LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 9 : 2 February 2009
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         K. Karunakaran, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.

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Etymological Analysis for Some Words of Body Parts
in Semitic Languages
(Especially in Arabic & Hebrew)

Nassim Obeid, Ph.D. Candidate

Introduction

Etymological studies in Semitic languages are very rare and still in the beginning stage. In addition, each language has its own etymological studies. For example, in Hebrew there are many studies in etymology based on Hebrew language which according to Hebrew is the original of and the nearest ancestor to proto Semitic language. On the other hand, Arabian grammarians consider Arabic as the original of and the nearest ancestor to proto Semitic language.

In this paper, I propose to investigate, between Arabic and Hebrew, which one is the nearest to proto Semitic language, based on the data which I collected from many dictionaries for most Semitic languages.

Methodology

I selected the words of body parts for analysis, because

1. the words for body parts are perhaps the oldest words used by humans in everyday life. So, these words may be the nearest to the proto language, and

2. these words can be reconstructed easily, and

3. the data will be find in most of the sister languages, because they are more frequently used.

The study is based on comparative linguistics, and the main aim is to find out the original of the meaning and form of selected proto Semitic words. Based on these one may identify which language is the nearest to the proto form. In addition, I present the important proto roots with their meanings and derivations along with the transliteration for each word.

For the abbreviations and transcription symbols see at the end of this paper.

The analysis will be presented in this manner: (Proto-Semitic after construction. (Root) root of the word. (Arabic) written in Arabic letters with English Transcription. (Hebrew) written in Hebrew letters with English Transcription. (Other languages) if available in other Semitic languages. (Meaning & Etymology) data analysis and results.

The words of body parts that I have selected are:

1-head
2-eyes
3-tooth
4-tongue
5-palate
6-chin
7-mouth
8-shoulder
9-arm
10-hand
11- nail
12- rib (side of chest)
13-hair
14-foot.

Analysis of the words of body parts in Semitic languages follows.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Development of Stroop Effect in Bilinguals | Subtlety, Mockery and Dharma in Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel | Language Alternation Strategies in Nigerian Hip Hop and Rap Texts | Faithfulness and Adequacy in Translation - A Case Study of the Translation of a Poem Written by Bharathiar | Indianized English in Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence | Naipaul's Perception of India | Teaching English Word Formation in Academic Writing - Analysis and Remedy | Sabotaged Submission - Interpreting the Role of Women in Scriptures | Socio-economic Profile of Women Prisoners | Study on the Levels of Living of Self-help Groups in Coimbatore District, with Particular Reference to Thondamuthur and Perianaicken Palayam Blocks | Agreement in Tamil and Telugu | Etymological Analysis for Some Words of Body Parts in Semitic Languages (Especially in Arabic & Hebrew) | HOME PAGE of February 2009 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR

Nassim Obeid, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Linguistics
Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies
University of Mysore
Mysore 570 006, India
nassim165@yahoo.com

 
Web www.languageinindia.com
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