The Development of the Anomalous Syriac Verb Eskah 'to Find'

by J L Malone

The canonically anomalous shape of Syriac verb ekah 'to find' is shown to result from a convergence of diachronic pressures on an intersection of phonological weak spots and morphosyntactic imbalance. The effect of the changes is a trade-off of morphosyntactic defectiveness for moderate phonological anomaly. The developmental hypothesis adopted underscores the importance both of multiple factors in diachronic change and of homeostasis in linguistic systems.

59 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1982