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Inquiries Concerning the Structure of the Semitic Languages
Inquiries Concerning the Structure of the Semitic Languages Author:William Martin Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: zala comes zal-zala = commovit, tremefecit Deus terram; from raja, raj-raja = agitatus fuit, tremuit, vacillavit; from rafa (the root of the Arabic verb ra/a-a=i... more »n altum sustulit, elevavit ; and sha-rafa = altus fuit, eminuit), ra/-ro/a=alas expandit; movit alas circum rem, in earn se immissurus struthiocamelus; from asa, as- sa=ap- propinquavit terrss nubes, tenebrascere ceepit nox. In Hebrew the monosyllabic root rarely occurs by itself. The reduplication presents itself for the most part in disyllabic verbs, of which the former syllable is a prefix. Of this prefix the consonant is retained, whilst its vowel is reduced to its shortest equivalent, in order to compensate for the increased length of the word, owing to the reduplication. Thus from sa-ar (circum- ivit, peragravit) is formed s6-ar-ar=cito circuivit cor, i.e. vehementer palpitavit. 3. These repeated acts are not to be viewed as acts distinct and separate from one another; the bringing of them together within the compass of one word indicates that all the repeated acts, comprised within that word, are parts of one and the same movement or operation. Thus the reduplicate verb zalmla expresses the effect of a shock of earthquake in producing repeated vibrations or tremulous movements of the ground. The verb raf-rafa expresses the repeated efforts, which issue in the bird's act of lifting itself into the air. The verb 'as-iasa expresses the gradual approach of the night, when every minute seems to add to the darkness; that is to say, theseveral stages of which, the result is summed up in the verb iasd (a-)=valde obscura fuit nox. In the case of reduplicate nouns or adjectives, the notion of movement, inherent in the reduplicate verb, disappears; and that of a state of things or a quality takes its place. Thus fr...« less