Copyright

Steven E. Fassberg;

Published On

2025-03-07

Page Range

pp. 641–654

Language

  • English

Print Length

14 pages

Neo-Aramaic 2MS and 2FS Genitive Pronominal Suffixes in the Light of Earlier Aramaic

  • Steven E. Fassberg (author)
Chapter of: Interconnected Traditions: Semitic Languages, Literatures, Cultures—A Festschrift for Geoffrey Khan: Volume 2: The Medieval World, Judaeo-Arabic, and Neo-Aramaic (pp. 641–654)

The article examines the historical development and variation of the 2ms and 2fs genitive pronominal suffixes in Aramaic, tracing their evolution from Proto-Semitic through different phases of the language to their forms in Neo-Aramaic dialects. In Proto-Aramaic, these suffixes were characterised by distinct vowels, with -kā̆ for masculine and -kī̆ for feminine. Over time, dialects such as Official Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, and Classical Syriac preserved earlier forms, while Neo-Aramaic dialects innovated new realisations. In North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic, the suffixes -o/ux (m) and -ax (f) emerged, diverging from Western Neo-Aramaic and Neo-Mandaic, which retained closer connections to earlier forms. The analysis highlights processes such as vowel shifts, morphological reanalysis, and contact-induced changes, showing how different dialects balanced continuity and innovation.

Contributors

Steven E. Fassberg

(author)
Emeritus Professor, Caspar Levias Chair in Ancient Semitic Languages at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Steven E. Fassberg (PhD, Harvard University) is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Hebrew Language at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he held the Caspar Levias Chair in Ancient Semitic Languages. His research interests include Biblical Hebrew, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aramaic Dialectology, Northwest Semitic, Semitic Philology. His monographs include A Grammar of the Palestinian Targum Fragments from the Cairo Genizah (Scholars Press, 1990), Studies in the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew (Magnes Press, 1994 [Hebrew]), The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Challa (Brill, 2010), and An Introduction to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew (Bialik Institute, 2019 [Hebrew]).