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Some lexiographical problems of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic 1
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2009
Extract
Previous dictionaries of Jewish Aramaic (JA) have pursued practical rather than strictly linguistic aims and tried to include lexical material from the whole of Rabbinic literature written in East and West Aramaic as well as in post-Biblical Hebrew. Given that (1) Rabbinic literature is thoroughly infused with Hebrew passages and words commonly used in JA, (2) that the Jewish literary ‘diglossia’ in (East and West) Aramaic may even have developed into ‘pentaglossia’ (i.e. two spoken and literary Aramaic dialects and Hebrew), (3) and that Jewish copyists were more used to the language of the Talmudic Babylonian Aramaic (TBA) and altered many original Palestinian forms accordingly—to mention just three main reasons—it is obvious that earlier lexicographers of JA were entangled in a complex of problems which they were forced to solve practically rather than linguistically. Their works will stand as the great achievements of JA lexicography before the later classifications of JA dialectology took effect.
The Altmeister of Aramaic studies, Th. Nöldeke, who is quoted by Michael Sokoloff, author of this first dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (JPA), said more than a century ago:
One could doubt the propriety of a dictionary of the entire old Rabbinic literature. Namely, it is anathema for linguists to find Hebrew and Aramaic together in one lexicon. But on the other hand, this entire literature, as diverse as it is, stands together.
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , June 1992 , pp. 205 - 230
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- Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1992
References
2 See Rosenthal, F., Die aramaistische Forschung seit Theodor Nöldekes Veröffentlichungen (= AF), pp. 115–21..Google Scholar
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4 These terms were coined by Goshen-Gottstein (see preceding n.), p. 175 with n. 29.
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38 θ is used to mark the undesignated first homonym.
39 op. cit., o. 72a f., cf. Levy, op. cit., I, 89a ff.
40 A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (published in the same year as Jastrow's Dictionary), p. 18a. Since all homograms are clearly distinguished by their fully-indicated vocalization, it would have been superfluous to number them.
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42 LS, 75a.
43 In this and the following random examples the missing asterisk has been supplied.
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46 My italics.
47 op. cit., 213b–16a.
48 M. Jastrow, op. cit., 185b, compressed them into one entry.
49 J. Levy, op. cit., 1, 224a–28a; Jastrow, 168, was satisfied with an extract o f ‘chief compounds’.
50 J. Levy, op. cit., I, 259b.
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64 The abs. and the cs. st. fem. pi. were occasionally confused in PA, see examples from SA in my GSA, 285:11–16. Although in the present case SA has preserved the correct ending-āt, the confusion need not be excluded in JPA.
65 cf. Levy, , I, 201 s.v. bôṣîn('): ‘ein Babylonier sagte zu einer palästinischen Frau: “yyty ly try bûṣînê bringe mir zwei Buzine; er meinle ‘Gurken’, sie aber brachte ihm Lichter”. Im paläst. Dialekte näml. war die letztere Bedeut. unseres Ws. nicht bekannt.’.Google Scholar