Re: questions about Arabic

En réponse à Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...>:

>
> Yup, they're the same root.  However, in Hebrew P3L (i usually use {3}
> for `ayin when writing roots) means "to act" or "to labor", the word
> used
> for "to do" is 3SsH ({ss} = ssin, cognate to Arabic shin i think).
Well, the connection between "to act" and "to do" is quite obvious :) , at least
more obvious than the connection between "to be" and "to aim" for the root KWN.

  The
> present-tense-verb/noun form, _po`eil_, means "laborer".  An adjective
> based on the root, _pa`il_, means "active" - for instance, _pa`al,
> pi`eil, vehif`il heim binyanim PE`ILIM_ = "pa`al, pi`eil, and hif`il are
> ACTIVE paradigms".  The word for passive is _savil_, from SBL "to carry,
> suffer" and "reflexive" is _hhozeir_ "returning".
>
I don't know how to say "active" in Arabic, but "passive" is "majhûl" (root
JHL), a passive participle meaning "unknown", because it's normally used only
when the subject is unknown (and Modern Standard Arabic doesn't have a way to
translate the agent of a passive verb, even though some dialects have evolved
such a construction because of influence of other languages).

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr