In many parts of the developed and developing world, traditional children's rhymes are under threat. The disappearance of these traditional rhymes could impact children's phonological development (Di Liberto et al., 2023, Harper, 2011), awareness of their natural environment, and their appreciation (and later composition) of poetry by older speakers. While rhymes in literate societies are often documented and can thus can be retrieved, this is not the case for the Mahrah and other exclusively oral societies. In this paper, we examine traditional children's rhymes in Mehri, an endangered Modern South Arabian language (MSAL), focusing on rhymes and riddles and the significance of their impending loss within al-Mahrah governorate in Yemen. We conclude by suggesting ways in which the Mehri community, in collaboration with native-speaker and non-native-speaker researchers, can revitalize this genre of poetry.
在发达国家和发展中国家的许多地方，传统童谣正受到威胁。这些传统童谣的消失可能会影响儿童的语音发展（Di Liberto et al.虽然在有文字的社会中，儿歌往往有据可查，因此可以被检索到，但马哈拉人和其他纯口述社会的情况并非如此。在本文中，我们研究了濒危的现代南阿拉伯语（MSAL）Mehri 中的传统童谣，重点是童谣和谜语以及它们在也门马哈拉省即将消失的意义。最后，我们提出了 Mehri 社区与母语和非母语研究人员合作振兴这种诗歌体裁的方法。
{"title":"Children's Rhymes and Nature in Mehri, A Modern South Arabian Language","authors":"Saeed Al-Qumairi, Andrea Boom, Janet C E Watson","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae022","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In many parts of the developed and developing world, traditional children's rhymes are under threat. The disappearance of these traditional rhymes could impact children's phonological development (Di Liberto et al., 2023, Harper, 2011), awareness of their natural environment, and their appreciation (and later composition) of poetry by older speakers. While rhymes in literate societies are often documented and can thus can be retrieved, this is not the case for the Mahrah and other exclusively oral societies. In this paper, we examine traditional children's rhymes in Mehri, an endangered Modern South Arabian language (MSAL), focusing on rhymes and riddles and the significance of their impending loss within al-Mahrah governorate in Yemen. We conclude by suggesting ways in which the Mehri community, in collaboration with native-speaker and non-native-speaker researchers, can revitalize this genre of poetry.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141920266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The study of the Bible in Arabic has become a topic of increasing interest among scholars of the intellectual history of the Islamic world, as well as Christianity in areas under Islamic rule. Nevertheless, most Arabic Bible manuscripts remain largely, or even totally, unstudied. While the textual and theological dimensions of these translations are attracting increasing scholarly attention, their linguistic analysis remains dominated by a traditionalist approach now completely outdated. This paper has two goals, one descriptive and one methodological. First, we aim to fully describe the Arabic Gospel manuscript Sinai Arabic MS 68, traditionally dated to the 14th century CE but which we date to the 16th century CE, perhaps in the aftermath of the fall of the Mamluk empire. Our description focuses on the linguistic nature of the manuscript, but includes discussions of its history and materiality as well. Second, we propose a methodological approach to studying the language of the text that takes seriously non-Classical components and contextualizes these features within what is known from other such non-Classical compositions, including especially Christian manuscripts. We conclude that the manuscript was produced by artisans and a scribe with significant courtly experience, and shows evidence of multiple normative linguistic registers, which argues strongly for the importance of broadening the framework within which scholars interpret such ‘Middle Arabic’ texts.
