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Jewish vernaculars' role in the indefiniteness of šel-governed nouns in set expressions in Modern Hebrew

Tue, December 18, 2:30 to 4:00pm, Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, Cityview 2 Ballroom

Abstract

The exact nature of the linguistic transfer between Hebrew and the Jewish languages at different periods has been debated (Katz 1985). First, the question whether the Hebrew lexical component in the Jewish languages is substrate-based or book-originating (Katz 1985) proves too dichotomist since the answer is scalar rather than polar. The parallel question has to do with the role of the Jewish vernaculars both as an ideological antithesis to Modern Hebrew but at the same time as a viable substrate for parts of its lexicon and structure (Henshke 2013). This paper investigates this issue by analyzing one phrase as it developed in multiple diaspora Jewish languages and then in Modern Hebrew.
The common Modern Hebrew exclamation ריבונו של עולם ribono šel 'olam "Oh Lord!" (literally "Master of the Universe") displays no definite article (henceforth DA) whereas the noun עולם 'olam 'universe, world' in Modern Hebrew belongs to the category of uniques like 'sun' and 'moon', which always take the DA. This DA-lacking expression originates in a Mishnaic Hebrew vocative, but medieval manuscripts do display /a/-inclusive pointing for רבונו שלָעולם /ribono šella-'olam/. Textual transmission of Tannaitic literature made such šel-governed nouns lose their DA due to spelling in printed editions (Birnbaum 1998). Integrated into several Jewish languages, it oscillates between (1) ribono šel 'olam in majority Jewish languages such as Yiddish and (2) ribono šella 'olam – a Hebrew substrate-stemming /a/-inclusive variant in the Judeo-Aramaic of Zakho (Sabar 1974) and the Judeo-Arabic of Djerba (Henshke 2007). The /a/-lacking variant in the majority languages has been more significant for the inception of Modern Hebrew.
The particular sequence of transmission from Mishnaic Hebrew through several Jewish languages into Modern Hebrew demonstrates the complexity of relations between Medieval Hebrew, the Jewish vernaculars and Modern Hebrew. The clear choice between both transfer models in the case at hand allows a better understanding of the absence of the DA in šel-governed nouns in Modern Hebrew. Substrate vs. book-transfer models are therefore not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary.

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