Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Classical Hebrew morphology and syntax, aspect, linguistics, discourse analysis, and related topics
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kwrandolph
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by kwrandolph »

Traditionally, the triliteral verb was considered the core of the Hebrew language (or so I was taught), with nouns, adjectives, etc. being built from those verbs. I now take that claim with a big grain of salt, yet for many words, it remains accurate.

The most common change is the “participle” which targets usually the actor, though often the action. When the noun is Qal masculine singular, its form usually is indistinguishable from a third person singular verb whether Qal, Piel or Pual—context tells us whether or not this is a participle. (I read an unpointed text, as I find that the points cannot always be trusted to give a correct meaning)

When the noun ends in a Heh suffix ה- that almost always marks it as feminine, often denoting a feminine of the object—a mare vs. stallion, nanny goat from a he-goat, etc. It also refers to other factors, e.g. חק is an individual statute, חקה is a group of statutes, e.g. the group of statutes referring to the Passover Numbers 9:12.

A feminine noun in the construct state changes its ending to a Tau ת- but there are also nouns that have such a Tau suffix without being feminine noun in construct case, rather that is an ending found standing alone, also declined as a feminine, do they have a distinct inflection in meaning? Any thoughts?

What meaning does the feminine singular ending ות- confer?

Then there are the prefixes, the most common being a Mem prefix -מ changing a Piel, Pual, Hiphil, Hophal, Hitpael to a participle (noun). But there’s also the Tau prefix -ת which, besides indicating a noun, which other meaning does it imply?

In all this, I’m asking what are the meanings that the different forms imply? Just like in English there’s a difference between “association” and the noun “associate”, so are there patterns of meaning connected with these different prefixes and suffixes? If so, what?

Karl W. Randolph.
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by Isaac Fried »

For a thorough and complete answer to this very basic question on the structure of the Hebrew word it is advisable to go over all (all!) of Isaac Fried's posts to this form. An open minded perusal of his book The Analytic and Synthetic Etymology of the Hebrew Language is also greatly recommended.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
kwrandolph
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Re: Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by kwrandolph »

Isaac Fried wrote:For a thorough and complete answer to this very basic question on the structure of the Hebrew word it is advisable to go over all (all!) of Isaac Fried's posts to this form. An open minded perusal of his book The Analytic and Synthetic Etymology of the Hebrew Language is also greatly recommended.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
This is precisely the action I recommend against. After having seen Isaac Fried’s posts on this list for several years, and seeing that they don’t reflect the reality of Hebrew word meanings and structures, I have stopped even reading most of his postings as a waste of time.

Yes, I had an open mind and considered his theories, but found them wanting. I do not believe that etymology predetermines meaning, otherwise known as the “etymological fallacy”. This particularly fails where there are homonyms or where words have changed meaning.

Having said that, there are legitimate cases of verbal roots that give rise to derived nouns and adjectives, even in English: e.g. “to act” has the noun derivatives “act”, “actor”, “action”, “activity”, and the adjective “active”, maybe more; or “to produce” producing “produce”, “product”, “producer“, “production“, “productive”, etc. Therefore I disagree with those who say we should ignore etymologies. We should just keep them in balance.

(Translation is another can of worms, often adding complexity: e.g. the Hiphil of “to come” הביא means “to cause to come”, which has the same action as “to bring”. That does not make the Hiphil a different word, just that translation uses a different word than understanding a language from within itself.)

So my question remains—has anyone made an analysis of Hebrew prefixes and suffixes and how they modify verbs into nouns, and which meanings are we to understand from those prefixes and suffixes?

I suspect no one has.

Karl W. Randolph.
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by Isaac Fried »

Carl says,
the Hiphil of “to come” הביא means “to cause to come”, which has the same action as “to bring”. That does not make the Hiphil a different word, just that translation uses a different word than understanding a language from within itself.)


Says I,
The root of הביא is בא B, 'be'. The word HE-B-IY contains the two personal pronouns היא 'he', the first (the prefixed) for the actor performing the act, and the other, the internal (the infixed), for the body caused to be. The feminine form הביאה HE-B-IY-AH contains a third היא 'he', for the gender. It is all very obvious, and can actually not be otherwise.

Say my wife observes a fresh one gallon of milk I have just brought הבאתי from the store. She well knows that I could not have caused it to be בא there ex nihilo. She knows that I drove for it to the store, parked the car, went in and walked to the right refrigerator, picked up the milk, stood in line at the register, paid for it, and then came home with it and dutifully placed it in its habitual spot. But this is not linguistics, this is realistics.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by Isaac Fried »

Carl says,
I do not believe that etymology predetermines meaning, otherwise known as the “etymological fallacy”. This particularly fails where there are homonyms or where words have changed meaning.

Says I,
1. the problem with this statement is that it is totally unclear what is meant by the "etymology" of the Hebrew word.
2. There is no such thing as "homonym" roots in Hebrew.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Prefixes and suffixes making nouns, meanings?

Post by Isaac Fried »

Concerning הביא I would add that now the milk is במקרר BA-M-QARER, 'in the cooler', with the pre-attached BA certainly meaning 'in' in the sense of 'be'. The second prefix -M- is מה MA, 'which'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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