SEMITIC PHILOLOGY

Offering a general survey of the Semitic languages and a concise exposition of their comparative grammar, this course is useful to the acquisition of basic skills in order to describe and interpret the main features of Semitic linguistics.

Frontal lessons

This course offers a general survey of the Semitic languages (their geographic position, chronology, documentation, and most important features for comparative purposes and internal subgrouping of the Semitic language family) and a concise exposition of their comparative grammar (writing systems, phonology, morphology, a short account of their main lexical and syntactic traits). A specific ancient Semitic language is closely examined, by reading a fair selection of texts of different typologies with a careful philological analysis.

Part A) Basic notions of comparative Semitic philology.

Part B) 1) Introduction to ancient aramaic dialects (history and classification); 2) Brief grammatical outline of language; 3) Philological and linguistic analysis of ancient aramaic inscriptions, particularly: ancient international treaty of Sefire.

General Section:

- Garbini G. – Durand O. (1994), Introduzione alle lingue semitiche, Brescia.

Monographic Course:

- Hadas–Lebel M. (1994), Storia della lingua ebraica, Firenze.

Hebrew Grammar (to be chosen from):

- Staehli H-P. – Chiesa B. (1986), Grammatica ebraica, Brescia.

- Deiana - Spreafico (2018), Guida allo studio dell'ebraico biblico. Con Chiave degli esercizi. Con Analisi grammaticale della crestomazia, Firenze.

Original texts:

Selection of biblical texts in Hebrew chosen by the teacher, and by the student (only if in agreement with the teacher).

Integration for non-attending students:

- Cesarini Martinelli L. (1984), La filologia, Roma.

and a second reading to be chosen among:

- Bergsträsser G. (1995), Introduction to the Semitic Languages, (translation of the German edition of 1928, notes, bibliography and appendix by P.T. Daniels), Winona Lake: pp. 38-41, 67-68, 97-98, 132- 133.

- Daniels P.T. (1997), ‘Scripts of Semitic Languages’, in Hetzron R. (ed.), The Semitic Languages, London-New York; 16-45.

- Haelewyck J-C. (2006), Grammaire comparée des langues sémitiques, Bruxelles (parte 2, oppure 3 oppure 4: da concordare con il docente).

- Huehnergard J. – Rubin A. D. (2011), ‘Phyla and Waves: Models of Classification of the Semitic Languages’, in S. Weninger (ed.), The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, Berlin-Boston 2011; 259-278.

- Moscati S. (1959), Lezioni di linguistica semitica, Roma; 1-21.

- Moscati S. (a c., 1964), An Introduction to the comparative grammar of the Semitic languages: phonology and morphology, Wiesbaden (parti scelte da concordare con il docente).