Open AccessAdjective + Complement in Semitic Languages
Author(s) -
Amikam Gai
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
orientalia suecana
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2001-7324
pISSN - 0078-6578
DOI - 10.33063/diva-378636
Subject(s) - complement (music) , semitic languages , linguistics , adjective , akkadian , verb , face (sociological concept) , german , hebrew bible , nexus (standard) , philosophy , history , arabic , biblical studies , computer science , noun , theology , biochemistry , complementation , gene , phenotype , chemistry , embedded system
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”.