Re: triconsonantal roots

On Sat, 27 Dec 2003 22:06:05 -0500, Robert Jung <RobertMJung@...>
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> How many root concepts would one need for a functional
> three-consonantal-root, Arabic-ish (or Hebrew-ish etc.), usable conlang?
> I think it'd be cool to create such a lang, but I dunno where to start...
Well, "Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic" (PAA being ancestor of
Proto-Semitic) lists slightly over a thousand *bi*consonantal roots (using
the basic five vowels, short and long; two or three tones, and
forty-something consonants), from which the familiar Semitic
triconsonantal roots were derived through various processes (most of the
PAA consonants could be used as derivational morphemes).

How many roots you *need*, now that depends on how rich a vocabulary you
want...

        *Muke!
--
http://frath.net/                  E jer savne zarjé mas ne
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http://kohath.deviantart.com/      Brissve mé kolé adâ.

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