Original scientific paper
Metathesis and Homonymy in Biblical Hebrew
Florin-Mihai Dat
; Universite de Bourgogne
Abstract
The theory of matrices and etymons (Bohas 1997, 2000) enables a formal and conceptual organization
of Arabic lexicon based on two essential aspects: one is related to recognizing the lexical
link between the words (i. e. simultaneous presence of an invariant form and a conceptual similarity);
the other is the relationship between these words and the world (i. e. the presence of mimophonic
weight whose articulatory sequences of words make references to certain aspects of reality).
This model is particularly interesting for other language systems, such as Biblical Hebrew (Dat
2002), because it is able to organize its lexicon around a finite number of binary combinations –
matrices. Furthermore, it calls into question certain fundamental linguistic principles such as the
arbitrariness of the sign and its linearity or triliterality of Semitic roots. It also provides an explanation
for phenomena such as enantiosemy, lexical polysemy, etc.
The article focuses on homonymy and metathesis and attempts to give a coherent explanation
for these phenomena, which are still regarded as mysterious in the Semitic languages. The author
proposes new guidelines for analysis and raises questions about certain doxas. In the long term
this would allow drawing all the implications of this lexicological theory and applying them to the
language theory in general (for example, the debate on the nature of sign language) and show, in
a broader context, its impact on current debates, particularly on the problem of the origin of languages.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
38151
URI
Publication date:
19.6.2009.
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