ROOTS IN MODERN HEBREW

Abstract

Roots as one of the two discontinuous morphemes comprising root-pattern formation - a hallmark of the word-formation of Modern Hebrew and other semitic languages - are conceived as a purely synchronic unit. They are analyzed as composing two or three radicals, each of which contains up to three radical components, on the basis of their synchronic behaviors. They are biconsonantal, triconsonantal, quadriconsonantal or quinteconsonantal, and in terms of the number of radical components in each slot of a radical the following types of roots are found: 1-1, 1-1-1, 1-2-1, 1-3-1, and 2-2-1. The inventory of radical components is as follows: m, P, p, f, B, b, v, V, j, J, n, N, t, d, s, z, c, š, ž, č, ğ, k, K, x, g, r, 1, ', A, and h, where P, B, V, J, N, K, and A stand for the archiphonemes demonstrating the morphophonological alternations of p~f, b~v, v~Ø, j~Ø, n~Ø, k~x, and '~a respectively. This is in opposition with the traditional view which interprets the inventory of what are called radical components here as the letters of the alphabet. Roots are divided into primary and secondary roots. The types of formation of the latter are summarized as follows : 1) expansion of primary roots : 1.1) reduplication of the first radical, 1.2) reduplication of the third radical, 1.3) addition of ', 1.4) addition of š, 1.5) addition of t ; 2) extraction from nonverbal stems : 2.1) whole extraction : 2.1.1) from nominal primitive bases, 2.1.2) from adjectival primitive bases, 2.1.3) from nominal simplexes, 2.1.4) from nominal complexes2, 2.1.5) from nominal blends ; 2.2) aphaeretic extraction: 2.2.1) from nominal primitive bases, 2.2.2) from nominal compounds ; 2.3) apocopic extraction : 2.3.1) from nominal primitive bases, 2.3.2) from nominal simplexes ; 2.4) extraction with partial reduplication : 2.4.1) from nominal primitive bases ; 2.5) extraction with whole reduplication : 2.5.1) from nominal primitive bases.