Re: Circumfixes?

On Fri, 8 Jun 2001 19:16:54 -0500 Danny Wier <dawier@...> writes:
> I'm in the process of learning Semitic grammar.  All I know is that
> Arabic has three cases:
>             nom   acc   gen
> definite    -u    -a    -i
> indefinite  -un   -an   -in
> Akkadian, I was told, has more cases.  Hebrew has only one case, or
> does it?
> ~DaW~
-

If you count the vowel-changes caused by the stress shifts in construct
compounds, Hebrew has two cases.  It also has a *very* limited
'destination' case found mostly in Biblical literature:

yerushalayim = Jerusalem
lirushalayim (le-yerushalayim) = to Jerusalem

old 'destination' case:
yerushalayma = to Jerusalem

The 'destination' case (what's the real word?) is today mostly found in
the fossilized form _habayta_, "homewards":

labayit (le-ha-bayit) = to the house
habayta (ha-bayit-a) = to home

even though you'd expect them to mean the exact same thing.

There are also many times in Biblical literature where a destination is
expressed without either the _le-_ prefix or the _-a_ suffix, so you can
find all variations:

"i am going to Jerusalem":

(le-) ~ ani holeikh lirushalayim
(-a) ~ ani holeikh yerushalayma
(   ) ~ ani holeikh yerushalayim

When the word ends in /a/, it has the normal /t/ addition:
"i am going to Gaza" = _ani holeikh `azata_

These are all, btw, accented on the syllable *before* the added /a/.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "good week!"

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