Hello, Steg. Thanks for writing.
It's nice to have someone who actually knows, say something.
By the way;
Was my comment about the "hollow" roots on-track or off-track?
(I didn't use the word "hollow",
but you can see what I meant if you read what I wrote.)
Also, isn't there a special consideration that has to be made in
Hebrew for roots that begin (or is it end?) with nun (or is it mem?)?
If so, is what I wrote about the "servile consonants" on-track, or
off-track?
Thanks again,
Tom H.C. in MI
--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@J...> wrote:
> On Aug 9, 2005, at 6:31 PM, tomhchappell wrote:
> > Hello, everyone, and thanks for writing.
> > Hello especially, Taliesin the Story-Teller. I did not see your
post.
> > "Broken Plurals" versus "Sound Plurals" is a distinction mostly
heard
> > when speaking of Arabic; next Hebrew; next other Semitic
languages;
> > next Iraqw; next other Cushitic languages; but I think it occurs
in
> > several subgroups of Afro-Asiatic languages including Semitic and
> > Cushitic.
> >
>
>
> Some examples:
>
> 'sound' (as in 'healthy, full') plural suffixes in Hebrew:
> -im (masculine)
> -ot (feminine)
>
> uqyanos ("ocean") >> uqyanosim ("oceans")
> megeira ("drawer") >> megeirot ("drawers")
>
> Hebrew doesn't really have broken plurals; there may be a
fossilized
> form of them in segolates, but the most likely real example is one
word
> from Biblical Hebrew:
>
> zakhar ("male") >> zakhur ("males")
>
> Segolates work like this:
> shever ("break") >> shevarim ("breaks") < *shevar (broken plural?)
+
> -im ?
>
>
> Arabic!
>
> Arabic has much more broken plurals.
>
> Sound suffixes:
> -u:n (m.)
> -a:t (f.)
>
> su:ri: ("syrian") >> su:riyu:n ("syrians")
> ja:mi3a ("university") >> ja:mi3a:t ("universities")
>
> Broken plurals follow many patterns:
>
> kita:b ("book") >> kutub ("books")
> rajul ("man") >> rija:l ("men")
> bayt ("house") >> buyu:t ("houses")
> risa:la ("letter") >> risa:il ("letters") i think; not sure about
this
> one
>
>
> -Stephen (Steg)
> "alSayf, kasayf abyaD..."
> ~ sally caves