03-19-2004, 09:14 PM
Shlama Akhay Paul and Shimoun,
Shlama Akhay,
It is true. Akkadian is the oldest Semitic language known. So based on Akkadian's phonological,morphological, and syntax structure, we can determine which of the three is the most "proto-semitic" by comparing them to their common ancestor. So with all of this said, I have five questions about the phonological structure of Aramaic.
(1) Does Aramaic have a six vowel system composed of three long vowels and three short vowel counterparts (a, i, u, _, _, _)?
(2) Does it have pharyngeal fricative consonants?
(3) Does it have utilization of the glottal stop as a phoneme?
(4) Does it have inclusion of the semivowels (w) and (y) as consonants?
(5) What about the existence of three classes of consonants: voiced, voiceless, and "emphatic" consonants?
(6) Does it have the "classical triangular {vocalic] system," _, _, and _, and the three types of consonants: voiced, voiceless, and emphatic?
Shlama Akhay,
It is true. Akkadian is the oldest Semitic language known. So based on Akkadian's phonological,morphological, and syntax structure, we can determine which of the three is the most "proto-semitic" by comparing them to their common ancestor. So with all of this said, I have five questions about the phonological structure of Aramaic.
(1) Does Aramaic have a six vowel system composed of three long vowels and three short vowel counterparts (a, i, u, _, _, _)?
(2) Does it have pharyngeal fricative consonants?
(3) Does it have utilization of the glottal stop as a phoneme?
(4) Does it have inclusion of the semivowels (w) and (y) as consonants?
(5) What about the existence of three classes of consonants: voiced, voiceless, and "emphatic" consonants?
(6) Does it have the "classical triangular {vocalic] system," _, _, and _, and the three types of consonants: voiced, voiceless, and emphatic?
???Do not give up, for that is ignorance and not according to the rules of this art... Like the lover, you cannot hope to achieve success without infinite perseverance.???