In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

678 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 74, NUMBER 3 (1998) (205-9) concludes that so-called negation raising is not the result of movement but a genuine functional opposition which indicates whetherthe matrix verb is within the scope ofthe negator. Ch. 10 (211-20) provides a suggested parameterization ofthe typological behavior ofnegation and concludes that the data confirm the existence of a central Romance-Germanic core area within Europe. The volume is completed with notes (221-45) —inconveniently not at the bottom of the relevant pages, references (247-60), and indices oflanguages (265-70) and authors (271-74) cited. I observed very few typographical errors, but might note that the English is somewhat unusual at times. [Joseph F. Eska, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.] Hebrew at the crossroads of cultures: From outgoing antiquity to the Middle Ages. By Haiim B. Rosen. Leuven: Peeters, 1995. Pp. 86. This is a supplement to the Belgian journal Orbis, publishedby the Centre international de dialectologie générale in Louvain. It represents further thoughts by Rosen, one oftoday's most outstanding Hebraists and Classicists, on the linguistic situation in Roman Palestine, first enunciated in his L'hébreu et ses rapports avec le monde classique (1979. Paris: Geuthner) and 'Die Sprachsituation in römischen Pal ästina' (1980. Die Sprachen im Römischen Reich der Kaiserzeit = Beihefte der Bonner Jahrbücher 40:215-39). The first two chapters of this well-researched monograph deal with Palestine as a linguistic area (5-21) and the language of the Roman Jews (23-29) who were, according to the author, Greek monolinguals (28). Demonstrating a Jewish component to the dialect spoken by the Jews of Rome, R proposes some Kulturw örter, which seem more than plausible, e.g. Greek meletan 'expound' has been influenced by the Hebrew-Aramaic drs 'expound' (27). R also posits 'some sort of "Judeo-Latin" ' (26), e.g. metuere sabbata 'observe the Sabbath' (the Latin verb means 'fear') is thought to be a caique of Hebrew smr 'guard' (27-28). This and other examples mentioned are convincing. One of the major theses of this investigation is what R calls the 'probable instances of the penetration of Greek elements of Jewish usage into Vulgar Latin' (28). Examples discussed include: lapis 'stone' > petra; singuli 'each and every (one)' > caduno; and circa 'around' > environs (29). Illustrations less probable include items such as apotheca 'shopping place; trading place', which has yielded the Romance word-family of boutique, in addition to German Apotheke 'pharmacy' (30-32). Although it is always difficult to ascertain meanings in ancient texts, it is conceivable that an aspect of an early Judeo-Greek meaning has been preserved in the passage from the Babylonian Talmud cited: 'a repository , especially for wine' (30, n. 76). The numerous semantic shifts studied are particularly fascinating. Consider the intriguing case of 'pen case' > 'ink well' for Latin calamarium (32-33). It is precisely the latter meaning which has been responsible for the development of kalamari 'cuttlefish ' in modern Greek and other languages of the Mediterranean area (cf. Spanish calamar 'squid') 'by equating it to some kind of container of coloured fluid' (33). Ch. 3, modeled on Emile Benveniste's seminal Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes (1969. Paris: Éditions de Minuit) studies 'the Jewish contribution to the formation of the vocabulary of the institutions of medieval Europe' (41-53). There are some remarkable semological similarities in Greek ß?????, Latin pax, and Hebrew sâlom, all meaning 'peace' (42-47). In similar fashion, R compares the Hebrew root qds 'holy' with Latin sanctus 'sanctity' (47-53). The reason for the resemblance lies in the logical assumption that the Latin translators ofthe Bible were familiar with Hebrew concepts. Ch. 4 deals entirely with the nature of Medieval Hebrew (MH) (55-76). Following in the footsteps of the late Eduard Yechezkel Kutscher in his posthumous History of the Hebrew language (1982. Ed. by Raphael Kutscher, Jerusalem: Magnes Press), the author reaffirms the position that there are 'several Medieval Hebrews' (56)—a point of view which is based on socioculturel evidence. R makes a good case that one must speak of an Arabicized MH as opposed to other coordinate varieties (58). This work can be...

pdf

Share