Conceptualization of the Morpheme and the Distinction Between Verbs and Nouns in Traditional Hebrew Grammars

Abstract

Abstract This paper deals with the traditional distinction between verbs and nouns, in which any verbal form is assigned to one of the seven constant verbal patterns (binyanim), while a nominal form might be assigned to various basic patterns which differ according to its root class (gizrah). It is suggested that this distinction, which is customarily applied in Hebrew grammars since the Middle Ages, is derived from an abstract implicit concept of the notion of the morpheme, which could be deduced from the stances expressed in the traditional discussion on the number of the Hebrew verbal patterns. Given that there is a fundamental semantic difference between the verbal system and the nominal system, this concept of the morpheme, based on the semantic profile of a given word, entailed the distinction between verbs and nouns.