对阿拉伯语圣经的研究已成为伊斯兰世界思想史学者以及伊斯兰统治地区基督教学者越来越感兴趣的话题。然而，大多数阿拉伯语圣经手稿在很大程度上甚至完全没有得到研究。虽然这些译本的文本和神学层面正吸引着越来越多的学者关注，但其语言学分析仍被一种现已完全过时的传统方法所主导。本文有两个目标，一个是描述性目标，一个是方法论目标。首先，我们旨在全面描述阿拉伯语福音手稿《西奈阿拉伯语 MS 68》，该手稿的传统年代为公元 14 世纪，但我们将其年代定为公元 16 世纪，或许是马穆鲁克帝国灭亡之后。我们的描述侧重于手稿的语言性质，但也包括对其历史和材料性的讨论。其次，我们提出了一种研究该手稿语言的方法论，该方法认真对待非经典成分，并将这些特征与其他非经典作品（尤其是基督教手稿）中的已知内容相结合。我们的结论是，这份手稿是由工匠和一位具有丰富宫廷经验的抄写员制作的，并显示出多种规范语言的证据，这有力地证明了扩大学者解释此类 "中古阿拉伯语 "文本的框架的重要性。
{"title":"Sinai Arabic MS 68: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Unique Arabic Gospel Manuscript","authors":"Phillip W Stokes, Noha Abou-Khatwa, Georg Leube","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae020","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The study of the Bible in Arabic has become a topic of increasing interest among scholars of the intellectual history of the Islamic world, as well as Christianity in areas under Islamic rule. Nevertheless, most Arabic Bible manuscripts remain largely, or even totally, unstudied. While the textual and theological dimensions of these translations are attracting increasing scholarly attention, their linguistic analysis remains dominated by a traditionalist approach now completely outdated. This paper has two goals, one descriptive and one methodological. First, we aim to fully describe the Arabic Gospel manuscript Sinai Arabic MS 68, traditionally dated to the 14th century CE but which we date to the 16th century CE, perhaps in the aftermath of the fall of the Mamluk empire. Our description focuses on the linguistic nature of the manuscript, but includes discussions of its history and materiality as well. Second, we propose a methodological approach to studying the language of the text that takes seriously non-Classical components and contextualizes these features within what is known from other such non-Classical compositions, including especially Christian manuscripts. We conclude that the manuscript was produced by artisans and a scribe with significant courtly experience, and shows evidence of multiple normative linguistic registers, which argues strongly for the importance of broadening the framework within which scholars interpret such ‘Middle Arabic’ texts.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141920272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper deals with a new Ancient North Arabian (ANA)-Safaitic inscription from the north-eastern basaltic region of Jordan. Its author registers a revenge-taking action for a man called S1 TR. In contrast to the usual type of Safaitic inscriptions that deal with revenge, we encounter here a case of revenge in which the Arabian goddess Allāt is called for s2 hdt ‘testimony’. The onomastic and lexical components, with special focus on the lexeme s2 hdt and its semantic field, are investigated and analyzed in light of the Semitic lexicon.
{"title":"An Oath for Vengeance? A vendetta with the testimony of the goddess Allāt in an Ancient North Arabian inscription from Jordan","authors":"Hani Hayajneh, Rafe Harahsheh","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae024","url":null,"abstract":"This paper deals with a new Ancient North Arabian (ANA)-Safaitic inscription from the north-eastern basaltic region of Jordan. Its author registers a revenge-taking action for a man called S1 TR. In contrast to the usual type of Safaitic inscriptions that deal with revenge, we encounter here a case of revenge in which the Arabian goddess Allāt is called for s2 hdt ‘testimony’. The onomastic and lexical components, with special focus on the lexeme s2 hdt and its semantic field, are investigated and analyzed in light of the Semitic lexicon.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141611223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article is dedicated to one of the main lexical cruxes of the Gezer tablet, the expression ʿṣd pšt in the third line of the inscription. I follow the longstanding understanding of the Gezer inscription, according to which pšt refers to flax. The primary innovation of the article lies in the re-evaluation of the cognate Arabic etymology. I argue that the cognate Arabic ʿḍd in both Classical and Modern Arabic does not signify ‘cutting’, as has been suggested in research thus far. Rather, it means ‘upper arm’. I then examine the Mishnaic Hebrew phrase פשתן חוצני ḥoṣne pištan ‘flax bundles’ (m. Pe’ah 6:5) which exhibits a semantic shift: ḥōṣɛn ‘bosom’ > ‘amount carried under bosom’ > ‘bundle’. Based on the revised Arabic ʿḍd ‘upper arm’ meaning, I propose a semantic parallel: the Gezer inscription’s verbal noun ʿṣd (< Proto- Semitic ‘upper arm’) has possibly experienced a semantic shift similar to that of חוצני פשתן ḥoṣne pištan ‘flax bundles’ in m. Pe’ah 6:5: ‘upper arm’ > ‘armful of produce’ > ‘bundle’. Accordingly, I suggest ʿṣd pšt means ‘bundling flax’. This suggestion offers a straightforward solution which clarifies etymological data from various Semitic languages, fits within the context of the Gezer inscription and finally resolves the agricultural ‘cutting’ flax difficulty.
