Diversity in Numbers: A Linguistic Analysis of Numerals in Maskilic Hebrew
This article constitutes the first linguistic analysis of Maskilic Hebrew numerals. While it is commonly believed that Maskilic Hebrew exhibited a normative grammatical structure based largely on the biblical standard, examination of Maskilic texts reveals a much more diverse reality including eleme...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The National Association of Professors of Hebrew
2019
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| In: |
Hebrew studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 60, Pages: 389-417 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Linguistics
/ Analysis
/ Grammar
/ Number system
/ Hebrew language
/ Yiddish
/ German language
|
| IxTheo Classification: | KBL Near East and North Africa |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article constitutes the first linguistic analysis of Maskilic Hebrew numerals. While it is commonly believed that Maskilic Hebrew exhibited a normative grammatical structure based largely on the biblical standard, examination of Maskilic texts reveals a much more diverse reality including elements of Biblical, Rabbinic, Medieval, and later Hebrew, as well as Yiddish and German, a reflection of the authors’ rich linguistic background. The article explores the intriguing ways in which these different elements manifest themselves in Maskilic Hebrew numeral morphosyntax and usage. It analyses the key features of the numeral system drawing on examples from prominent Maskilic Hebrew texts of various fiction and nonfiction genres. These features include the avoidance of the dual in favor of the plural with the numeral שנים\שתים ‘two’ (e.g., שתי שנים ‘two years’); word order with basic and compound numerals (e.g., שלשה ימים versus ימים שלשה ‘three days’; עשרים וחמש versus חמש ועשרים ‘twenty five’); equalization of polar agreement (e.g., ארבע נסיכים ‘four princes’ and ששה ספינות ‘six ships’); the use of the absolute and construct forms with numerals (e.g., החמשה ירחים ‘the five months’); the use of ordinals to indicate hours (e.g., בשעה הרביעית ‘at four o’clock’); and the use of the German ordinal markers טען - and דען - to indicate dates (e.g., סעפטעמבער ביום 20 טען ‘on the twentieth of September’). The article provides a diachronic perspective on these Maskilic Hebrew features by examining their relationship with earlier forms of the language as well as with Modern Hebrew. |
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| ISSN: | 2158-1681 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/hbr.2019.0024 |