Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
2023-08-30T00:00:00Z
The Ancient South Arabian languages (ASA = Sabaic, Minaic, Qatabanic and Ḥaḍramitic) have traditionally been classified as South Semitic and since Nebes (1994) as Central Semitic, based on the...Show moreThe Ancient South Arabian languages (ASA = Sabaic, Minaic, Qatabanic and Ḥaḍramitic) have traditionally been classified as South Semitic and since Nebes (1994) as Central Semitic, based on the imperfect pattern of Sabaic in weak verbs, such as 2-W/Y. By analyzing inscriptions of all ASA languages from the CSAI-database, applying roughly the same method as Nebes (1994), this study does not only verify Nebes' conclusions for Sabaic, but also shows that not all ASA languages share the same imperfect pattern. Minaic is non-Central Semitic using the imperfect pattern *yVqattVl; the synchronic Qatabanic pattern b-yqtl could have originated from either *yVqtVl(u) or *yVqattVl(u); for Ḥaḍramitic the evidence is inconclusive. Therefore, ASA is no homogeneous group and the individual ASA languages should be reclassified within the Semitic language family.Show less