{"title":"The Gezer Inscription ʿṣd pšt ‘Bundling Flax’: Revising the Arabic Cognate Etymology","authors":"Mila Neishtadt","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae012","url":null,"abstract":"This article is dedicated to one of the main lexical cruxes of the Gezer tablet, the expression ʿṣd pšt in the third line of the inscription. I follow the longstanding understanding of the Gezer inscription, according to which pšt refers to flax. The primary innovation of the article lies in the re-evaluation of the cognate Arabic etymology. I argue that the cognate Arabic ʿḍd in both Classical and Modern Arabic does not signify ‘cutting’, as has been suggested in research thus far. Rather, it means ‘upper arm’. I then examine the Mishnaic Hebrew phrase פשתן חוצני ḥoṣne pištan ‘flax bundles’ (m. Pe’ah 6:5) which exhibits a semantic shift: ḥōṣɛn ‘bosom’ &gt; ‘amount carried under bosom’ &gt; ‘bundle’. Based on the revised Arabic ʿḍd ‘upper arm’ meaning, I propose a semantic parallel: the Gezer inscription’s verbal noun ʿṣd (&lt; Proto- Semitic ‘upper arm’) has possibly experienced a semantic shift similar to that of חוצני פשתן ḥoṣne pištan ‘flax bundles’ in m. Pe’ah 6:5: ‘upper arm’ &gt; ‘armful of produce’ &gt; ‘bundle’. Accordingly, I suggest ʿṣd pšt means ‘bundling flax’. This suggestion offers a straightforward solution which clarifies etymological data from various Semitic languages, fits within the context of the Gezer inscription and finally resolves the agricultural ‘cutting’ flax difficulty.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141574328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines serialism (i.e. serial derivations) in regressive voicing assimilation (RVA) within the framework of harmonic serialism in coping with heterorganic obstruent clusters in Modern Hebrew. The study depends primarily on data gathered from literature, including books, articles, and theses. The findings show that RVA in Modern Hebrew operates through two derivational steps in a feeding order (i.e. transparent rule interaction): the first step involves delinking the [voice] feature of the target consonant feeds and spreading the [voice] feature of the trigger consonant. Heterorganic obstruent clusters are created by attaching the hitpa'el prefix /hit-/ to the root initial [z] and require RVA and metathesis. RVA occurs before metathesis in a counterbleeding order, constituting an opaque rule interaction. In other words, this opaque phonological derivation embodies RVA and metathesis where RVA counterbleeds metathesis. This research shows that harmonic serialism, in contrast to parallel optimality theory (P-OT), effectively expresses the generalization about RVA in Modern Hebrew.
{"title":"Serialism in regressive voicing assimilation: The case of heterorganic obstruent clusters in Modern Hebrew","authors":"Mufleh Salem M Alqahtani","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae023","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines serialism (i.e. serial derivations) in regressive voicing assimilation (RVA) within the framework of harmonic serialism in coping with heterorganic obstruent clusters in Modern Hebrew. The study depends primarily on data gathered from literature, including books, articles, and theses. The findings show that RVA in Modern Hebrew operates through two derivational steps in a feeding order (i.e. transparent rule interaction): the first step involves delinking the [voice] feature of the target consonant feeds and spreading the [voice] feature of the trigger consonant. Heterorganic obstruent clusters are created by attaching the hitpa'el prefix /hit-/ to the root initial [z] and require RVA and metathesis. RVA occurs before metathesis in a counterbleeding order, constituting an opaque rule interaction. In other words, this opaque phonological derivation embodies RVA and metathesis where RVA counterbleeds metathesis. This research shows that harmonic serialism, in contrast to parallel optimality theory (P-OT), effectively expresses the generalization about RVA in Modern Hebrew.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141574315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The concept of emotions has been studied from numerous perspectives in psychology, the history of emotions and religion. This study sheds light on the linguistic devices implemented to articulate emotions in the Qurʾān by taking the emotion verb xāfa ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ (and its derivatives) as a case study. In both modern and classical dictionaries of the Arabic language as well as in Quranic exegesis, the verb xāfa is often replaced by another verb that expresses fear such as xašiya ‘to be afraid’ or ‘to be in awe’. Here it is shown that the verb xāfa occurs in certain syntactic structures and has specific meanings that are not denoted by other verbs expressing fear in the Qurʾān. Specifically, when the verb xāfa is followed by a subordinate clause that starts with the particle ‘an, it can be rendered as ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ since the cause of this fear is a probable event. When the verb xāfa is followed by the preposition ‘alā it denotes ‘to fear for [the wellbeing of] someone (e.g., a family member)’ because of a situation in which they are likely to be found. When it is followed by the noun rabb ‘Lord’ or Allāh ‘God’, the verb refers to ‘fear of God’, where fear of His punishment motivates the people to worship Him. When the verbal noun xawf has no object and is used in conjunction with the verbal noun ‘amn (‘security’) it can be interpreted as ‘insecurity about something’. Because the verb xāfa is central to the religious concept of fear of God, it is used in the Qurʾān to express a general and collective attitude of fear or awe. However, xāfa is also used to express individual experiences of fright at specific times or places.
