Table Of ContentHEBREW IN ITS
WEST SEMITIC SETTING
STUDIES IN SEMITIC
LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS
EDITED BY
J.H. HOSPERS
Professor of Semitic Languages and Literature and Archeology of
the Near East in the University of Groningen
XVI
A. MURTONEN
HEBREW IN ITS
WEST SEMITIC SETTING
PARTS TWO AND THREE
HEBREW IN ITS
WEST SEMITIC SETTING
A COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF NON-MASORETIC
HEBREW DIALECTS AND TRADITIONS
BY
A. MURTONEN
PART TWO
PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
PART THREE
MORPHOSYNT ACTICS
E.l. BRILL
LEIDEN • NEW YORK • K0BENHA VN • KOLN
1990
The publication of this volume has been supported by a grant from the
Finnish Oriental Society.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
(Revised for vol. Pt. 2-3)
Murtonen, A.
Hebrew in its West Semitic setting.
(Studies in Semitic languages and linguistics,
ISSN 0081-8461 ; 13, 16)
Includes bibliographical references.
Contents: pt. 1. A comparative lexicon.
Section A. Proper names. Section 3a. Root system
(2v.) - pt. 2. Phonetics and phonology, pt. 3.
Morphosyntactics (1 v.).
I. Hebrew language-Dialects. 2. Hebrew language-
Roots-Dictionaries. 3. Semitic languages, Northwest.
4. Comparative linguistics. 5. Names in the Bible-
Dictionaries. 6. Names in rabbinical Iiterature-
Dictionaries. 7. Hebrew language-Phonology.
8. Hebrew language-Morphology. I. Title. II. Series.
P J4855.M87 1986 492.4'7 87-32287
ISBN 9004072454 (pt. IA)
ISBN 9004080643 (pt. I B)
ISBN 90-04-09309-5 (cloth: pts. 2-3)
ISSN 0081·8461
ISBN 9004 09309 5
© Copyright 1990 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche
or any other means without written permission from the publisher
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
PAUL KAHLE
in memoriam
CONTENTS
FOREWORD xii
INTRODUCTION
§ 1. General phonetics and phonology. 1
Scope, 1. Phoneme, 1. Problem of basic unit, 3. Utterance and
accentuation, 5. Linguistic meaning vs. semantics, 5. Modifications
of utterance, 8. Syllable and sonority, 9. Varieties of accentuation,
10. Syllable boundaries, 10. Syllable unit of speech only, 11. Phone,
11. Distinctive features, 11. Phonemes as classes of allophones, 11.
Pattern of accentuation vs. syllabic structure, 12. Phoneme as a term
for "families of phones" only, 12.
§ 2. System ofp honemes. 12
Primary and secondary vowels, 12. Classification of consonants, 13.
§3. Prosodic features. 14
Phonological length of sounds, 14. Expiratory stress, 14.
CHAPTER ONE: SYSTEM OF PHONEMES
§ 4. General remarks. 17
§5. The alphabet. 18
§6. Glottals. 18
1'1, 18. Interchange with Iyl, 19, With 1&1, 20. With Ixl and lxi,
20. With Irl, Ill, Iql, 21. Ihl, 21. "Voiceless vowel" misnomer, 21.
Early loss of consonantal status, 21. Infrequent in Rbr roots, 22.
Interchange with other consonants sporadic, 23. Relationship to /'1,
23.
§ 7. Pharyngals. 24
lxi, 24. Confusion with the other pharyngal, glottals and zero
indicative of decay, 26. Relationship to Ixl (and Eg Ih/), 27.
Significance of statistical frequency of occurrence, 35. Interchange
with 1&1, 36. With other consonants, 36. 1&1, 36. Decay more
rapid than of lxi, 37. Relationship to /11, 38. Interchange with
other phonemes, 40.
viii CONTENTS
§8. Uvular.
41
Traces of aspiration sporadic, 41. Interchange with other phonemes,
41. With Ik/, 42. With Igl, 42. Otherwise scanty, 43.
§9. Velars. 43
Ik/, Igl, 43. Origins of aspiration problematic, 43. Spirantization,
43. Interchange with other phonemes, 45. Ikl vs. Igl, 46.
Otherwise sporadic, 46.
§ 10. Denti-alveolars. 47
It I
a. Stops, 47. Spirantization, 47. Interchange of with other
phonemes, 47. Of Idl, 50. Pronunciation of 17/, 51. Interchange
with other phonemes, 52.
b. Stop with nasal approximation, 53. Interchange with other nasals
and vowels, 53. With other phonemes, 53.
c. Sibilants, 54. lsi, 55. Interchange with Icl, 56. With IfI , 56.
With 1$1, 59. Relationship of If I to 1$1 (and lsi), 59. Interchange
of lsi with other phonemes, 62. Interchange of IfI with 161, 62.
