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James Bejon

@jamesbejon.bsky.social

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Hava Bas-Idis @havabasidis.bsky.social · 5d

Was the sound shift *w > /v/ in postvernacular Hebrew precipitated by a corresponding shift in vernacular Aramaic? Or does it represent an independent development?

Reposted by James Bejon

Sarah Parkhouse @sarahparkhouse.bsky.social · 6d

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Sarah Parkhouse @sarahparkhouse.bsky.social · Sep 10

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James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Ah, nice—that would fit. IIRC, Moabite has צהרם for ‘midday’ but then חרנן for the GN חֹרֹנַיִם and דבלתן for דבלָתַיִם.

So is the idea that we’d see Moabite צהרם as צהרָם, much like יוֹמָם?

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Okay—so your view would be that we’ve got a mixed bag—some genuine duals and some formed by analogy with them?

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Ah—I just meant, maybe there’s some development where, say, a liquid consonant plus a long vowel plus /m/ is apt to yield /Caym/, so we could explain the apparent duals as a result of that.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Interesting, thanks.

Noldeke cites the same example (Bahrain) somewhere. If I recall, his evidence for it not being genuinely dual is the nisbe Bakharaani.

Reposted by James Bejon

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

THREAD. Some thoughts on (apparent) dual suffixes in Biblical names.

Relevant comparative data gratefully received.

As I understand it, dual-esque suffixes in names like Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם) and are thought to go back to */aym/ and are (often) viewed as secondary developments.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

But then maybe there’s a good phonological explanation for the development of */aym/?

Meanwhile, I’d be grateful to know if we have examples of dual GNs attested in cuneiform, and to know how popular Arabic dual PNs/GNs are (and how they’re viewed).

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Third, if such dual names existed, it would explain why names like ⟨Jerusalem⟩ (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם) formed, i.e., by analogy with genuine dual GNs.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

Second, most Hebrew dual names seem to work pretty well when you take them to have genuinely dual semantics—e.g., ⟨Appaim⟩ (אַפַּיִם) could be ‘Nostrils’, ⟨Ramathaim⟩ (רָמָתַיִם) could be ‘Twin Peaks’, ⟨Shaaraim⟩ (שַׁעֲרַיִם) could be ‘Two Gates’, etc.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

First, genuinely semantically dual names seem to be a relatively well-known phenomena. For instance, in England we have Two Bridges, Two Waters, Two Gates, etc.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

The best evidence (to my mind) for the secondary formation of an */aym/ suffix is ⟨Jerusalem⟩ (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם) since:

a] it goes back to Shalem (שָׁלֵם) (not שָׁלַיִם), and

b] it occurs as Urušalim in the Amarna Letters.

I’m doubtful, however, about viewing all dual suffixes like this for various reasons.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 6d

THREAD. Some thoughts on (apparent) dual suffixes in Biblical names.

Relevant comparative data gratefully received.

As I understand it, dual-esque suffixes in names like Ephraim (אֶפְרַיִם) and are thought to go back to */aym/ and are (often) viewed as secondary developments.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · 11d

Not the strongest argument for ⟨Ꜣ⟩’s value, but there’s a sort of trill here!

www.youtube.com/shorts/pskrb...

Vulture Sounds - Animal Sound Effects

YouTube video by Animal Sounds FX

www.youtube.com

Reposted by James Bejon

Brendan Hainline @brendanhainline.bsky.social · Feb 9

Go Birds!

Several Egyptian hieroglyphic signs are birds. Here are some common bird signs and their meanings/uses:

[resurrecting an old but topical thread]

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 18

Yes of course—sorry I meant to write ‘swallow’.

ḥubārā is an interesting example, as it's a slightly different pattern, viz. *CuCāCay. The final *-ay could be an old feminine suffix.

I think that Marijn van Putten mentions this in a paper somewhere. Another example is lubādā (لُبَادَى) = ‘quail’.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 18

I would *guess* that qunbara has arisen from qubbara via dissimilation. You could then compare its pattern to that of summāna and many others—ḥummar (‘sparrow/robin’), ḫuṭṭāf (‘sparrow’, probably a loan from Aramaic חטיף, retained as ḫaṭṭif in some dialects I think), etc.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 18

Yes—I think Fox notes it in his book on nominal forms.

It strikes me as very common.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 18

Nor am I.

I am, however, intrigued by the final -Vw of the Arabic sunūnuw as it looks very Egyptian.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

I think I’d quite like to see shoferot used here in honour of the use of qarnot for the four horns of the altar.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

Speaking of which, I’m intrigued by this given the final [-uw] in the Arabic form.

Unsure what to make of all this now.

sed-online.ru/reconstructi...

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

Thanks!

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

Interesting—thanks!

Maybe a cognate’s more reasonable then. Though I’d be more inclined to think that if it was attested in another language in addition to Arabic.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

The former. Re-patterning seems particularly common in loans.

I actually just came across a paper by Corriente where simmāna was classed as a Coptic survival in Egyptian Arabic.

James Bejon @jamesbejon.bsky.social · Sep 17

Major congratulations! SOunds great!!