The normalization of biradical roots: the origin of triradicals and the proto-semitic language

Abstract

Many scholars have argued that Semitic triradical roots are expansions of archaic biradical roots. If this is true, then at some point in the past the entire lexicon consisted of biradical roots that then gradually changed into a primarily triradical lexicon. In this paper, I survey scholarly opinions on the biradical roots underlying triradical roots. I also describe linguistic decay formulas in Semitic studies and other methods of identifying the origin of triradical roots. Finally, I apply two linguistic normalization techniques, one binning technique and one exponential decay formula, to two data sets: Aramaic (Targum Jonathan and Onkelos) and Hebrew (Hebrew Bible). Based on the results, I argue that triradical roots emerged around 3500 BCE.