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, ቀተለ (qatele), means "to continuously kill, to persist in killing.”
ባረከ [bareke = to bless] – L-stem, Perfect
SINGULAR | PLURAL | |||||
1st Person | ባረኩ | barekku | ባረክነ | barekne | ||
2nd Person | ባረከ | barekke (m.) | ባረክሙ | barekkəmu (m.) | ||
ባረኪ | barekki (f.) | ባረክን | barekkən (f.) | |||
3rd Person | ባረከ | bareke(m.) | ባረኩ | bareku (m.) | ||
ባረከት | bareket(f.) | ባረካ | bareka (f.) | |||
as-salaamu alaykum Hamza,
ReplyDeleteNice 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.
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!
DeleteHandling 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.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. This is very motivational.