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Document Details : Title: Seven Neo-Mandaic Lexemes and their Ancient Antecedents Author(s): MUTZAFI, Hezy Journal: Orientalia Volume: 91 Issue: 3 Date: 2022 Pages: 317-333 DOI: 10.2143/ORI.91.3.3293014 Abstract : The present article discusses seven selected lexical findings in Neo-Mandaic (NM), one of the rarest and most seriously endangered Semitic languages. All are shown to be inherited Aramaic words and meanings not attested in literary Mandaic sources. Comparative examination of cognates in literary Aramaic languages such as Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, as well as cognates in some of the modern Aramaic varieties, are adduced to establish the Aramaic provenance of these NM lexemes. It is only by virtue of these modern Mandaic lexical manifestations and their cognates that the existence of their pre-modern Mandaic antecedents can be inferred and reconstructed. The seven lexical items in question are added to dozens of such cases of NM lexemes inherited from hitherto unattested ancient Mandaic etyma that have already been discussed in previous studies. The lexicological coverage of NM and its rich Aramaic legacy is thus enhanced, along with unveiling seven more unattested ancient Mandaic words and meanings which still linger on in NM guise. |
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