{"title":"The Grammar of Emotion Verbs in the Qurʾān: A Case Study of the verb xāfa","authors":"Yehudit Dror, Salam Saied, Bayan Amara","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae021","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of emotions has been studied from numerous perspectives in psychology, the history of emotions and religion. This study sheds light on the linguistic devices implemented to articulate emotions in the Qurʾān by taking the emotion verb xāfa ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ (and its derivatives) as a case study. In both modern and classical dictionaries of the Arabic language as well as in Quranic exegesis, the verb xāfa is often replaced by another verb that expresses fear such as xašiya ‘to be afraid’ or ‘to be in awe’. Here it is shown that the verb xāfa occurs in certain syntactic structures and has specific meanings that are not denoted by other verbs expressing fear in the Qurʾān. Specifically, when the verb xāfa is followed by a subordinate clause that starts with the particle ‘an, it can be rendered as ‘to fear’ or ‘to be afraid’ since the cause of this fear is a probable event. When the verb xāfa is followed by the preposition ‘alā it denotes ‘to fear for [the wellbeing of] someone (e.g., a family member)’ because of a situation in which they are likely to be found. When it is followed by the noun rabb ‘Lord’ or Allāh ‘God’, the verb refers to ‘fear of God’, where fear of His punishment motivates the people to worship Him. When the verbal noun xawf has no object and is used in conjunction with the verbal noun ‘amn (‘security’) it can be interpreted as ‘insecurity about something’. Because the verb xāfa is central to the religious concept of fear of God, it is used in the Qurʾān to express a general and collective attitude of fear or awe. However, xāfa is also used to express individual experiences of fright at specific times or places.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141506823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A close examination of contemporary Hebrew as spoken by Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, communities in Israel reveals linguistic layers from several historical and cultural contexts. This article looks at elements from three of these layers: Jewish religious literature, the Yiddish language and outdated Israeli Hebrew. An analysis of these elements sheds light on how Haredi Hebrew differs from ‘general’ Israeli Hebrew and how these differences reflect linguistic perceptions and socio-cultural values that distinguish Haredim from the broader Israeli population. In addition to demonstrating the intricate interplay between language and society, analysis offers insight into the dynamic nature of Hebrew language evolution.
{"title":"Three Early Linguistic Layers in Haredi Hebrew","authors":"Dina Sender","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae015","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 A close examination of contemporary Hebrew as spoken by Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, communities in Israel reveals linguistic layers from several historical and cultural contexts. This article looks at elements from three of these layers: Jewish religious literature, the Yiddish language and outdated Israeli Hebrew. An analysis of these elements sheds light on how Haredi Hebrew differs from ‘general’ Israeli Hebrew and how these differences reflect linguistic perceptions and socio-cultural values that distinguish Haredim from the broader Israeli population. In addition to demonstrating the intricate interplay between language and society, analysis offers insight into the dynamic nature of Hebrew language evolution.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141101398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Boris Liebrenz, Tēmōnit: Arab Traders in Their Own Words: Merchant Letters from the Eastern Mediterranean Around 1800","authors":"Mohamed Ahmed","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140716115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"William A. Ross and Elizabeth Robar (EDS), Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text","authors":"Larry James Kraskevich","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgae010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgae010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140714544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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