The QeTAL Form in the Aramaic of Ezra

A Grammaticalization Perspective

  • Alexander Andrason
  • Irina Hornea
  • Marcus Joubert
Keywords: Biblical Aramaic, TAM, grammaticalization, semantic maps, cognitive linguistics

Abstract

The present paper analyzes the TAM semantics of the QeTAL form in the Aramaic of Ezra within the frame of grammaticalization theory (paths) and cognitive linguistics (maps and waves). The authors demonstrate that the various senses exhibited by QeTAL can be mapped onto two sub-paths of the resultative path: the anterior and the simultaneous path. The senses of resultative proper (including the performative), present perfect/taxis (including the pluperfect), perfective past, and non-perfective past cover the consecutive stages of the anterior path. The sense of present stative corresponds to an intermediate stage of the simultaneous path. The primary peak of prototypicality (derived from the frequency of a sense, its productivity, and contextual restrictions) is located in the stage of perfective past, and a secondary peak in the stage of present perfect/taxis. The dynamic definition of QeTAL resulting from this study is consistent with a grammaticalization profile postulated for QeTAL in Daniel by Li (2009). In Ezra, however, the form is slightly less advanced along its path than in Daniel. This is arguably related to the fact that the Aramaic of Ezra is earlier than the Aramaic of Daniel.

Author Biographies

Alexander Andrason

ALEXANDER ANDRASON, PhD in Semitic Languages, University Complutense in Madrid, Spain (2010); PhD in African Languages, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (2016), is a lecturer in the Department of Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University. The scope of his research includes disciplines such as linguistics, cognitive science, and complexity theory. Within the field of linguistics, he specializes in cognitive linguistics, grammaticalization theory, and typology. He speaks more than twenty living languages and has an extensive knowledge of various ancient or classical languages. His language interests include the Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic, Niger-Congo, Nilotic, and Khoe families. He also works on the documentation and preservation of endangered minority languages, e.g., Wymysorys (Poland), Arusa
(Tanzania), and Tjwao (Zimbabwe).

Irina Hornea

IRINA CARINA HORNEA, BA (Hons) in Biblical Hebrew, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (2018), is a master’s student and internship holder in the Department of Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University. Her research interests include languages, both modern and ancient, cognitive linguistics, grammaticalization, and cultures of the Ancient Near East.

Marcus Joubert

MARCUS JOUBERT, BA (Hons) in Biblical Hebrew, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (2018), is a master’s student and internship holder in the Department of Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University. His research interests include cognitive linguistics and grammaticalization theory, as well as cultural aspects of the Ancient Near East.

Published
2019-04-10
How to Cite
Andrason, A., Hornea, I., & Marcus Joubert. (2019). The QeTAL Form in the Aramaic of Ezra: A Grammaticalization Perspective. Archiv orientální, 87(1), 59-98. Retrieved from https://aror.orient.cas.cz/index.php/ArOr/article/view/90
Issue
Vol. 87 No. 1 (2019)
Section
Research Article

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