A Psalmist Wordlist
To support my work on translating the Book of Psalms, I've built a specific wordlist on Google Sheets, which identifies all words I've been using, whether attested or not.
Attested words can be found in column A (or column B for unattested orthographies). Their attested declensions are in column H, and their unattested declensions in column J.
Neologisms of any kind are in column L, with their declensions in column P. Most of them are self-explanatory, but notes have been added to explain the few that need it.
A self-measure of the quality of these neologisms is in column R (see the "Presentation" tab for details). Any grade below 4 is really poor, and I'd be interested in any suggestion to change those words.
Feel free to send me corrections or comments. Comments can also directly be added to the Google Sheet.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:11)
I will certainly look through the list.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:26)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:31)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:35)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:39)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (15:40)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 17, 2018 (16:02)
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (10:57)
Regarding nw, there are examples of changes to nu, but only after consonantic groups, which isn't the case here.
So I'm not sure what change could apply here, and I tend to think that it must be valid. What would you have expected?
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (11:36)
I must admit I wasn't entirely satisfied with this one. Hence, following your remark, I've changed it to *ítarta, which is hopefully better. Don't hesitate to tell me your opinion.
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (11:42)
I've used varya- elsewhere, and I try to avoid any under-translation that would blur vocabulary variations in these poems.
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (11:47)
However, I must admit I missed the C.E. ortur-, which has quite the right meaning and is much more compatible with the later Q. vocabulary. I'll do the change right away.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 18, 2018 (11:58)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 18, 2018 (12:04)
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (12:06)
For me, the prefix a- appearing for some verbs in Markirya (e.g. ahosta) could actually denote completion (or incompletion, depending on your reading), rather than infinitive: I don't believe in a prefixed infinitive, as it runs contrary to all other examples and explanations on Q. infinitive.
Yet, I must admit that without further data on this topic, this is too tentative an explanation to stand in a translation.
Hence, I've changed this verb to *tercar-, thanks to your "thorough" neologism suggestion and to the well-established example of mar- / termar-. I hope you will find this an improvement.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 18, 2018 (12:08)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 18, 2018 (12:26)
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (15:43)
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (15:55)
Yet is it true this verb comes from mōja-, and we could consider it to be a "half-strong". This has the advantage of removing the phonological issue. I adopt your idea.
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (16:02)
In such a context (not to mention the context of the Psalmic redaction, heavily influenced by Mesopotamian and Phoenician societies), having a periphrastic rendering of such a basic verb as "loan" seems cumbersome. An unpractical in poetry, in any case.
Still, I readily admit that there could be better solutions than my own on this matter, but I would insist on a single (maybe compounded) verb, not an entire sentence.
Damien Bador Jul 18, 2018 (16:28)
This confirms it was necessary to change *acar-.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 19, 2018 (08:38)
Having said that, I am starting to warm to your *lúmelav-; after all, 'timeshare' is a thing in English.
Damien Bador Jul 19, 2018 (13:22)
In fact, I would be really surprised if we were to learn that I was right. And that would be mostly luck.
Yet, I remain convinced that we cannot afford a periphrastic construction, especially in poetry. Which is why I attempted to create a word that would be understandable as a kenning, even if it weren't what Tolkien might have invented.
And of course, I intend to revise the whole Psalmic translation with each new publication, and I hope we'll end up getting attested words for most of my neologisms.
Tamas Ferencz Jul 19, 2018 (14:12)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 19, 2018 (16:25)
Damien Bador Jul 20, 2018 (09:58)
From E.T. jagula and comparison with E.T. tagula (derived from E.Prim. dagla, we can complete and update the E.Prim. word dịag from which jagula is supposed to derive: it should be in fact. *dịag-la (or more precisely *dịag-lā). Hence, two possibilities: if we consider that the new root still is (N)DAK- (as in Etym.) rather than NDAK-, then the initial would become l- in Q. I'll avoid this option, as the later version of the root is always said to be NDAK-, with no Q. words that could be traced to an alternate *DAK-, as far as I can tell.
If we choose to stick with the later attestations of the root, the primitive word can only be *ndịak-lā. At this stage, we know that kl groups are changed, either by insertion of a vowel whose quality is the same as the previous vowel: this would give Q. *nyacal(a). In some (unspecified) cases, a metathesis can occur: this would give Q. *nyalca. I tend to prefer the later one for brevity reasons, but your advice would be appreciated, especially since this type of metathesis is said to be a non-systematic sound-change.
Damien Bador Jul 20, 2018 (10:02)
Tamas Ferencz Jul 24, 2018 (10:45)
Damien Bador Aug 27, 2018 (11:40)
First, I'll reflect these additions to the online Wordlist, then I'll create new tabs to give the latest version of each Psalm, as revising text on Google+ isn't very convenient.
Damien Bador Sep 03, 2018 (16:19)
Tamas Ferencz Sep 03, 2018 (16:24)