Verb Scale I: katab and nuktāb

5.1 Introduction to katab Verbs

Katab (Active Scale I) is the most basic verb conjugation in Alashian, containing no performative affixes such as those that form the other scales. It has no particular semantic function associated with it, and so it includes a wide variety of verbs, including transitive (κάταβ katab “write”), intransitive (в̄άτζα vača “go out, leave”), stative (βακή bakē “cry”), and inchoative (σάκαβ sakab “lie down”). In comparative Semitic literature this form is known as the B-Stem (for “basic”) or G-Stem (for “Grundstamm”, in German).

The citation form of all verb forms is their preterite third person singular masculine form.

5.2 Triconsonantal Roots and katab

5.2.1 The Present Tense

The present tense is formed by adding prefixes (indicating person) and suffixes (indicating gender and number) to a stem of the form -C₁C₂VC₃-, where V refers to the inherent vowel of the root. This vowel is normally long, but will shorten if a suffix is present.

The prefixes are *tV- (second person) and *yV- (third person); there is a discrepancy in the first person, where the singular is always *'a- and the plural is always *nV-. The vowel in the prefixes is determined by Barth's Law of Dissimilation. If the stem vowel is /aː/, the prefix vowel is /i/. If the stem vowel is /iː/, the prefix vowel is /a/. However, the first person singular prefix vowel is always /a/. Note that the prefix yi- is spelled ι-, not *ιι-.

The suffixes are *-Ø (masculine singular), *-ī (feminine singular), and *-ū (plural, both genders). All three forms are present in the second and third persons, but again the first person works differently: there is no gender distinction, so the singular always takes *-Ø and the plural always takes *-ū.

Katab (*ktāb) has /aː/ as an inherent vowel, so darak (*drīk) “go (intr.)” will be used to demonstrate /i:/.

If C₁ is a voiced plosive and C₂ is any oral plosive, then C₁ will always appear in a lenited form: *B → v, *D → ḏ, *G → ǧ: *dkīr “remember” → αδ̄κείρ 'aḏkīr “I remember”.

5.2.2 The Preterite Tense

The preterite tense is formed by adding personal suffixes to the stem C₁aC₂aC₃-. This stem reduces to C₁C₂aC₃- if the ending contains a long vowel. There is no gender distinction in the first person or in the third person plural. Root-final *B, *D, and *G lenite in the second person before the ending -tV. The feminine second person endings -še and -šin derive from older -ti and -tinna, and so also cause lenition.

Root-inherent vowels do not surface in any of the tenses that conjugate exclusively through suffixation, so the conjugation of ā-stem and ī-stem verbs is identical.

If the dropped /a/ would cause an illegal cluster to form, it is kept: μαλακού malakū “they ruled”, not **mlakū.

5.2.3 The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense bears a strong resemblance to the preterite, employing an exclusively suffixial conjugation and a similar set of endings. The imperfect endings are added to the stem C₁ieC₂eC₃- in the first and second persons, C₁ēC₂eC₃- in the third person singular masculine, C₁ēC₂C₃- in the third person singular feminine and third person plural.

If C₃ can lenite, it does so in all non-third person forms, even if there is no other consonant present to trigger it. This is due to the fact that the imperfect endings were once and the same with the preterite endings, but underwent a distinct phonetic evolution and reduction.

If C₂ can lenite and C₃ is an oral plosive, lenition will take place in the third person singular feminine and third person plural, the two forms where these consonants come in contact: *sbāt “rest” → σήβετ sēbet “he was resting”, σηв̄τώ sēvtā “she was resting.”

5.2.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The perfective subjunctive bears a strong resemblance to the present tense; however, its conjugation is exclusively prefixial. It is formed by adding prefixes indicating person to the stem -C₁C₂VC₃, where V is the inherent root vowel, which here is always short. The same lenition rules apply as with the present tense.

The perfective subjunctive paradigm is quite defective, with the eight distinct forms of the present tense collapsing to just four (due to the absence of the number/gender suffixes). These prefixes are *va- (first person singular), *vana- (first person plural), *vata- (second person), and *vē- (third person).

5.2.5 The Imperative

The imperative only has three forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural (all in the second person). The masculine singular is formed using the base C₁C₂VC₃- (with the same long vowel as in the present) and the other two forms with a metathesized C₁VC₂C₃- (with a shortened version of the same vowel).

If an illegal cluster would form in the masculine singular form, /a/ is inserted: μαλώκ malāk “rule!”.

5.2.6 Deverbatives

Only the Active Scale I has three deverbative forms: an infinitive and two participles. The infinitive is more of a verbal noun than a non-finite verb as it is in many European languages, hence why it is also often called a gerund. The infinitive is formed with the pattern C₁aC₂ūC₃, the active participle with C₁ūC₂iC₃, and the passive participle with maC₁C₂ūC₃.

5.3 Biconsonantal Roots and katab

5.3.1 The Present Tense

The present tense of biconsonantal roots is formed by attaching the usual present tense prefixes and suffixes to the stem of the form C₁VC₂, where V is the long inherent vowel of the root. This root is kept intact in all forms and does not vary, with the exception of standard lenition rules.

Barth's Law once again applies to the prefix vowels: /i/ if the stem vowel is /aː/ or /uː/, and /a/ if the stem vowel is /iː/. The stem vowel /eː/ is a variant of /iː/ around gutteral consonants, and so it also takes the prefix vowel /a/. In the case of *khūn below, however, this is irrelevant, since the aspirated consonant results in all short vowels merging as [ə] and levels out the effects of Barth's Law.

The verbs kūn (*khūn) “get up”, šīn (*šīn) “put, place”, and sāl (*sāl) “ask” will be used to demonstrate biconsonantal conjugation.

5.3.2 The Preterite Tense

The root similarly remains intact in all forms in the preterite, with suffixes added to an unchanging stem. Unlike triconsonantal roots, the stem vowel of biconsonantal roots is always present in the preterite.

5.3.3 The Imperfect Tense

In the imperfect, all biconsonantal verbs undergo internal extension, which means they become triconsonantal by inserting a new consonant C_x, such that C₁VC₂ becomes C₁C_xVC₂. This new consonant is simply the glide counterpart of the inherent vowel in the biconsonantal root, so that ū-roots gain *W, ī-roots and ē-roots gain *Y, and ā-roots gain *H.

This new triconsonantal structure allows the verbs to conjugate more or less the same way as triconsonantal roots. The only exception is in the third person singular feminine and third person plural, where the new consonant disappears entirely in order to prevent an illegal cluster (e.g., sēlā “she was asking” instead of **sēhlā).

5.3.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The perfective subjunctive works essentially the same way as it does with triconsonantal roots. The biconsonantal root remains intact in all forms and keeps its long vowel.

5.3.5 The Imperative

The imperative of biconsonantal roots is formed simply by tacking the normal imperative suffixes to the intact biconsonantal root.

5.3.6 Deverbatives

The infinitive is identical to the root. The active participle is internally extended, but does not follow the same vowel pattern as triconsonantal roots; instead, ū-roots become C₁ūweC₂, ī- and ē-roots become C₁īyeC₂, and ā-roots become C₁āheC₂. The passive participle is formed simply by prefixing *ma- to the intact root.

5.4 Quadriconsonantal Roots and katab

Quadriconsonantal roots may not conjugate using katab.

5.5 Geminate Roots and katab

5.5.1 The Present Tense

In the present tense, geminate roots conjugate more or less like biconsonantal ones. The stem appears in the form -C₁āC₂ when there is no suffix (with the geminate consonant simplifying when word-final) and in the form -C₁aC₂C₂- when there is a suffix, with the vowel shortening. Since the stem vowel is always the same, present prefixes always appear with /i/ (except in the first person singular).

The verb sabab (*sabb) “turn, rotate (intr.)” will be used to demonstrate geminate root conjugation.

5.5.2 The Preterite Tense

In the preterite, on the other hand, geminate roots behave as though they were triconsonantal, with the geminate consonant split into two single consonants. The root *sabb, for instance, conjugates as though it were *sbVb (S-B-B).

5.5.3 The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is also conjugated as though the root were triconsonantal. The geminate is restored in the third person singular feminine and third person plural, but this is coincidental.

5.5.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

In the perfective subjunctive, geminate roots always behave biconsonantally, and appear as -C₁aC₂. The geminate consonant is always simplified because it always appears word-finally.

5.5.5 The Imperative

The imperative, interestingly, behaves triconsonantally in the masculine singular (when there is no suffix) and biconsonantally in the other forms (when there is a suffix). As a result, the vowel is long in all forms.

5.5.6 Deverbatives

The infinitive is biconsonantal, again containing the vowel -ā-. The participles are both triconsonantal.

5.6 Introduction to nuktāb Verbs

Nuktāb, or Passive Scale I, is the passive voice counterpart of katab. Its most noticeable feature is the performative *n- prefixed onto the verbal stem in all forms, although it may assimilate to the following consonant in many cases. For this reason it is known in Comparative Semitic studies as the N-Stem.

This n-performative is believed to have originally had a mediopassive function, but it was later reanalyzed as a passive. The N-Stem became associated with the B-Stem in Alashian, effectively becoming its passive. It later acquired the -u-ā- vowel pattern seen in other passive forms to reinforce this function.

For the most part, any transitive katab verb can be made passive by shifting it into nuktāb: nuktāb “was written”, nuknās “was gathered”, nušfān “was covered”, etc. A small set of verbs merely become intransitive, such as nuftāř “opened (intr.)” and nusgār “closed (intr.)”, a remnant of the earlier middle voice function.

5.7 Triconsonantal Roots and nuktāb

5.7.1 The Present Tense

The present tense is formed from the stem -C₁uC₂āC₂- with standard present prefixes and suffixes. The first root consonant is geminate, the result of the original /n/ having assimilated: 'akkutāb ← *'ankutāb. There is no sign of any root vowel, and prefixes always take /i/ other than the first person singular.

The stem is constant in the nuktāb present; whereas in katab the stem vowel would alternate between long and short, in nuktāb it is always long.

The geminate consonant is always pronounced as a true geminate, never as an aspirate.

5.7.2 The Preterite Tense

The preterite tense is formed by adding suffixes to the stem nuC₁C₂āC₃-. This stem is constant, and there is no variation or vowel loss as seen in katab (except, of course, for lenition). The suffixes are the same as in katab.

5.7.3 The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense behaves more or less the same as in katab, except for the prefix *nu- and the different vowel pattern. In the first and second persons, the stem is nuC₁uoC₂aC₃-, in the third person singular masculine nuC₁ūC₂aC₃, and in the third person singular feminine and third person plural nuC₁ūC₂C₃-. The endings are the same as in katab, although all endings with /e/ become /a/ (2sg.m -at, 2sg.f -aš, and 1pl -an).

5.7.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The perfective subjunctive is formed by adding the same prefixes as katab to the stem -C₁C₁uC₂āC₃, again with gemination of the first consonant resulting from assimilation of an older /n/.

5.7.5 The Imperative

Nuktāb is the only passive half-scale that has an imperative form. This is another remnant of its former role as an independent scale.

The imperative is formed by adding suffixes to the stem niC₁uC₂āC₃-, which reduces to niC₁C₂āC₃- when an ending is added.

5.7.6 Deverbatives

Active katab is the only half-scale having two participles, an active (e.g., “writing”) and a passive (e.g., “written”). All other half-scales have only one, which matches the voice of that half-scale. The infinitive is formed using the pattern maC₁C₁uC₂āC₃ with an initial geminate consonant. The participle is formed using the pattern naC₁C₂iC₃.

5.8 Biconsonantal Roots and nuktāb

5.8.1 The Present Tense

Biconsonantal roots remain intact in the nuktāb present. As a result, the only difference between these forms and the active voice katab presents is the presence of gemination of the initial root consonant: yimūs “it touches”, yimmūs “it is being touched”. Barth's Law applies.

The verbs used here are numūs (*mūs) “be touched”, nušīn (*šīn) “be placed”, and nusāl (*sāl) “be asked”.

5.8.2 The Preterite Tense

The preterite features the intact root with the prefix *nu- throughout, plus regular preterite suffixes. For all intents and purposes it is simply katab with the prefix *nu- added.

5.8.3 The Imperfect Tense

In the imperfect, biconsonantal roots undergo internal extension (except in the third person feminine singular and third person plural), and then conjugate identically to triconsonantal roots. This can result in the appearance of certain irregularities normally only present in triconsontal conjugation, as seen below in the conjugation of nušīn, where the final /n/ is prone to assimilation (see section 5.11.10).

5.8.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The perfective subjunctive is formed using the intact root (with a geminated initial consonant) with the usual subjunctive prefixes. It is thus distinguished from the katab biconsonantal perfective subjunctive only by gemination.

5.8.5 The Imperative

The imperative is formed by adding the prefix *ni- to the intact root, followed by the standard imperative suffixes.

5.8.6 Deverbatives

The infinitive is formed by taking the intact root, geminating the initial consonant, and adding the prefix *ma-.

The passive participle is formed with the pattern naC₁C₁iC₂. The structure of this form suggests it was once internally extended (naC₁wiC₂, naC₁yiC₂, naC₁hiC₂), but the new consonant was later assimilated into the previous sound, resulting in gemination.

5.9 Quadriconsonantal Roots and nuktāb

Quadriconsonantal roots may not conjugate using nuktāb.

5.10 Geminate Roots and nuktāb

Geminate roots in nuktāb conjugate as though they were triconsonantal, with the geminate consonant split into identical C₂ and C₃. The root *gann “hide”, for instance, becomes νυγνών nugnān, which conjugates as though it were the triconsonantal root *gnVn.

5.11 Weak Roots in Scale I

Scale I has the most complicated situation of all the Alashian verbal scales when it comes to weak roots, due to being the most common verb scale and its tendency to avoid the analogical restructuring seen in some of the other scales.

5.11.1 C1 = Ř

The consonant *Ř has two main effects on sounds around it: it tends to lower front vowels towards /a/ (especially in coda position), and it may lengthen preceding vowels in compensation for its inability to geminate (so as to maintain overall syllable length). The verb ρ̄άσαβ řasab (*řsāb) “think, consider” may serve as an example. Interestingly, no roots that contain *Ř (in any position) have the inherent vowel *ī.

In the katab present tense, the prefix vowel /i/ will lower to /e/: τερ̄σώβ teřsāb “you are thinking” (not **tiřsāb), ιερ̄σαβού yeřsabū “they are thinking” (not **yiřsabū). No other vowels are affected.

The katab preterite is regular.

The katab imperfect always replaces the diphthong /ie/ with the long monophthong /eː/, so that all imperfect forms have -ē- as their first vowel: ρ̄ήσεв̄ řēsev “I was thinking” (not **řiesev), ρ̄ήσεв̄σ̄ιν řēsevšin “you all (f) were thinking” (not **řiesevšin).

The katab perfective subjunctive is regular.

The katab imperative is regular.

The katab deverbatives are all regular.

The nuktāb present tense does not have C₁ gemination. Instead, the preceding vowel is lengthened (and if it is /i/, is lowered as well): ωρ̄υσώβ 'āřusāb “I am thought” (not **'ařřusāb), ιηρ̄υσώβ yēřusāb “it is thought” (not **yiřřusāb).

The nuktāb preterite is regular.

The nuktāb imperfect always replaces the diphthong /uo/ with the long monophthong /uː/, paralleling the reduction in katab: νυρ̄ούσαв̄ατ nuřūsavat “you (m) were being thought” (not **nuřuosavat), νυρ̄ούσαв̄σ̄ιν nuřūsavšin “you all (f) were being thought” (not **nuřuosavšin).

In the nuktāb perfective subjunctive, C₁ gemination is again lost in favor of lengthening the previous vowel. In the third person forms where the previous vowel is already long, there is no vowel change: в̄ατωρ̄υσώβ vatāřusāb “[that] you were thought” (not **vatařřusāb), в̄ηρ̄υσώβ vēřusāb “[that] it was thought” (not **vēřřusāb).

The vowel in the nuktāb imperative prefix *ni- lowers to /e/: νερ̄υσώβ neřusāb “be thought (m)!” (not **niřusāb), νερ̄σωβεί neřsābī “be thought (f)!”.

The nuktāb infinitive has a lengthened prefix vowel in exchange for no C₁ gemination: μωρ̄υσώβ māřusāb “be thought” (not **mařřusāb). The participle is regular.

5.11.2 C2 = Ř

The consonant *Ř in C₂ is for the most part regular, having effects on neighboring vowels only in a couple forms. An example root is *sřāt “trick, deceive”, which in katab becomes σάρ̄ατ sařat “trick” and in nuktāb becomes νυσρ̄ώτ nusřāt “be tricked”. The inherent vowel of all C₂ = Ř roots is -ā-.

In katab, the only irregular form is the active participle, where the vowel /i/ between C₂ and C₃ is lowered to /e/: σούρ̄ετ sūřet “tricking” (not **sūřit).

In nuktāb, the only irregular form is the passive participle, which undergoes the same change: νάσρ̄ετ nasřet “being tricked” (not **nasřit).

5.11.3 C3 = Ř

The C₃ consonant *Ř similarly only causes minor vowel changes in katab and nuktāb, although it has an interesting effect on the feminine singular suffix *-ī. An example root is *ftāř “open”; the active form φάταρ̄ fatař means simply “open (tr)”, while the passive form νυφτώρ̄ nuftāř actually has a mediopassive meaning “open (intr)”.

In forms with the feminine singular marker *-ī (the present tense and the imperative), this suffix is replaced by *-ēyi, spelled -ηι: ιφταρ̄ήι yiftařēyi “she is opening [something]” (not **yiftařī), νιφτωρ̄ήι niftāřēyi “open! (f)” (not **niftāřī). This appears to be the result of the original feminine suffix *-ī lowering to *-ē, but since this no longer appears feminine, it was reinforced by reintroducing the feminine *-i, albeit shortened so as not to disrupt the overall stress structure of the word.

In addition to these, the katab active participle and nuktāb passive participle undergo the same vowel shift as C₂ = Ř roots, with the vowel /i/ lowering to /e/: φούτερ̄ fūteř “opening” (not **fūtiř), νάφτερ̄ nafteř “opening” ² (not **naftiř).

All other forms are regular.

5.11.4 C1 = '/H

In Scale I, the consonants *' and *H in C₁ position are quite problematic. They are quite prone to dropping, which can result in gemination of nearby consonants or vowel contraction. In some forms they will cause the insertion of epenthetic vowels to prevent their loss. In the imperative, such roots may behave as though they never had any C₁ consonant in the first place! The roots used to demonstrate these forms below are *'kāl “eat” and *hbād “work”, which create the following verbs: άκαλ 'akal “eat”, νυακώλ nu'akāl “be eaten”, ηάβαδ habad “work”, νυαβώδ nu'abād “be worked”.

In the katab present tense, both consonants are lost entirely and cause gemination of the following consonant (or, in the case of C₂ = *P/T/K/S/Č, aspiration): ακκώλ 'əkhāl “I am eating” (not **'a'kāl), ιββαδού yibbadū “they are working” (not **yihbadū).

In the katab preterite, these verbs are regular. They will, however, always require an epenthetic vowel in the third person feminine and third person plural: ακαλώ 'akalā “she ate” (not **'kalā), ηαβαδώ habadā “she worked” (not **hbadā).

In the katab imperfect, both consonants are lost entirely in the first and second persons, and the following /ie/ diphthong becomes a /je/ sequence: ιέκελετ yekelet “you (m) were eating” (not **'iekelet), ιέβεδ̄ yebeḏ “I was working” (not **'iebeḏ). The third person forms are regular: ήκελ 'ēkel “he was eating”, ηηв̄δώ hēvdā “she was working”.

The katab perfective subjunctive behaves like the present tense, with the *'/*H being lost in favor of gemination or aspiration of the following consonant: в̄άνακκαλ vanəkhal “[that] we ate” (not **vana'kal), в̄ήββαδ vēbbad “[that] they worked” (not **vēhbad).

In the katab imperative, initial *' and *H are lost completely. This is because prefixing *' or *h was once a common method of turning a biconsonantal root triconsonantal, although the imperative generally did not gain this extra consonant. In Alashian this pattern was extended to all verbs whose first root consonant is *' or *H, regardless of whether the consonant is historically a part of the root or an extended root. These imperative forms, therefore, appear to be biconsonantal:

Of the katab deverbatives, the infinitive and present participle are regular. In the passive participle, however, C₁ is lost in favor of gemination/aspiration of the following consonant: μακκώλ məkhāl “being eaten” (not **ma'kāl), μαββώδ mabbād “being worked” (not **mahbād).

In the nuktāb present tense, it seems as though the C₁ is replaced entirely by *N. In fact, this is simply the n-formant of nuktāb resurfacing after having assimilated the original /ʔ/ or /h/. Whereas assimilation with most other root consonants is progressive (e.g., *'antuCāC gave *'attuCāC), assimilation of these two consonants was regressive (i.e., *'an'uCāC/*'anhuCāC gave *'annuCāC): ιννυκωλεί yinnukālī “it (f) is being eaten” (not **yi''ukālī), αννυβώδ 'annubād “I am being worked” (not **'ahhubād).

In the nuktāb preterite, the C₁ becomes *' in all forms, and an epenthetic vowel /a/ is added afterwards to prevent an illegal cluster: νυακώλ nu'akāl “it was eaten” (not **nu'kāl), νυαβωδνώ nu'abādnā “we were worked” (not **nuhbādnā). Due to stress, however, this glottal stop is rarely if ever pronounced, so that these forms could perhaps be more descriptively viewed as nuakāl and nuabādnā.

Changes in the nuktāb imperfect tense depend on person. In the first and second persons, C₁ drops entirely, and the following /uo/ diphthong becomes /wa/: νυυάκαλας̄ nuwakalaš “you (f) were being eaten” (not **nu'uokalaš), νυυάκαλτυν nuwakaltun “you all (m) were being worked” (not **nuhuokaltun). In the third person forms, C₁ also drops entirely, and the resulting -uū- hiatus simplifies to just -ū-: νούκαλ nūkal “it (m) was being eaten” (not **nu'ūkal), νουв̄δώ nūvdā “it (f) was being worked” (not **nuhūvdā).

The nuktāb perfective subjunctive behaves like the present tense, with *N substituting for the original C₁: в̄ηννυκώλ vēnnukāl “[that] it was eaten” (not **vē''ukāl), в̄αταννυβώδ vatannubād “[that] you were worked” (not **vatahhubād).

The nuktāb imperative is formed simply by adding the prefix *ni- to the final two consonants of the root; as in katab, it is as though C₁ was never there to begin with: νικώλ nikāl “be eaten! (m)” (not **ni'ukāl), νιβωδεί nibādī “be worked! (f)” (not **nihkālī).

In the nuktāb infinitive, C₁ is replaced by *N: μαννυκώλ mannukāl “be eaten” (not **ma''ukāl), μαννυβώδ mannubād “be worked” (not **mahhubād). In the passive participle, C₁ is lost in favor of gemination or aspiration of the following consonant: νάκκιλ nəkhil “being eaten” (not **na'kil), νάββιδ nabbid “being worked” (not **nahbid).

5.11.5 C2 = '/H

Medial *' and *H have a tendency to drop when brought in contact with another consonant or when in weak positions relative to word stress. They are, however, by and large more regular than initial or final *' and *H. Examples include the roots *k'ār “shame” and *fhāl “make, do, use”, from which we get the verbs κάαρ ka'ar “shame”, νακκώρ nəkhār “be shamed”, φάηαλ fahal “make, do”, and νυφφώλ nuffāl “be made, be done”.

In the present tense of katab, C₂ is assimilated into the immediately preceding C₁, resulting in gemination or aspiration: ακκώρ 'əkhār “I shame” (not **ak'ār), τιφφαλεί tiffalī “you (f) make/do” (not **tifhalī).

The katab preterite is regular, although epenthetic vowels will appear in the third person feminine and third person plural to prevent illegal clusters.

In the katab imperfect, C₂ is dropped completely, and any -ie-e- or -ē-e- hiatus is resolved as simply -ie- or -ē-:

The katab perfective subjunctive is essentially the same as the present tense. C₂ is assimilated into C₁, causing gemination or aspiration: в̄άκκαρ vəkhar “[that] I shame” (not **vak'ar), в̄άταφφαλ vataffal “[that] you make/do” (not **vatafhal).

The katab imperative is somewhat more complicated. The masculine singular is more or less regular, although it requires an epenthetic vowel in between C₁ and C₂: καώρ ka'ār “shame! (m)”, φαηώλ fahāl “make! do! (m)”. In the feminine singular and plural, however, C₂ drops entirely and the previous vowel is lengthened: κωρεί kārī “shame! (f)” (not **ka'rī), φωλού fālū “make! do! (pl)” (not **fahlū).

Of the katab deverbatives, only the passive participle is irregular, where assimilation occurs as in the present tense: μακκούρ məkhūr “shamed” (not **mak'ūr), μαφφούλ maffūl “made, done” (not **mafhūl).

The nuktāb present tense is regular.

The nuktāb preterite undergoes the same sort of assimilation as previously mentioned: νακκώρετ nəkhāret “I was shamed” (not **nuk'āret), νυφφωλού nuffālū “they were made/done” (not **nufhālū).

The nuktāb imperfect parallels the katab imperfect, with C₂ dropping throughout and the -uo-a- and -ū-a- hiatuses are resolved as -uo- and -ū-:

The nuktāb perfective subjunctive is regular.

The masculine singular of the nuktāb imperative is regular. The feminine singular and plural, however, have C₁-C₂ assimilation: νακκωρεί nəkhārī “be shamed! (f)” (not **nik'ārī), νιφφωλού niffālū “be made/done! (pl)” (not **nifhālū).

The nuktāb infinitive is regular, but the passive participle shows assimilation: νάκκιρ nəkhir “being shamed” (not **nak'ir), νάφφιλ naffil “being made/done” (not **nafhil).

5.11.6 C3 = '

The root consonant *' as C₃ behaves erratically, frequently appearing and disappearing within a single paradigm due to the general weakness of the consonant in certain positions. An example is *brā' “create, appear, come into being”, giving the verbs βάρα bara “create” and νυβρώ nubrā “be created”.

In the katab present tense, the glottal stop is only present when a suffix is present; otherwise it drops, though vowels still pattern as though a zero consonant *Ø were present: αβρώ 'abrā “I am creating” (not **'abrā'), τιβρώ tibrā “you (f) are creating” (not **tibrā'), but νιβραού nibra'ū “we are creating”, ιβραεί yibra'ī “she is creating”.

The katab preterite is very irregular. In the first person singular, the glottal stop drops and the two vowels on either side contract to an unstressed long vowel /aː/. In the first person plural, it assimilates into the following /n/, causing gemination. In the second person masculine forms, the /t/ of the ending becomes an aspirated /tʰ/, while in the feminine forms the /ʃ/ becomes /tʃʰ/. In the third person masculine singular the glottal stop simply drops, while the other third person forms are regular.

The katab imperfect is similarly messy. When word-final (1Sg/3SgM), the glottal stop simply drops. When surrounded on both sides by /e/ (1Pl/2SgM/2SgF), it drops and the two vowels contract to an unstressed /eː/. In the second person plural forms, the suffix becomes aspirated as in the preterite. The third person singular feminine and third person plural are regular, with the glottal stop preserved due to its position as the the onset of a stressed syllable (though the orthography fails to indicate its presence).

The glottal stop is completely absent in the katab perfective subjunctive, though otherwise this is formed regularly: в̄άβρα vabra “[that] I created” (not **vabra').

In the katab imperative, the glottal stop is lost in when word final (masculine singular) and kept elsewhere: βρώ brā “create! (m)” (not **brā'), βαρεί bar'ī “create! (f)”, βαρού bar'ū “create! (pl)”.

The three deverbatives are all formed regularly, although the glottal stop, being word-final, drops in all of them: βαρού barū “create”, βούρι būri “creating”, μαβρού mabrū “created”.

Nuktāb forms for the most part closely parallel the katab forms. In the present, perfective subjunctive, imperative, and deverbatives, the rule of dropping glottal stops word-finally and preserving them elsewhere applies. The preterite and imperfect have the same set of irregularities as in katab, although vowels contract to /aː/ rather than /eː/:

5.11.7 C3 = H

Root-final *H as C₃ tends to cause vowel lowering and lengthening, followed by its subsequent loss. Due to the frequency at which this consonant is dropped, triconsonantal C₃ = *H verbs conjugate according to a biconsonantal paradigm in many forms. There are no instances of root-final *H in Alashian from Proto-Semitic *h; rather, all such cases come from the pharyngeal *ʕ. The root *smāh “hear” will demonstrate this pattern, forming the verbs σαμώ samā “hear” and νυσώμ nusām “be heard”.

In the katab present tense, all *H-final roots have /aː/ as their inherent vowel. The *H is lost when word-final and kept when there is a suffix present: ασμώ 'asmā “I hear” (not **'asmāh), τισμώ tismā “you (m) hear” (not **tismāh), ισμαηεί yismahī “she hears”.

In the katab preterite tense, word-final and preconsonantal *H lengthen the previous vowel and then drop: σαμώτα samāta “you (m) heard” (not **samahta), σμωνώ smānā “we heard” (not **smahnā). In the first person singular form it drops and the two unstressed vowels around it merge into /aː/: σαμώτ samāt “I heard” (not **samahet). The *H is only preserved in the third person forms immediately before a stressed long vowel: σμαηού smahū “they heard”. Note that the stress shifts out of its usual pattern (i.e., on the vowel between C₁ and C₂) and tends to fall on the last long vowel.

In the katab imperfect tense, *H is lost word-finally and preconsontally with lengthening of the previous vowel. Intervocalically, it is lost and the surrounding vowels merge into a single long vowel. The *H is kept in the third person feminine singular and third person plural. Note that the stress shifts here as well according to more typical Alashian stress rules; unlike in C₃ = *' roots, where similar changes take place, stress always shifts to the last long vowel:

In the katab perfective subjunctive, the *H simply drops and the previous vowel in lengthened in all forms, with a stress shift: в̄ασμώ vasmā “[that] I heard” (not **vasmah), в̄ησμώ vēsmā “[that] they heard” (not **vēsmah).

In the katab imperative, the *H is lost in the masculine singular (due to being word-final): σμώ smā “hear! (m)” (not **smāh). In the feminine singular and plural it similarly vanishes without a trace for unclear reasons ³ : σαμεί samī “hear! (f)” (not **samhī), σαμού samū “hear! (pl)” (not **samhū).

The final *H is simply lost in the katab infinitive and passive participle: σαμού samū “hear”, μασμού masmū “heard”. In the active participle, it lowers and lengthens the preceding /i/ to /eː/ before dropping; however, here there is no stress shift: σούμη sūmē “hearing”.

C₃ = *H verbs in nuktāb conjugate biconsonantally in all forms except the deverbatives, always with -ā- as the inherent vowel. The triconsonantal root *smāh, therefore, conjugates as though it were the biconsonantal root *sām.

The nuktāb infinitive and passive participle, however, preserve a triconsonantal structure. In the infinitive, the *H is then lost: μασσυμώ massumā “be heard” (not regular triconsonantal **massumāh or biconsonantal **massām). In the participle, the *H is lost with lowering and lengthening of the preceding /i/: νάσμη nasmē “being heard” (not triconsonantal **nasmih or biconsonantal **nassim).

5.11.8 C1 = Y/W

The root consonants *Y and *W tend to vocalize in many environments. More specifically, in the distant past they formed diphthongs with other vowels in their vicinity, which subsequently monophthongized, resulting in what nowadays appears to be the loss of the root consonant accompanied by a variety of vowel changes. The examples here are based on *ybīl “carry, happen” and *wlād “give birth”, forming the verbs ιάβαλ yabal “carry”, νουβώλ nūbāl “be carried”, в̄άλαδ valad “give birth”, and νουλώδ nūlād “be born”.

In the katab present tense, the prefix vowel and C₁ collapse together according to the following rules:

• Ca- + *Y- → Cē
• Ci- + *Y- → Cī
• Ca- + *W- → Cū
• Ci- + *W- → Cī

The present tense thus has such forms as:

The katab preterite is completely regular for roots with *Y. However, Alashian has a morphophonemic law that automatically converts any word-initial *W to /v/, so that “she is giving birth” is rendered в̄αλαδώ valadā, not **waladā.

The katab imperfect behaves a little strangely. With *Y, the sequence *Y + -ie- is always simplified to /jeː/ (and the forms with -ē- rather than -ie- are regular, with *Y + -ē- becoming /jeː/ as expected). Roots with *W behave exactly the same way: both *W + -ie- and *W + -ē- give /jeː/. This is probably assimilatory in origin, with an earlier *wie sequence becoming *yie and then *yē, which then spread analogically into the third person forms.

In the katab perfective subjunctive, a few simple vowel + C₁ reductions take place, plus a stress shift in the first person plural and second person forms:

• Ca- + *Y- → Cē
• Cē- + *Y- → Cē
• Ca- + *W- → Cū
• Cē- + *W- → Cē

The katab imperative loses its initial consonant, like *'-initial verbs. This too is the result of the paradigm of 'extended' biconsonantal roots being generalized to all C₁ = *Y/*W roots.

The katab infinitive and active participles are regular. The passive participle undergoes the same vowel changes as previously mentioned: μηβούλ mēbūl “being carried” (not **maybūl), μουλούδ mūlūd “being born” (not **mawlūd).

In nuktāb, the present tense is completely regular, with the initial *Y or *W undergoing gemination as would be expected. ⁴

In the nuktāb preterite, the prefixed formant *nu- merges with the *Y or *W to give nū-: νουβώλ nūbāl “he/it was carried” (not **nuybāl), νουλώδετ nūlādet “I was born” (not **nuwlādet).

The nuktāb imperfect tense for both *Y and *W roots once again seems to have been influenced by the *Y pattern. The C₁ for both types of roots behaves as though it were *Y, the /uo/ diphthong becomes /uː/ throughout, and the usual nuktāb prefix *nu- becomes *ni-, probably the result of a change like *nuyuoCaC- → nüyuoCaC- → niyūCaC-.

The nuktāb perfective subjunctive is regular.

The masculine singular of the nuktāb imperative is regular: νιυβώλ niyubāl “be carried! (m)”, νιυυλώδ niwulād “be born! (m)”. In the feminine singular and plural, the *ni- prefix and the root consonant *Y/*W merge into *nī-: νειβωλεί nībālī “be carried! (f)” (not **niybālī), νειλωδού nīlādū “be born! (pl)” (not **niwlādū).

The nuktāb infinitive is regular. The passive participle undergoes the usual vowel + C₁ reduction: νήβιλ nēbil “being carried” (not **naybil), νούλιδ nūlid “being born” (not **nawlid).

5.11.9 C3 = Y/W

The root consonants *Y and *W in C₃ position result in similar changes, where they monophthongize or drop whenever they appear word-finally or when checked by another consonant. Example roots include *bnāy “build” and *mnāw “count”, which form the verbs βανή banē “build”, νυβνή nubnē “be built”, μανού manū “count”, and νυμνού numnū “be counted”.

In the katab present, *Y and *W are dropped entirely when word-final with no changes to the preceding vowel: αβνώ 'abnā “I build”, τιβνώ tibnā “you (m) count”. If a suffix is present, the forms are regular.

In the katab preterite, the semivowels merge into the preceding vowels when immediately followed by another consonant or when word-final, with *ay becoming -ē- and *aw becoming -ū-, and stress shifts to the new long vowel (except in the 1pl): βανήτα banēta “you (m) built” (not **banayta), βανή banē “he built” (not **banay), μανουνώ manūnā “we counted” (not **manawnā). This reduction also takes place in the first person singular, even though neither of these conditions apply: βαυήτ banēt “I built” (not **banayet), μανούτ manūt “I counted” (not **manawet). The third person singular feminine and third person plural are regular: βναιώ bnayā “she built”, μαναυού manawū “they counted”.

In the katab imperfect when C₃ = *Y, the sequences -ey and -eye- both collapse into -ē-, with a stress shift if appropriate: βιηνή bienē “I was building” (not **bieney), βιηνής̄ bienēš “you (f) were building” (not **bieneyeš). In the third person singular feminine and third person plural, the *Y simply drops: βηνώ bēnā “she was building” (not **bēnyā). When C₃ = *W, all of the same rules apply, except that -ew and -ewe- can collapse to either -ū- or -ē-, so that “you (m) were counting” can be expressed either as μιηνούτ mienūt or as μιηνήτ mienēt. The former is the older form, but the latter is becoming increasingly prevalent.

In the katab perfective subjunctive, C₃ simply drops, and the vowel immediately beforehand lengthens in compensation, with stress shifting to the last syllable: в̄αβνώ vabnā “[that] I built” (not **vabnay), в̄αταμνώ vatamnā “[that] you counted” (not **vatamnaw).

The masculine singular of the katab imperative is simply formed C₁(a)C₂ē for roots with *Y and C₁(a)C₂ū for roots with *W: βνή bnē “build! (m)” (not **bnāy), μανού manū “count! (m)” (not **manāw); this occurs regardless of what the inherent vowel of the root was, suggesting some analogical levelling of the paradigm. In the feminine and plural forms, C₃ drops entirely, and endings are added to the stem C₁(a)C₂-: βνεί bnī “build! (f)” (not **banyī). For C₃ = *W roots, this means the masculine singular and plural forms will be identical, in this case μανού manū “count! (m/pl)”.

The infinitive and passive participle are formed regularly, except that C₃ is absent. The active participle is similar, except that the short /i/ is lengthened to /iː/. However, both of these participles decline as though they had the nisba suffix (see adjectives section) in all forms other than the masculine singular. The passive participle regains its C₃ consonant in all other forms as well:

The nuktāb forms undergo essentially the same changes as the katab forms. In the present tense, C₃ is lost word-finally and regular elsewhere, and in the preterite, the sequences *-āy- and *-āw- collapse to -ē- and -ū- (including in the 1Sg).

In the nuktāb imperfect, as in katab, *-ay and *-aya- both simplify to -ē-, while *-aw and *-awa- may become either -ē- or -ū-. Thus “it (m) was being built” is always νυβουνή nubūnē (not **nubūnay), but “it (m) was being counted” can be either νυμουνή numūnē or νυμουνού numūnū (not **numūnaw).

In the nuktāb perfective subjunctive, C₃ is lost in all forms: в̄ηββυνώ vēbbunā “[that] it was built”, в̄αναμμυνώ vanammunā “[that] it was counted”.

The masculine singular of the nuktāb imperative is formed as niC₁uC₂ē for roots with *Y and niC₁uC₂ū for roots with *W: νιβυνή nibunē “be built! (m)” (not **nibunāy), νιμυνού nimunū “be counted! (m)” (not **nimunāw). The feminine and plural forms are regular.

The nuktāb infinitive undergoes diphthong simplification, with *-āy becoming -ē and *-āw becoming -ū: μαββυνή mabbunē “be built” (not **mabbunāy), μαμμυνού mammunū “be counted” (not **mammunāw). In the passive participle, the glide is lost and the -i- becomes an unstressed lengthened /iː/, which declines like a nisba: νάβνει nabnī “being built” (not **nabniy), νάμνει namnī “being counted” (not **namniw).

5.11.10 C1/C2/C3 = N

The consonant *N is historically quite prone to assimilation in Alashian (as well as the Canaanite languages). Analogy has over time led to a systematization of the process. Examples of roots with *N include *nkīr “recognize” (giving νάκαρ nakar “recognize” and νακκώρ nəkhār “be recognized”), *knās “gather, collect” (giving κάνας kanas “gather” and νυκνώς nuknās “be gathered”), and *šfān “cover” (giving σ̄άφαν šafan “cover” and νυσ̄φών nušfān “be covered”).

Roots where C₁ = *N are for the most part regular, except when this *N comes in direct contact with C₂ (as in the katab present, perfective subjunctive, and passive participle, and in the nuktāb preterite, imperative, and passive participle); in this situation the *N is dropped and the C₂ becomes geminated or aspirated: ακκείρ 'əkhīr “I recognize” (not **'ankīr), в̄άτακκιρ vatəkhir “[that] you recognized” (not **vatankir), μακκούρ məkhūr “recognized” (not **mankūr), νακκωρνώ nəkhārnā “we were recognized” (not **nunkārnā), νάκκιρ nəkhir “being recognized” (not **nankir).

Roots where C₂ = *N are unproblematic in katab and nuktāb; they are completely regular.

Roots where C₃ = *N are irregular only in the past tenses—the preterite and imperfect. The *N assimilates into the endings in many forms. The tables below show the katab preterite and imperfect, though the same changes apply to nuktāb as well. Some of the imperfect forms are quite irregular; among other things, the *N completely drops in the 1Sg (due to having assimilated into an original *-t that has long since been lost), and the vowel /ə/ always appears in place of expected /e/ before an assimilated *N. ⁵

5.11.11 C1 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

Roots containing underlying aspirated consonants can be hard to identify, since the aspiration only surfaces when the root consonant appears between two vowels. When word-initial, word-final, or in a cluster, the consonants *PH/*TH/*KH/*TSH/*ČH appear as their unaspirated counterparts /p t k s tʃ/. The native Greek orthography further confuses this, due to its general lack of distinction between aspiration and gemination. However, even when the aspiration does not appear in the surface form, its historical presence has left a lasting effect on nearby vowels. Examples of roots with these initial consonants are *phrān “heal” (giving πάραν paran “heal” and ναπρών nəprān “be healed”), *thrād “run” (giving τάραδ tarad “run”), *khrīb “approach” (giving κάραβ karab “approach, draw near”), and *tshbāǧ “dye, color” (giving σάβαγ̄ sabaǧ “dye” and νασβώγ̄ nəsbāǧ “be dyed”).

In katab, verbs with underlying C₁ aspirates are distinguishable from regular katab verbs only when the aspirate is preceded by a short vowel, as all short vowels merge as [ə] in this position. Orthographically, however, the only irregularity appears in the present tense of roots with -ā- as their inherent vowel, where the expected prefix vowel -ι- (representing /i/ [i]) is replaced with -α- (representing [ə], not /a/). Thus we seen forms such as ιατρώδ yətrād “he is running” (not **yitrād) and ιασβώγ̄ yəsbāǧ “he is coloring” (not **yisbāǧ); on the other hand, forms such as ιακρείβ yəkrīb “he is approaching” are regular orthographically, since the prefix vowel -a- is expected when the root vowel is -ī-.

In nuktāb, however, C₁ aspirates are far more pronounced.

In the nuktāb present tense, the usual C₁ gemination is replaced by aspiration, and the prefix vowel is always spelled -α- and pronounced [ə]: αππυρών 'əphurān “I am being healed” (not **'appurān), ιατσυβωγ̄εί yətshubāǧī “it (f) is being dyed” (not **yissubāǧī). This same pattern also applies to the perfective subjunctive and the infinitive.

The nuktāb preterite is mostly regular, although the prefix *nu- becomes *nə- in all forms: νακρώβετ nəkrābet “I was approached” (not **nəkrābet), ναπρών nəprān “he was healed” (not **nuprān).

The nuktāb imperfect similarly uses *nə- instead of *nu- throughout. In addition, since C₁ is always intervocal, the aspiration will always surface: νακκυώραв̄αν nəkhuoravan “we were being approached” (not **nukuoravan), νατσούβαγ̄ nətshūbaǧ “it (m) was being dyed” (not **nusūbaǧ).

In the nuktāb perfective subjunctive, as in the present tense, the usual gemination is replaced by aspiration.

The same principles apply in the nuktāb imperative: the prefix *ni- is spelled *nə- in all forms, and aspiration surfaces in the masculine singular (when C₁ is intervocal). In the case of roots with *TSH, at least, this results in a prominent fricative/aspirated affricate alternation: νατσυβώγ̄ nətshubāǧ (not **nisubāǧ), νασβωγ̄εί nəsbāǧī (not **nisbāǧī).

The nuktāb passive participle is the one form that is completely regular.

5.11.12 C2 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

C₂ aspirates are not especially problematic. They follow the same general principles of appearing in a non-aspirated form when in clusters and as aspirates when intervocalic. Vowel changes are mostly minor and allophonic and not reflected orthographically. Examples include *bthīl “worthless, invalid” (yielding βάτταλ bəthal “be worthless, be in vain”), *btshāl “peel” (yielding βάτσαλ bətshal “peel” and νυβσώλ nubsāl “be peeled”), *lkhīn “kiss, clasp” (yielding λάκκαν ləkhan “kiss” and νυλκών nulkān “be kissed”), and *lthīf “small, delicate” (giving λάτταφ ləthaf “be small, delicate”).

All katab forms can be generated using the above rule except for the preterite and imperfect. In the preterite, vowel loss in the first person plural, feminine third person singular, and third person plural is eliminated, with the stem pattern C₁aC₂aC₃- generalized to all forms. This is also seen in the imperfect, where -e- is always present between C₂ and C₃: ληττεφώ lēthefā “it was small” (not **lētfā), ληκκενού lēkhenū “they kissed” (not **lēknū).

Nuktāb is only irregular in the imperfect, where the same rule as above applies—the vowel -a- is always present between C₂ and C₃: νυλουκκανώ nulūkhanū “she was being kissed” (not **nulūknū), νυβουτσαλού nubūtshalū “they were peeled” (not **nubūslū).

5.11.13 C3 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

Final C₃ aspirates tend to mess with preceding vowels and certain suffixes. This group includes such roots as *slāth “win” (giving σάλατ salət “prevail over, defeat” and νυσλώτ nuslāt “be defeated”), *rmīčh “shine” (yielding ράματζ raməč “glow, shine”), *rzākh “supply” (yielding ράζακ razək “supply [with], provision” and νυρζώκ nurzāk “be provided”), and *xrītsh “opine” (yielding χάρας xarəs “opine, be of the opinion [that]”).

The katab present tense is regular for roots with the inherent vowel -ā-, though naturally the aspiration is only present when a suffix is present: τιρζώκ tirzāk “you (m) supply”, τιρζακκεί tirzəkhī “you (f) supply”. When the inherent vowel is -ī-, however, the expected /iː/~/i/ alternation is represented orthographically as -ει- and -α-, the latter simply being the standard representation of the reduced [ə] that all short vowels become immediately before aspirates: ταχρείς taxrīs “you (m) opine”, ταχρατσεί taxrətshī “you (f) opine” (not **taxritshī).

The two katab past tenses some highly irregular forms. In the preterite, only the first person plural and the third person forms are regular. In all other forms, the preterite stem to which personal suffixes are added takes the form *C₁aC₂C₃a- rather than the usual *C₁aC₂aC₃-, and the personal suffixes resemble those used by C₃ = ' roots (i.e., aspirates rather than unaspirated consonants). Historically the additional -a- is an epenthetic vowel, whose presence disrupted the rhythm of the preterite forms enough that the weak vowel between C₂ and C₃ dropped entirely, leading to what now looks like a metathesized stem.

The katab imperfect shows the same tendencies. Here the stem contracts to *C₁ieC₂C₃- from *C₁ieC₂eC₃- in the first and second persons, and the C₃ = ' set of imperfect endings is added (with aspirates only in the second person plural). There are further orthographic irregularities caused by vowel reduction before these aspirated endings.

The katab perfective subjunctive and imperative are regular.

The katab infinitive and passive participles are both completely regular. The active participle simply shows some vowel reduction: ρούματζ rūməč “glowing” (not **rūmič).

The nuktāb present tense is regular, given that the vowel before the aspirate is always /ɑː/.

The nuktāb past tense forms are for the most part fairly regular, although they carry over a few of the irregularities of katab. Other than the predictable aspirated/unaspirated alternation, the only completely unexpected formation is that both feminine second person forms in the preterite and just the feminine second person plural in the imperfect have suffixes with -č- rather than -š-.

The nuktāb perfective subjunctive and imperative are regular, as is the infinitive. As in katab, the nuktāb participle only shows vowel neutralization: νάρζακ narzək “being provided” (not **narzik).

5.11.14 Doubly-Weak Roots and Irregularities in Non-Triconsonantal Roots

A small set of triconsonantal verb roots are said to be doubly-weak, meaning more than one of the above weak-root templates apply to them at once. These multiple irregular processes may interact in unpredictable ways, so that for the purposes of this grammar most doubly-weak roots may simply be considered irregular. These will be dealt with in a later section.

Non-triconsonantal roots, while not immune to these weak-root alterations, are resistant to them. Given that the discontiguous root structure of triconsonantal roots is absent in biconsonantal roots, there appears to be a greater pressure to keep the root intact and prevent unusual vowel or consonant changes. For instance, the root *'ūn “be tired” gives the preterite form ούντα 'ūnta “you (m) grew tired”, with no assimilation, rather than the expected **'ūtha based on the pattern of triconsonantal C₃ = *N roots. Generally speaking, as long as a perfectly regular form does not violate the language's phonological constraints, it is the preferred form with biconsonantal roots. However, internally-extended biconsonantal roots are fully prone to such changes, as they behave as any other triconsonantal verb.

Geminate roots once again form a sort of middle ground, with more irregularities in the forms with triconsonantal structure and fewer irregularities in the forms with biconsonantal structure.