mSr & Arabic roots [Was: Re: New To List]

On Wed, 12 Feb 2003 10:47:42 +1300
Wesley Parish <wes.parish@...> wrote:

> Mizraim, best known nowadays as the name of one of the branches of the
> Middle-Eastern Jewish community - Mizrahim, the people of Mizraim.
m-z-r? A closer look at the Arabic name for it now reveals that I made
an error in distinguishing the emphatics S, D, T & DH: I read D for S
(Durned dots!) So The Mod. Arab. for it seems to be mSr (I can't easily
find the short vowels). Presumeably "Mizraim", with a "z" is an older
transliteration. Unless the root has drifted form mzr to mSr.

Interesting: Do Semitic roots undergo such drift? They are never
pronounced themselves, but such a change might make itself known in
the words derived from it. OTOH, if ancient roots are continuously
referred to when coining new words, it might impart an unusual degree
of stability on the phonology. Anyway, new roots seem to be added
occasionally, or at least borrowings such as "television" (in Arabic)
seem to be conceived as deriving from a root like t-l-f-z-y-n or
thereabouts.

s.
----
The best way to remove a virus is with vi and a steady hand.
Stephen Mulraney... ataltane at ataltane.net... ataltane.net