Adjective + Complement in Semitic Languages

Authors

  • Amikam Gai

Abstract

The relationship between the two components of the construction known in Arabic as الاضافة غير الحقيقية, e.g., الحَسَنُ ٱلْوَجْهِ‎, Hebrewיְפֵה עֵינַיִם, and Akkadian damqam īnim ‘beautiful-faced/eyed’, is commonly held to be one of nexus: ‘His/her eyes/face are/is beautiful’. The author of the article argues that the relationship is rather that of a verb/(verbal) root with its complement – similar to Arabic تمييز, e.g., حَسَنٌ وَجْهًا ‘He is beautiful, as for his face’. A 1996 article by the author used analytical arguments to prove this; the present article, which is a continuation, does not repeat the analytical arguments, but presents examples contradicting the “Nexus Theory” along with examples unequivocally supporting the “Complement Theory”.

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Published

07.03.2019

How to Cite

Gai, A. (2019). Adjective + Complement in Semitic Languages. Orientalia Suecana, 3–8. Retrieved from https://journals.uu.se/orientaliasuecana/article/view/533

Issue

Section

Research articles