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Much focus in research on alphabetic writing systems has been on correspondences between graphemes and phonemes. The present study sets out to complement these by examining the linguistic denotation of markers of word division in several ancient Northwest Semitic (NWS) writing systems, namely, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, and Hebrew, as well as alphabetic Greek. While in Modern European languages words on the page are separated on the basis of morphosyntax, I argue that in most NWS writing systems words are divided on the basis of prosody: ‘words’ are units which must be pronounced together with a single primary accent or stress, or as a single phrase. After an introduction providing the necessary theoretical groundwork, Part I considers word division in Phoenician inscriptions. I show that word division at the levels of both the prosodic word and of the prosodic phrase may be found in Phoenician, and that the distributions match those of prosodic words and prosodic phrases in Tiberian Hebrew. The latter is a source where, unlike the rest of the material considered, the prosody is well represented. In Part II, word division in Ugaritic alphabetic cuneiform is analyzed. Here two-word division strategies are identified, corresponding broadly to two genres of text: viz, literary, and administrative documents. Word division in the orthography of literary and of some other texts separates prosodic words. By contrast, in many administrative (and some other) documents, words are separated on the basis of morphosyntax, anticipating later word division strategies in Europe by several centuries. Part III considers word division in the consonantal text of the Masoretic tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Here word division is found to mark out ‘minimal prosodic words’. I show that this word division orthography is also found in early Moabite and Hebrew inscriptions. Word division in alphabetic Greek inscriptions is the topic of Part IV. Whilst it is agreed that word division marks out prosodic words, the precise relationship of these units to the pitch accent and the rhythm of the language is not so clear, and consequently this issue is addressed in detail. Finally, the Epilogue considers the societal context of word division in each of the writing systems examined, to attempt to discern the rationales for the prosodic word division strategies adopted. Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.
During its long history the problem of reducing language to writing, and conversely that of interpreting written signs as language, has found a variety of solutions which still exist in the form of different writing systems. Written by a leading expert, this new textbook provides an accessible introduction to the major writing systems of the world, from cuneiform to English spelling. Florian Coulmas presents detailed descriptions of the world's writing systems and explains their structural complexities as well as the intricate relationship between written and spoken language. The book also provides a clear and engaging account of the history of writing and its consequences for human thought and literate society. This illustrated textbook includes questions for discussion at the end of each chapter, and an up-to-date explanation of theoretical issues. Clearly organised and engagingly written, it is the ideal textbook for use on courses on writing systems.
This is the third edition of the late Sir Godfrey Driver's Schweich Lectures, first delivered in 1944. The present edition is based on extensive revisions and additions made by the author himself. The third edition takes account of research and discoveries in the fields of Semitic epigraphy and the theory of writing. It deals with cuneiform scripts, the origins of alphabetic writing, its development from the earliest records until its transmission to the Greeks, and covers all the more important North-Semitic inscriptions. Theories regarding forms of letters, their names, place in the alphabetical sequence etc. are discussed at length.
Semitic Languages in Contact contains twenty case studies analysing various contact situations involving Semitic languages. The languages treated span from ancient Semitic languages, such as Akkadian, Aramaic, Classical Ethiopic, Hebrew, Phoenician, and Ugaritic, to modern ones, including languages/dialects belonging to the Modern Arabic, Modern South Arabian, Neo-Aramaic, and Neo-Ethiopian branches of the Semitic family. The topics discussed include writing systems, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. The approaches range from traditional philology to more theoretically-driven linguistics. These diverse studies are united by the theme of language contact. Thus, the volume aims to provide the status quaestionis of the study of language contact among the Semitic languages. With contributions from A. Al-Jallad, A. Al-Manaser, D. Appleyard, S. Boyd, Y. Breuer, M. Bulakh, D. Calabro, E. Cohen, R. Contini, C. J. Crisostomo, L. Edzard, H. Hardy, U. Horesh, O. Jastrow, L. Kahn, J. Lam, M. Neishtadt, M. Oren, P. Pagano, A. D. Rubin, L. Sayahi, J.Tubach, J. P. Vita, and T. Zewi.
The first comparative grammar of the Semitic languages, by H. Zimmern, was published a hundred years ago and the last original work of this kind was issued in Russian in 1972 by B.M. Grande. The present grammar, designed to come out in the centenary of the completion of Zimmern's work, fills thus a gap. Besides, it is based on both classical and modern Semitic languages, it takes new material of these last decades into account, and situates the Semitic languages in the wider context of Afro-Asiatic. The introduction briefly presents the languages in question. The main parts of the work are devoted to phonology, morphology, and syntax, with elaborate charts and diagrams. Then follows a discussion of fundamental questions related to lexicographical analysis. The study is supplemented by a glossary of linguistic terms used in Semitics, by a selective bibliography, by a general index, and by an index of words and forms. The book is the result of twenty-five years of research and teaching in comparative Semitic grammar.
The Semitic Languages presents a unique, comprehensive survey of individual languages or language clusters from their origins in antiquity to their present-day forms. The Semitic family occupies a position of great historical and linguistic significance: the spoken and written languages of the Phoenicians, Hebrews and Arabs spread throughout Asia and northern and central Africa; the Old Semitic civilizations in turn contributed significantly to European culture; and modern Hebrew, modern literary Arabic, Amharic, and Tigrinya have become their nations' official languages. The book is divided into three parts and each chapter presents a self-contained article, written by a recognized expert in the field. * I. General Issues: providing an introduction to the grammatical traditions, subgrouping and writing systems of this language family. * II. Old Semitic Languages * III. Modern Semitic Languages Parts II and III contain structured chapters, which enable the reader to access and compare information easily. These individual descriptions of each language or cluster include phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and dialects. Suggestions are made for the most useful sources of further reading and the work is comprehensively indexed.
In 1961 William L. Morgan published "The Hebrew Language in Its Northwest Semitic Background", in which he presented a state-of-the-art description of the linguistic milieu out of which Biblical Hebrew developed. Moran stressed the features found in earlier Northwest Semitic languages that are similar to Hebrew and he demonstrated how the study of those languages sheds light on Biblical Hebrew. Since Moran wrote, our knowledge of both the Hebrew of the biblical period and of Northwest Semitic has increased considerably. In the lights of new epigraphic finds and the significant advances in the fields of Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic in the past four decades, the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem convened an international research group during the 2001-2002 academic year on the topic "Biblical Hebrew in Its Northwest Semitic setting: Typological and Historical Perspectives." The volume presents the fruits of the year-long collaboration and contains twenty articles based on lectures given during the year by members of the groups and invited guests. A wide array of subjects are discussed, all of which have implications for the study of Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic.