Preliminary Material /JAN RETSÖ -- ABBREVIATIONS OF TERMS /JAN RETSÖ -- PREFACE /JAN RETSÖ -- INTRODUCTION /JAN RETSÖ -- THE APOPHONIC PASSIVE IN ARABIC /JAN RETSÖ -- THE APOPHONIC PASSIVE MARKER IN SEMITIC /JAN RETSÖ -- THE YUQTAL AS PASSIVE MARKER /JAN RETSÖ -- THE SEMITIC CAUSATIVE CONJUGATION /JAN RETSÖ -- THE CAUSATIVE CONJUGATION IN ARABIC /JAN RETSÖ -- THE IMPERFECT PASSIVE MARKER OF THE G-STEM IN SEMITIC /JAN RETSÖ -- THE OTHER PASSIVE MARKERS IN SEMITIC /JAN RETSÖ -- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS /JAN RETSÖ -- APPENDIX 1 /JAN RETSÖ -- APPENDIX 2 /JAN RETSÖ -- BIBLIOGRAPHY /JAN RETSÖ -- GENERAL INDEX /JAN RETSÖ -- INDEX OF FORMS /JAN RETSÖ.

In this magnum opus, N. J. C. Kouwenberg presents a thoroughgoing, modern analysis of the Akkadian verbal system, taking into account all of the currently available evidence for the language during the course of the long period of its attestation. The book achieves this goal through two strategies: (1) to describe the Akkadian verbal system, as comprehensively as the data permit; and (2) to reconstruct its prehistory on the basis of internal evidence and reconstruction, comparison with cognate languages, and typological evidence. Akkadian has one of the longest documented histories of any language: data from nearly two-and-one-half millennia are available, even if the stream of data is sometimes interrupted and not always as copious as we would like. During the course of this history, numerous developments took place, illustrating how languages change over time and offering parallels for reconstruction of changes that occurred in poorly documented periods. As a result, this book will be of great interest, in the first place, for all students of Akkadian, both the language and the literature that is documented in that language; and in the second place, for all students of language and linguistics who are interested in the study of how languages are shaped, develop, and change during the course of a long history.

The Semitic Languages presents a comprehensive survey of the individual languages and language clusters within this language family, from their origins in antiquity to their present-day forms. This second edition has been fully revised, with new chapters and a wealth of additional material. New features include the following: • new introductory chapters on Proto-Semitic grammar and Semitic linguistic typology • an additional chapter on the place of Semitic as a subgroup of Afro-Asiatic, and several chapters on modern forms of Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopian Semitic • text samples of each individual language, transcribed into the International Phonetic Alphabet, with standard linguistic word-by-word glossing as well as translation • new maps and tables present information visually for easy reference. This unique resource is the ideal reference for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will be of interest to researchers and anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistic typology, linguistic anthropology and language development.