Re: Hebrew and Semitic questions

On 13 Feb, Steg Belsky wrote, answering Danny Wier :

> > Also, what are construct forms
> > and how are
> > they expressed in the different Semitic languages (I only know
> > Arabic)?
> Hebrew Construct forms:
> masculine singular - no change
> masculine plural - change [i:m] ending to [ej]
> feminine singular - change [O:] ending to [aT]
> feminine plural - no change
> *But*, the words are combined into a single phonological unit, so some
> rules kick in that change the first vowel of the word to [@] if it's
> [O:].
>
> Only the changes of endings in construct forms are still valid in Modern
> Israeli Hebrew, where they're realized as [im]>[ej] and [a]>[at].
Steg's explanation, AFAIK, is basically correct.
To explain it in another way: the construct form takes a "longer" form such
as

the X(s) of [or other relation-word such as "in"]  the Y(s)

and shortens it. Usually, the first "the" is dropped and the second
is retained. The relation word is dropped. The result is:

X(s) the Y(s).

For example: ha-sefer shel ha-yeled > sefer ha-yeled
(ha- = the; sefer = book; shel = belonging to; yeled = boy)
(the book of the boy > the boy's book)

Sometimes the second "the" is also dropped, giving:

X(s) Y(s).

For example:  ha-'iton shel ha-'erev > 'iton 'erev
(ha- = the; 'iton = newspaper; shel = of; 'erev = evening)
(the newspaper of the evening > evening newspaper)

    Steg wrote: " masculine singular - no change"
and that's mostly true, but a common exception
is |bajit| (=house). In this form, it is masculine, singular.
But in the construct form,  it becomes |bet|.

    I'm commenting, because today I chanced to hear something
unusual, (for me at least) that has relevance to this topic.
There is a word for "son" in Hebrew,
taken from Aramaic: |bar|, which is almost always only
found in the construct form. As in |bar mitsva|
(= son [of the] commandment). In modern usage,
the feminine is usually taken from Hebrew, not Aramaic.
Thus, "Bar Mitsvah" for girls is called |bat mitsva|,
|bat| meaning "daughter".
    The phrase |bar mazal| (literally, son of the [zodiacal]
constellation [= luck]) means "lucky guy". The feminine
form should be |bat mazal|.
    However, today I heard a native-born Hebrew-speaking
professor refer to herself as a |barat mazal|. It seems that, in an
effort to exude a certain amount of elitism, she eschewed
common custom and reverted to Aramaic, which to a Hebrew
speaker carries the same sort of connotation of formality
as Latin words do in English (Are the connotations the same
for Latin words used in Romance langs? Are Latin words
used in Romance langs?)

Dan Sulani
----------------------------------------------------
likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a

A word is an awesome thing.

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