2024
Cairn
Marijn Van Putten, « Reconstruction of the Proto-Berber Light Verbs », Études et Documents Berbères, ID : 10670/1.a0cgfx
The reconstruction of the Proto-Berber light verbs (i.e. CCC, *ălməd ‘to learn’, VCC, *agəm ‘to draw water’, CC *ăǵən ‘to lie down’ and C̄C: *ăffəɣ ‘to go out’), has received considerable attention in Berber historical linguistics. But, verbs that have u in the second syllable such as Ghadamsi əmdu ‘to finish’ and əṭkur ‘to fill’ require further study. These verbs share several formal similarities with the regular light verb of the type *ălməd ‘to learn’, but they have not yet been integrated into a model of the Proto-Berber verbal system. This paper will propose a reconstruction of the Proto-Berber light verb, incorporating these verbs as a subclass of the light verb, whose difference in vocalisation is triggered by the presence of a plain vowel in the second syllable of the stem.