Page:Compendious Syriac Grammar.djvu/61

§§ 31—33. § 31. We have unusual abbreviations in several nouns which are formed from the doubling of a short root ending in r, l, n, m: thus, "chain", from šelšaltā (cf.  "tape-worms");  "wheel";  "throat" from gargartā; ,   "plough" from qenqe̊nā;   "an ant", probably from , and one or two others.

§ 31b. n beginning a word becomes l in several foreign words, like, along with , from , nummus; with , from the Persian namat "carpet".

§ 32. for the most part loses in Syriac its consonantal sound. As an initial sound it falls away along with its vowel in many words to which it belongs: or, , ,  "man", "men", &c.;  or , , &c. "another"; or  "last",  "his last", &c.;  "related";  or  in certain cases for  "I". Even in writing, this is without exception wanting in  "end";,  "one" (m. and f.);  "sister";  "pocket" (bag), and "bearing beam" (rafter) (v. ); , , &c. "come";, , &c. "go";, "goose", from ;  (properly ) =.

§ 33. A. As a medial, disappears completely according to the usual pronunciation, when it immediately follows a consonant or a mere sheva; and the vowel of the  is transferred to the preceding consonant. Thus (a) maṭev "makes good" for maṭʾev;  "demands" for nešʾal;  "hater";  "unclean" f. (constr. st.) &c. (b) "was good" ṭev for ṭe̊ʾev;  šīlā "demanded" (part.);  "beautiful";  "beautiful" (pl.);  "blaming", &c. So too after prefixes: "of the father", from  + ;  "to the artificer" lummānā;  "and ate";  "in what? (f.)" &c. In writing, such an is always left out in  "bad", from, in ,  "teaches", "teachest", &c. for, &c.; farther, generally in the compound for  "although". Errata: