RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GE'EZ: THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE OF ETHIOPIA

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING GE'EZ-- THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE OF ETHIOPIA

November 23, 2011

15: Verbs: Frequentative - Perfective


The third type of stem is the frequentative stem, also called the called the “L-stem. It correlates to Form-III in Arabic (فاعل). It’s characterized by a lengthening of the first radical in the root. This stem typically carries a frequentative meaning. For example, the simple verb ቀተለ (qetele) means "to kill" – the frequentative form, ተለ (qatele), means "to continuously kill, to persist in killing.”

ባረከ [bareke = to bless] – L-stem, Perfect


SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st Person
ባረ
barekku

ባረክ
barekne
2nd Person
ባረ
barekke (m.)

ባረክሙ
barekkəmu (m.)
ባረ
barekki (f.)

ባረክን
barekkə(f.)
3rd Person
ባረከ
bareke(m.)

ባረኩ
barek(m.)
ባረከት
bareket(f.)

ባረካ
barek(f.)







3 comments:

  1. as-salaamu alaykum Hamza,

    Nice blog, it's good to see someone taking an interest in Ge'ez, you're right it is a very under-studied Semitic language.

    I'm just curious about the transliteration of your name into Ge'ez though, I would've thought it would be:

    ሐምዛ፡ማሕሙድ

    As ሐ = ح, etymologically, and I thought phonetically too. Is this not the case? I don't know much about Ge'ez phonology, but all books I've read on the issue seem to suggest it is.

    Regards,
    Abu Rashid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wa 'aleykum as-salaam Abu Rashid -- You are correct! The closest phonetic approximation of the pharyngeal < ح > in Ge'ez is < ሐ >. I spelled my name with a < ሀ > simply because that's how its pronounced in Urdu, my native tongue i.e. that's how it's pronounced in my head (in fact, the last name محمود is typically pronounced /mɛmuːd/ - without an "h" sound entirely.) Thank you for your note though. I suppose I ought to transliterate my name here according to its Semitic pronunciation -- in the spirit of linguistic revival!

      Delete
  2. Handling dead languages such as Ge'ez is very demanding. I am not a linguist but since I came from the highlands of Ethiopia, I know the script. So after Amharic became supplanted with English due to passage of time in USA, I decided to go back, in time ,and learn Ge'ez. That was when I was in Los Angeles. A few months later I had to move to a remote place where no one speaks Amharic, let alone Ge'ez. So I got stuck with Lambdin, Leslau and Dillman books without any support system. Today I googled for Ge'ez groups and found this and the semiticroots website with its beautiful transliterator.
    Keep up the good work. This is very motivational.

    ReplyDelete

Comments / Corrections / Suggestions: