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A neglected phonetic law: The assimilation of pretonic yod to a following coronal in North-West Semitic1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Romain Garnier  and
Guillaume Jacques
Romain Garnier
Affiliation:
Université de Limoges
Guillaume Jacques
Affiliation:
CNRS (Paris)
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Abstract

This paper shows the existence of a pretonic assimilation of *y to a following coronal consonant (including *y from proto-Semitic *y and *w) in North-West Semitic languages. This rule, which has been obscured by analogy in each of the North-West Semitic languages, explains three independent sets of facts: the formation of irregular maqtal-s in Hebrew, Phoenician and Aramaic; the irregular conjugations of several verbs in Hebrew; and the plural formation of the irregular noun “house” in Hebrew and Aramaic. This proposal also solves the long-standing problem of the etymology of the verb “to give” in North-West Semitic languages (NTN in Hebrew vs. YTN in Phoenician).

Keywords

GeminationAssimilationCoronal consonantHebrewPhoenicianAramaic
Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 135 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 2012

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