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.

“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.