The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems

The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems
Author :
Publisher : Oxbow Books
Total Pages : 336
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781789256789
ISBN-13 : 178925678X
Rating : 4/5 (78X Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems by : Robert S.D. Crellin

Download or read book The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems written by Robert S.D. Crellin and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2022-02-03 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems Related Books

The Semantics of Word Division in Northwest Semitic Writing Systems
Language: en
Pages: 336
Authors: Robert S.D. Crellin
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-02-03 - Publisher: Oxbow Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Much focus in research on alphabetic writing systems has been on correspondences between graphemes and phonemes. The present study sets out to complement these
Writing Around the Ancient Mediterranean
Language: en
Pages: 291
Authors: Philippa M. Steele
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-10-06 - Publisher: Oxbow Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Writing in the ancient Mediterranean existed against a backdrop of very high levels of interaction and contact. In the societies around its shores, writing was
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
Language: en
Pages: 1842
Authors:
Categories: Language and languages
Type: BOOK - Published: 1994 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia
Language: en
Pages: 282
Authors: Roger D. Woodard
Categories: Foreign Language Study
Type: BOOK - Published: 2008-04-10 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book, derived from the acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages, describes the ancient languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, fo
The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Mary E. Buck
Categories: Amorites
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In The Amorite Dynasty of Ugarit Mary Buck pursues a nuanced view of populations in the Bronze Age Levant, with the objective of understanding the ancient polit