With 1$1, 63. With other phonemes, 64. Mutual relationships of
lsi, 1$1, If I and 161, 65. Origins of Hbr lsi, 67. Arab and Aram
developments, 68. Ug, 68. ESA, 69. Modern SAr, 69. Eth, 69.
Akk, 70. Summary, 70. Icl, 70. Originally glottalized, 70.
Interchange with IAI, 71. With Iftl, 72. With other phonemes, 72.
Izl, 74. Interchange with lsi, 74. With If I, 75. With 16/, 75. With
lei, 75. With other phonemes, 76.
d. Approximants, 76. Phonetic identity of Irl, 77. Of Ill, 77.
Mutual relationship, 77. Interchange of Irl with 16/, 78.
Geminability, 78. Interchange of 11/ with Irl, 79. With Iyl, 80.
With other phonemes, 80. Interchange of Irl with other phonemes,
80.
§11. Labials. 80
IpI,
a. Stops, 81. 81. Aspiration and spirantization, 81.
Relationship to If I, 83. Interchange with Ibl, 84. With Iml, 84.
With other phonemes, 85. Ibl, 85. Spirantization,85. Interchange
with other phonemes, 85.
b. Stop with nasal approximation, 86. Phonetic identity, 87.
Confusion with Inl, 87. Interchange with other phonemes, 87.
CONTENTS ix
§12. Semivowels.
87
Phonetic identity and mutual relationships, 88. Little interchange
with other consonants, 89. Frequently lacking in cognates, 89.
Created through secondary consonantalization of stem vowel in III V
and I or III pharyngal roots, 89.
§ 13. Vowels. 90
Origins of vowel indication, 90. Matres lectionis roughly in agreement
with the pattern of three vowel phonemes, 91. Three vowel
phonemes in Pal, 93. Incipient differentiation of 101 from lui in
Bab too, 94. Three vowel phonemes in Sam, 95. In G likewise, 95.
CHAPTER TWO: OTHER PHONOLOGICALLY RELEVANT
FACfORS
§ 14. General remarks. 97
§15. Qualitative and/or quantitative differences in single phonemes. 97
Diacritical marks in Pal, 97. In Bab, 98. Syr. Marhtana, 99. Bab
"Shwa", 99. Fluctuation of vocalism contiguous with glottals or
pharyngals, 100. In Sam, 102. Phonological length, 103. In Pal, 103.
In Bab, 105. In Sam, 106. In G (and Lat), 107.
§16. Accentuation and related phenomena. 108
Accent signs, 108. In Pal, 108. In Bab, 109. Indirect indications,
110. In Sam, 111. Matres lectionis in Q verbal forms, 111. Syllable,
112.
CHAPTER THREE: INCOMPATIBILITY
§ 17. Sequence ofp honemes. 114
Relevance to the problem of incompatibility, 114. Vowels non
contiguous and not post-junctural, 114. Formation of clusters, 115.
§18. Incompatibility. 115
Problem of phonetic contiguity, 115. Less regular between non
contiguous radicals, 115. Non-contiguous assimilation and
dissimilation in the light of overlapping phonemes, 116. Subject to
linguistic change, 116. List of non-attested clusters, 117. Possible
role of assimilation (and dissimilation?), 118. Relevant distinctive
features, 119. Conclusions, 120.
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOUR: HISTORICAL SURVEY
§19. Methodological observations. 122
Delimitation of the relevant period, 122. Order of arrangement,
122. Phonological status of reconstructed sounds, 123. Test of
minimal pairs, 123. Criteria for the reconstruction of vocabulary
items, 124. Wandering words, 124. Onomatopoeic words, 124.
Retention rate, 125. Conclusions, 126.
§20. Pre-Semitic system. 126
Reconstructed phonemes, 127. No demonstrable phonological
length, 129. Cultural background, 129. Origin of glottalized
consonants, 130. Clicks ruled out, 132. Problem of origin of
language, 132. Vocal communication of non-human primates, 133.
Stability of articulators relevant, 134. Structural growth in
phonology, 135. Excursus: Phono-statistical survey of 42 languages,
135. Conclusions, 139.
§ 21. Origins and development of the proto-Semitic system. 140
Reconstructed phonemes, 140. Distinctive voice and length, 142.
§22. Common West Semitic developments. 142
Development of biblical Hbr phonological inventory, 142.
Generally, fricative allophones acquire phonological status, 143.
§23. Common North-West Semitic and old Canaanite developments. 143
J/ ,
Rearrangement of sibilants, particularly / 143. No evidence of
phonological changes, 143.
§24. Phonological comparison of non-Masoretic Hebrew dialects and 144
traditions.
a. Consonantism. i) aPal, 144. ii) Q, 145. iii) G, 145. iv) Pal, 145.
v) Bab, 145. vi) Sam, 146. Summation,146. Comparisons, 147.
b. Vocalism. iii) G, 150. iv) Pal, 150. v) Bab, 150. vi) Sam, 150.
Summation, 150. Comparisons, 151.
