Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb

by Henning Ambjörn Sjörs

Overview

This book explores the relationship between the so-called ventive morpheme in Akkadian (-am) and the related suffixes -n and -a in other Semitic languages, including Amarna Canaanite, Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Arabic. Using formal reconstructions of the various morphemes and a functional analysis of their different usages, Ambjörn Sjörs convincingly argues that these endings are cognate morphemes that were formally and functionally related to the ventive morpheme in Akkadian.

Sjörs provides a systematic description of non-allative ventive verbs in Old Babylonian, the energic and volitive in Amarna Canaanite, the energic and lengthened prefix conjugation in Ugaritic, the lengthened imperfect consecutive in Biblical Hebrew, and the subjunctive and energic in Classical Arabic. Sjörs explains how these verb forms were used within the framework of grammaticalization theory and demonstrates how the suffixes are historically related.

Clearly and persuasively argued, Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb sheds valuable light on the Akkadian ventive and its relationship to the other related morphemes. It will be welcomed by linguists specializing in Akkadian, Amarna Canaanite, Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Arabic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646022519
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	02/17/2023
Series:	Languages of the Ancient Near East
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Ambjörn Sjörs is a member of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and the author of Historical Aspects of Standard Negation in Semitic.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Lists of Abbreviations ix

Symbols and Transcriptions xv

Part 1 Introduction

Chapter 1 Preliminaries 1

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Scope and Material 4

1.3 Aim and Objectives 13

Chapter 2 Theoretical Prerequisites 14

2.1 The Ventive and the Allative 14

2.2 The Ventive and the Benefactive 17

2.3 The Reflexive-Benefactive and the Middle 18

Part 2 Analysis of the Material

Chapter 3 The Middle Ventive in Sargonic Akkadian and Literary Old Babylonian 23

3.1 Introduction 25

3.2 The Middle Ventive 27

3.3 Historical Background of the Ventive 42

3.4 Summary 43

Chapter 4 The Ventive-Energic in Amarna Canaanite 45

4.1 Introduction 45

4.2 The Ventive in -a 47

4.3 The Ventive in -n(n)a (the Energic) 56

4.4 Summary 65

Chapter 5 The Ventive-Energic in Ugaritic 67

5.1 Introduction 67

5.2 Morphological Aspects of the Ventive in Ugaritic 70

5.3 The Deictic Ventive 72

5.4 The Middle Ventive 76

5.5 The Ventive in -a 85

5.6 The Compound Pronominal Suffix -n /-Vnnu\a/ 87

5.7 Plural Verb Forms 91

5.8 Summary 92

Chapter 6 The Ventive-Energic in Biblical Hebrew 93

6.1 Introduction 93

6.2 The Ventive and the Lengthened Imperfect Consecutive 94

6.3 The Ventive with Pronominal Suffixes 109

6.4 The Ventive Allomorph-na 111

6.5 The Ventive of 2nd and 3rd Person Verb Forms 113

6.6 Equivocal Examples 118

6.7 Summary 119

Chapter 7 The Ventive in Prestandardized Classical Arabic I: The Energic 121

7.1 Introduction 121

7.2 The Relationship Between the Long and Short Energic 123

7.3 Functions of the Energic 125

7.4 Historical Background of the Energic 134

7.5 Summary 136

Chapter 8 The Ventive in Prestandardized Classical Arabic II: The Subjunctive 138

8.1 Introduction 138

8.2 The Subjunctive after fa-, ?aw, and hatta 139

8.3 The Subjunctive after ?an 146

8.4 The Subjunctive after lan 153

8.5 The Subjunctive after li- and kay 154

8.6 Historical Background of the Subjunctive 158

8.7 Summary 163

Part 3 Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 9 Morphological Aspects of the Ventive Morpheme 165

9.1 The Morpheme *-an in Central Semitic 167

9.2 The Morpheme *-nVn in Central Semitic 168

9.3 The Ventive in Proto-Semitic 170

Chapter 10 Functional Aspects of the Ventive Morpheme 171

10.1 The Allative and Dative Ventive 171

10.2 The Benefactive Ventive 172

10.3 The Middle Ventive 173

Bibliography 177

Ancient Source Index 191

Editorial Reviews

Sjörs convincingly shows that we are dealing with a single morpheme (albeit with two allomorphs). That makes this book a must-read for all interested in comparative Semitic morphology, as well as a more than useful reference work for those studying the individual languages analyzed.”

—Jorik Groen Bibliotheca Orientalis

“The formal connection of morphemes such as those between the Akkadian ventive and the Arabic energic has long been recognized, but a coherent description of the functional derivation has been lacking until now. Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb fills this gap in our understanding.”

—Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee, author of Classical Ethiopic: A Grammar of Gəˁəz

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