[Mesorah] At/Atah

[Benjamin M. Kandel]

A couple of small comments: 1) In Syriac, the Proto-Semitic nun is also
preserved (not just the yodh), and there's something like a perpetual
k'rei-ketiv of *'anti>'at.  2) The proposed second-person feminine pronoun
*'anti is not just a figment of linguists' imagination; it's attested to
in the ketiv of several pesukim (e.g., Shoftim 17:2, Melakhim Alef 14:2,
etc.), and Ibn Ezra observes a similar phenomenon with *bint>bat (Peirush
ha-Arukh, Shmot 5:9).

Kol tuv

Ben Kandel


> not a shoresh per se, but the Proto-Semitic was probably 'anta/'anti
> (masc/fem).  In Hebrew (and other North-East and North-West Semitic
> languages), the nun assimilated to the taw.  When short final vowels were
> lost in Hebrew, the vowel was dropped in the feminine and lengthened in
> the
> masculine.
> Cf other Semitic languages below.
> Hayyim
>
> (Since I can't replicate the macron above a vowel, double letters are used
> for long vowels.)
> Akkadian    attaa/attii
> Ugaritic       'at/'at
> Syriac         'att/'att [the feminine retains in writing a silent final
> yod]
> Arabic         'anta/'anti
> Ethiopic       'anta/'antii
> Hebrew       'attaa/'att
>   _____
>
> From: mesorah-bounces at lists.aishdas.org
> [mailto:mesorah-bounces at lists.aishdas.org] On Behalf Of Michael Kopinsky
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:40 AM
> To: mesorah at aishdas.org
> Subject: [Mesorah] At/Atah
>
>
> What is the shoresh of At and Atah?  Is there one?
>
> KT,
> Michael
>
> _______________________________________________
> Mesorah mailing list
> Mesorah at lists.aishdas.org
> http://lists.aishdas.org/listinfo.cgi/mesorah-aishdas.org
>