Marginalia to the Qillirian Rhyme System

Michael Rand

doi:10.11647/obp.0207.16

Abstract

Michael Rand draws attention to some features in the so-called ‘Qillirian’ rhyme scheme, named after the great poet Eleazar be-Rabbi Qillir, who invented and introduced it into Hebrew piyyuṭ. In piyyuṭim with this type of rhyme, morphological elements, namely, two root consonants, form the basis of rhymes. Rand elucidates different ways in which this feature is implemented and how it may encompass both a linguistic reality and a poetic tool. Some rhymes reflect historical phonetic changes that took place in the pronunciation of Hebrew; others constitute poetic techniques. It is shown that in some cases /a/ rhymes with /e/, which is likely to reflect a phonetic reality rooted in the speech of the poets.

Highlights

We survey two sources of inscriptional evidence—Neo-Punic inscriptions from North Africa and Latin and Neo-Punic inscriptions from Sardinia—exploring the implications for better understanding the structure of the Neo-Punic vowel system, that of Latin in© R
When attempting to draw solid conclusions from the evidence of the transcriptions, it must always be kept in mind that ancient Israel has been home to many different Hebrew dialects and reading traditions throughout the centuries
We have suggested that the introduction of gemination into this form was a product of the reading tradition rather than the living language; it should be compared to the phenomenon of dagesh mavḥin attested in both Tiberian and Babylonian Hebrew

Summary

Introduction

We survey two sources of inscriptional evidence—Neo-Punic inscriptions from North Africa and Latin and Neo-Punic inscriptions from Sardinia—exploring the implications for better understanding the structure of the Neo-Punic vowel system, that of Latin in© R. The early masoretic treatises discuss many different phonetic contexts in which an isolated, word-internal shewa not under a geminated consonant is pronounced as vocal, in contrast to the general rule These include the shewa under the ‫ מ‬of the word-initial cluster -‫ ַה ְְמ‬(under certain conditions); a shewa under the first of a pair of identical consonants (always when preceded by a long vowel, and often when preceded by a short vowel); the shewa in certain forms of the verbs ‫,בְ ְַרְך/ ִה ְת ָּברְך‬ ‫ ;גְ ְרׁש , ְָּא ְַכל , ָּיְ ְַרד , ְָּה ַלְְך‬the shewa beneath a sibilant following conjunctive waw (under certain conditions); various other smaller classes of phonetic contexts (Yeivin 1968, 22–49).

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