Re: Epphatha Qs

Steg wrote:
"Could you parse out _qagaatelni_ for me?  It's obviously from the root
QTL, but where did the |G| come from?  Or is the |G| the Q of the root,
with the initial |qa-| be like the Talmudic Aramaic present/participle
prefix?"

It's exactly like Talmudic.  Neo-Mandaic has a participial present (and
future) prefixed by qa-, which is possibly a lexicalized relic of QWM "to
stand" (like Italian sto parlando, "I am speaking").

So qa-gaaTel-ni = "PRS-killing.PTC-1SG"

"Btw, thanks for using the term "tD"!   Although i think we
learned them with capital letter first..."

I'm using a convention (albeit an uncommon one) to indicate whether the t is
prefixed or infixed.  The Assyriologists (who invented the system) don't use
this convention as often as other Semitists.  Other Semitists generally have
their own systems ("ethpeel" "hifil" "form IX" and so on).  So, the Arabic
forms come out:

I    fa3ala  G "base stem"
II   fa33ala  D "transitivizing / factitive / intensive"
III  faa3ala  L "reciprocal"
IV  af3ala  C "causative"
V   tafa33ala  tD "transitivizing, reflexive"
VI  tafaa3ala  tL "reciprocal, reflexive"
VII  infa3ala  N "passive"
VIII ifta3ala  Gt "reflexive"
IX  fa3alla  R "colors and bodily defects"
X   istaf3ala  Ct "causative, reflexive"

The glosses for each stem (Arabic "forms") are extremely loose, and don't
stand up to the light of inquiry, so don't take them too seriously.

Obviously, this is a pretty detailed paradigm (how many languages have a
stem for colors and bodily defects?) but a conlanger could probably build
upon these.  Imagine a reciprocal, reflexive stem for colors and bodily
defects ("we made each other green (with envy)")!

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