Asseverative *la and Hypothetical *lu/law in Semitic

Abstract

ALL OF THE MAJOR SEMITIC LANGUAGES EXHIBIT ONE OR MORE PARTICLES which begin with / and have asseverative, optative, or injunctive force.' The forms, distribution, and functions of these particles vary considerably among the languages. Although it appears to be generally assumed that these particles may be traced to a small, common set of forms in early Semitic, previous discussions are in fact few, and generally proceed from assumptions that may be disputed when all the evidence is taken into considera2 tion. The present study attempts to collect and describe all the evidence relevant to such particles, and suggests a possible Proto-Semitic situation to account for that evidence. In order to present the data most conveniently, the extant particles may be separated into two categories: independent (non-proclitic) forms, usually of the shape /a or law; and proclitic 1particles, which exhibit either varying or indeterminate vocalization. This division is based on both formal and semantic grounds; it is immediately suggested by the evidence of classical Arabic and the modern South Arabian languages, and is confirmed, as will be shown below, in the remaining languages. *Abbreviations appear at the end of the paper.