELECTED LINGUISTIC TERMS | 589 |
South Semitic | 81 |
Language and Script | 90 |
PHONOLOGY | 101 |
MORPHOLOGY | 207 |
Pronouns | 305 |
Verbs | 339 |
| 609 | |
| 663 | |
| 705 | |
TABLES MAPS AND TEXT FIGURES | 779 |
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Common terms and phrases
adjectives Afro-Asiatic Akkadian Amharic Amorite ancient Arabic colloquials Aramaic Argobba assimilation Assyro-Babylonian attested basic stem broken plural Canaanite century B.C. Classical Arabic clause consonant corresponds cuneiform derived diphthong dual e.g. Arabic e.g. Hebrew e.g. Old East Semitic Ebla Egyptian ending Ethiopian languages Ethiopic express feminine fricative function Gafat Ge'ez geminated gender genitive glottal Grammar Greek guages Gurage dialects Harari imperfect indicate inflection inscriptions jussive Libyco-Berber linguistic masc masculine meaning Mehri millennium B.C. Modern South Arabian morpheme Neo-Aramaic nominal North Semitic noun occurs Old Akkadian Old Babylonian original Palaeosyrian participle particle pattern perfect personal pronoun pharyngal Phoenician phonemes plur plural predicate prefix preposition preterite pronominal suffix Proto-Semitic Punic radical root Sabaic script Semitic languages sentence singular South Ethiopic stative syllable Syriac texts Tigre Tigrinya tion Tuareg Ugaritic variant velar verb verbal form vocalic vowel West Semitic word