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Lebanese: Difference between revisions
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Standard Lebanese (𐤇𐤃𐤔 𐤃𐤁𐤓𐤉𐤌 ''dabarīm ḥados'') was based on the Central Lebanese dialect. However, the speakers of other dialects and different languages introduced some calques, borrowings and [[w:Phono-semantic_matching|phono-semantic matchings]] of international words. Currently, about 69% of the population speaks Lebanese as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. | Standard Lebanese (𐤇𐤃𐤔 𐤃𐤁𐤓𐤉𐤌 ''dabarīm ḥados'') was based on the Central Lebanese dialect. However, the speakers of other dialects and different languages introduced some calques, borrowings and [[w:Phono-semantic_matching|phono-semantic matchings]] of international words. Currently, about 69% of the population speaks Lebanese as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. | ||
==Phonology== | ==Phonology== | ||
Old Phoenician had a typical Semitic consonant inventory, with pharyngeals, a series of "emphatic" consonants (possibly ejective, but this is debated), and in early stages also a lateral fricative /ɬ/, and uvular /χ/ and /ʁ/ sounds. /χ/ and /ʁ/ merged into /ħ/ and /ʕ/ respectively while /ɬ/ merged into /ʃ/. Later in some dialects of Old Phoenician /ʃ/ became indistinguishable from /s/ and /p/, /t/ and /k/ became [[w:Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] [pʰ], [tʰ] and [kʰ], which was represented in Ancient Greek and later in Latin texts. These sounds later changed further into fricatives, this [[w:Begadkefat|process]] did not involve voiced stops, unlike in Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew.The vowel system underwent a [[Canaanite shift|Canaanite shift]] - the process, partly shared by Biblical Hebrew, but going further in Phoenician (for example: 𐤓𐤔 ''rūs'', "head", Tiberian Hebrew ''rōš'', ראש). | Old Phoenician had a typical Semitic consonant inventory, with pharyngeals, a series of "emphatic" consonants (possibly ejective, but this is debated), and in early stages also a lateral fricative /ɬ/, and uvular /χ/ and /ʁ/ sounds. /χ/ and /ʁ/ merged into /ħ/ and /ʕ/ respectively while /ɬ/ merged into /ʃ/. Later in some dialects of Old Phoenician /ʃ/ became indistinguishable from /s/ and /p/, /t/ and /k/ became [[w:Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] [pʰ], [tʰ] and [kʰ], which was represented in Ancient Greek and later in Latin texts. These sounds later changed further into fricatives, this [[w:Begadkefat|process]] did not involve voiced stops, unlike in Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew.The vowel system underwent a [[w:Canaanite shift|Canaanite shift]] - the process, partly shared by Biblical Hebrew, but going further in Phoenician (for example: 𐤓𐤔 ''rūs'', "head", Tiberian Hebrew ''rōš'', ראש). | ||
A special reading tradition, called the "religious reading" (𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤕 𐤒𐤃𐤅𐤔𐤕 ''qirī'oth qadūsoth''), has been preserved in liturgical use. In it the emphatic consonants are usually realized as pharyngealized, 𐤒 is a uvular [q], 𐤏 is always pronounced clearly (as [ʕ]), 𐤔 is [ʃ] and voiceless fricatives are often pronounced as aspirated stops in all positions (the latter is not compulsory, however). Nowadays this tradition is slowly dying out, especially among the Catholics, who now always use a regular pronunciation. | A special reading tradition, called the "religious reading" (𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤕 𐤒𐤃𐤅𐤔𐤕 ''qirī'oth qadūsoth''), has been preserved in liturgical use. In it the emphatic consonants are usually realized as pharyngealized, 𐤒 is a uvular [q], 𐤏 is always pronounced clearly (as [ʕ]), 𐤔 is [ʃ] and voiceless fricatives are often pronounced as aspirated stops in all positions (the latter is not compulsory, however). Nowadays this tradition is slowly dying out, especially among the Catholics, who now always use a regular pronunciation. | ||
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===Stress=== | ===Stress=== | ||
Stress is mobile in Lebanese. There are two frequent patterns of lexical stress: on the last syllable and on the penultimate syllable. Final stress is usually more frequent, than other types. Contrary to the prescribed standard, some words exhibit stress on the antepenultimate syllable or even further back, usually in loanwords, e.g. 𐤐𐤅𐤋𐤉𐤈𐤉𐤒𐤀 (''polīṭiqa'' - "politics") /pʰɔ.ˈliː.tɪ.ka/. The stress pattern is typically predictable, depending on syllable weight (that is, vowel length and whether a syllable ended with a consonant): 𐤔𐤌𐤌 ''samêm'' /sa.ˈmeːm/ ("sky"), 𐤀𐤕̄𐤊̄ ''ettekki'' /ʔɛ.ˈtʰɛ.kʰɪ/ ("I give to you"). | Stress is mobile in Lebanese. There are two frequent patterns of lexical stress: on the last syllable and on the penultimate syllable. Final stress is usually more frequent, than other types. Contrary to the prescribed standard, some words exhibit stress on the antepenultimate syllable or even further back, usually in loanwords, e.g. 𐤐𐤅𐤋𐤉𐤈𐤉𐤒𐤀 (''polīṭiqa'' - "politics") /pʰɔ.ˈliː.tɪ.ka/. The stress pattern is typically predictable, depending on syllable weight (that is, vowel length and whether a syllable ended with a consonant): 𐤔𐤌𐤌 ''samêm'' /sa.ˈmeːm/ ("sky"), 𐤀𐤕̄𐤊̄ ''ettekki'' /ʔɛ.ˈtʰɛ.kʰɪ/ ("I give to you"). | ||
==Grammar== | ==Grammar== | ||
Modern Lebanese is partly analytic, expressing such forms as dative, ablative, and accusative using prepositional particles rather than morphological cases (a few dialects still retain the old accusative case in some words, but generally the accusative form became the same as the nominative one). On the other hand, Lebanese is also a fusional synthetic language: inflection plays a role in the formation of verbs and nouns (displaying [[w:Nonconcatenative morphology|non-concatenative]] morphology) and pronominal suffixes. For example, 𐤀𐤁-𐤍𐤌 ''abū-nom'' "father-3stPerson.Plural.Possessive", "their father". | Modern Lebanese is partly analytic, expressing such forms as dative, ablative, and accusative using prepositional particles rather than morphological cases (a few dialects still retain the old accusative case in some words, but generally the accusative form became the same as the nominative one). On the other hand, Lebanese is also a fusional synthetic language: inflection plays a role in the formation of verbs and nouns (displaying [[w:Nonconcatenative morphology|non-concatenative]] morphology) and pronominal suffixes. For example, 𐤀𐤁-𐤍𐤌 ''abū-nom'' "father-3stPerson.Plural.Possessive", "their father". | ||