Canaanite in the Amarna tablets : : a linguistic analysis of the mixed dialect used by scribes from Canaan / / by Anson F. Rainey.

• Superior document: Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten, Handbook of Oriental studies. The Near and Middle East 25 =
• Author: Rainey, Anson F., 1930-2011.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, New York : : E.J. Brill,, 1996.
• Year of Publication: 1996
• Language: English; Semitic
• Series: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East 25.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (1,164 pages).

This four-volume reference work deals with the language of the Amarna letters written by scribes who had adopted a peculiar dialect mixture of Accadian and West Semitic syntax. In addition to the texts from Canaan, a few from Alashia are included along with the texts from Kamed el-Loz and Taanach. Each of the first three volumes is written as a separate monograph; together they treat the problems of morphology and syntax. The first volume covers writing, pronouns and nouns (substantives, adjectives and numerals); the second volume treats the verbal system; and the third volume discusses particles and adverbs with a chapter on word order. The fourth volume includes the bibliography and index to the set. Since these texts are the earliest witness to West Semitic syntax, they are an invaluable source for the historical study of the North West Semitic family, including biblical Hebrew.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material -- ORTHOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS -- PHONOLOGICAL FEATURES -- INDEPENDENT PRONOUNS -- SUFFIX PRONOUNS -- DEICTIC PRONOUNS -- INTERROGATIVE AND INDEFINITE PRONOUNS -- NOUN MORPHOSYNTAX -- NUMERALS AND NUMERICAL NOUNS -- Preliminary material -- IN SEARCH OF THE CANAANITE VERB -- THE AKKADIAN BASE LANGUAGE -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — PERSON AND NUMBER -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — G AND Gp STEMS -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — Gt and Gtn STEMS -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — N STEM -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — D, Dt, Dp -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — Š AND H -- PREFIX CONJUGATION — MOODS AND TENSES -- WEST SEMITIC MODES AND TENSES -- THE IMPERATIVE -- THE SUFFIX CONJUGATION — MORPHOLOGY -- SUFFIX CONJUGATION — SPECIAL HYBRIDS -- SUFFIX CONJUGATION — SYNTAX -- THE INFINITIVE — MORPHOLOGY -- THE INFINITIVE — MORPHOSYNTAX -- THE INFINITIVE — MORPHOSYNTAX (CONT.) -- Preliminary material -- ADVERBIAL MORPHEMES -- PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES -- CONJUNCTIONS -- LOCATIVE ADVERBS -- TEMPORAL ADVERBS -- MODAL ADVERBS -- INTRODUCTORY ADVERBS -- CONDITIONAL PARTICLES -- THE OPTATIVE PARTICLE -- NEGATIVE PARTICLES -- ENCLITIC PARTICLES -- THE INTERJECTION -- TOPIC AND COMMENT -- Preliminary material -- ABBREVIATIONS -- REFERENCES -- INDEX OF PASSAGES CITED.