Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb

This book explores the relationship between the so-called ventive morpheme in Akkadian (-am) and the related suffixes -n and -a in other Semitic languages, including Amarna Canaanite, Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Arabic. Using formal reconstructions of the various morphemes and a functional analysis of their different usages, Ambjörn Sjörs convincingly argues that these endings are cognate morphemes that were formally and functionally related to the ventive morpheme in Akkadian.

Sjörs provides a systematic description of non-allative ventive verbs in Old Babylonian, the energic and volitive in Amarna Canaanite, the energic and lengthened prefix conjugation in Ugaritic, the lengthened imperfect consecutive in Biblical Hebrew, and the subjunctive and energic in Classical Arabic. Sjörs explains how these verb forms were used within the framework of grammaticalization theory and demonstrates how the suffixes are historically related.

Clearly and persuasively argued, Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb sheds valuable light on the Akkadian ventive and its relationship to the other related morphemes. It will be welcomed by linguists specializing in Akkadian, Amarna Canaanite, Ugaritic, Hebrew, and Arabic.

“Sjörs convincingly shows that we are dealing with a single morpheme (albeit with two allomorphs). That makes this book a must-read for all interested in comparative Semitic morphology, as well as a more than useful reference work for those studying the individual languages analyzed.”—Jorik Groen, Bibliotheca Orientalis

“The formal connection of morphemes such as those between the Akkadian ventive and the Arabic energic has long been recognized, but a coherent description of the functional derivation has been lacking until now. Motion, Voice, and Mood in the Semitic Verb fills this gap in our understanding.”—Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee, author of Classical Ethiopic: A Grammar of Gəˁəz

Ambjörn Sjörs is a member of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and the author of Historical Aspects of Standard Negation in Semitic.

Preface

List of Abbreviations

Symbols and Transcriptions

Part 1: Introduction

Chapter 1. Preliminaries

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Scope and Material

1.3 Aim and Objectives

Chapter 2. Theoretical Prerequisites

2.1 The Ventive and the Allative

2.2 The Ventive and the Benefactive

2.3 The Reflexive-Benefactive and the Middle

Part 2: Analysis of the Material

Chapter 3. The Middle Ventive in Sargonic Akkadian and Literary Old Babylonian

3.1 Introduction

3.2 The Middle Ventive

3.3 Historical Background of the Ventive

3.4 Summary

Chapter 4. The Ventive-Energic in Amarna Canaanite

4.1 Introduction

4.2 The Ventive in -a

4.3 The Ventive in -n(n)a (the Energic)

4.4 Summary

Chapter 5. The Ventive-Energic in Ugaritic

5.1 Introduction

5.2. Morphological Aspects of the Ventive in Ugaritic

5.3. The Deictic Ventiv

5.4. The Middle Ventive

5.5. The Ventive in -a

5.6. The Compound Pronominal Suffix -n /-Vnnū\ā/

5.7. Plural Verb Forms

5.8. Summary

Chapter 6. The Ventive-Energic in Biblical Hebrew

6.1. Introduction

6.2. The Ventive and the Lengthened Imperfect Consecutive

6.3. The Ventive with Pronominal Suffixes

6.4. The Ventive Allomorph -nå̄

6.5. The Ventive of 2nd and 3rd Person Verb Forms

6.6. Equivocal Examples

6.7. Summary

Chapter 7. The Ventive in Prestandardized Classical Arabic I: The Energic

7.1. Introduction

7.2. The Relationship Between the Long and Short Energic

7.3. Functions of the Energic

7.4. Historical Background of the Energic

7.5. Summary

Chapter 8. The Ventive in Prestandardized Classical Arabic II: The Subjunctive

8.1. Introduction

8.2. The Subjunctive after fa-, ʔaw, and ḥattā

8.3. The Subjunctive after ʔan

8.4. The Subjunctive after lan

8.5. The Subjunctive after li- and kay

8.6. Historical Background of the Subjunctive

8.7. Summary

Part 3: Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 9. Morphological Aspects of the Ventive Morpheme

9.1 The Morpheme *-an in Central Semitic

9.2. The Morpheme *-nVn in Central Semitic

9.3. The Ventive in Proto-Semitic

Chapter 10. Functional Aspects of the Ventive Morpheme

10.1. The Allative and Dative Ventive

10.2. The Benefactive Ventive

10.3. The Middle Ventive

Bibliography

Ancient Source Index

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction