In:Language Contact, Continuity and Change in the Genesis of Modern Hebrew
Edited by Edit Doron, Malka Rappaport Hovav, Yael Reshef and Moshe Taube
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 256] 2019
► pp. 33–54
The limits of multiple-source contact influence
The case of ecel ‘at’ in Modern Hebrew
Published online: 18 September 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.256.02tau
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.256.02tau
The paper examines the opposition of existential-possessive
constructions with le- ‘to’, the inherited strategy in
Hebrew for denoting possession, and similar constructions with
ecel ‘at’. The latter, induced by several languages in
contact with Hebrew throughout its history (Arabic, Yiddish, Russian), began
to encroach upon the domain of the former at various stages of the language,
including Emerging Modern Hebrew, but ended up being relegated to other
functions. The paper surveys the functions of ecel in
Modern Hebrew and examines the question of why this contact-induced
construction did not become entrenched as the dominant
existential-possessive construction.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Some sociolinguistic background
- 3.The existential construction with the preposition ecel in Emerging Modern Hebrew
- 4.On the early history of existential constructions with
ecel and le-
- 4.1Constructions with lə- in the Bible
- 4.2Constructions with ʔēṣɛl in the Bible
- 4.3Constructions with le- and ʔeṣel in Post-Biblical Hebrew
- 4.4Existential constructions with le- and ʔeṣel in Medieval Hebrew
- 5.The distribution of existential constructions with ecel
vs. le- in Modern Hebrew
- 5.1Locative reading
- 5.2Disposal and possessive reading
- 5.3Pertentive reading
- 5.3.1In spoken and sub-standard written registers
- 5.3.2Topics
- 6.The preposition ecel with other constructions
- 6.1With pertentive function
- 6.2With evaluative function
- 7.Conclusions
Acknowledgment Notes References
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