This can be seen as a typical morphophonemic process, whereby one sound takes
on a characteristic of a neighboring sound. One of the characteristics of the
lamed is that it is a "continuant;" the fricative kaf thus is extending the
continuant characteristic of the lamed. This is the most observable phenomenon
in language. What Rolf is dubbing a "voiced" kaf is actually a "stop" or what
phonologists call a [ -continuant ] (the lamed is a [ +continuant ]). Whatever
one thinks about the masoretic pointing, linguists have and continue to show
that their phonology is consistent with that of all languages. That is, the
Tiberian system was a real-world spoken language.
I recommend everyone on this list pick up some beginning linguistics books such
as:
Phonological Analysis, a Functional Approach, by Donald A. Burquest. (see p.3
for the above argument).
On Jun 2, 2013, at 11:00 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>> In Numbers 31:8 we find the plural construct form of MLK (king). First we
>> see the closed syllable MAL, which is normal. Then we see the open syllable
>> KE, which is not normal, because the kaf is fricative and should have been
>> voiced. What does the fact that the kaf is fricative indicate?
>
Jonathan E. Mohler
Baptist Bible Graduate School
Springfield, Missouri, US
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