Verb Scale II: kəthēb and kəthāb

6.1 Introduction to kəthēb Verbs

Kəthēb (Active Scale II) is commonly known as the “intensive” or “transitive” stem. In other Semitic languages it is responsible for a large variety of meanings, ranging from a strengthening of the action (the intensive proper) to an iterative, declarative, or causative. In Alashian, however, it has a much more restricted usage: it creates the base form of quadriconsonantal roots (which cannot conjugate in katab), and it forms transitive verbs from stative (adjectival) roots, typically with a causative or inceptive meaning. Examples of the former include καλκήλ kalkēl “ring”, βαλβήλ balbēl “confuse”, and ταργήν targēn “translate”, while the latter group includes λαττήφ ləthēf “shrink, reduce, make small” (*lthīf “be small”), в̄ασσήν vəssēn “put [a child] to sleep, say good night” (*wsīn “sleep”), and в̄ακκήδ vəkhēd “set alight” (*wkhād “burn”).

Very occasionally a root with a transitive meaning in katab may also have a kəthēb counterpart. These are by and large relic forms and this is not a productive process. The meaning tends to be broadly causative, but generally with a more specific nuance of urging action rather than simply causing it. For instance, the root *dkīr “remember”, which has the Scale I form δάκαρ dakar “remember”, becomes δακκήρ dəkhēr “exhort, remind of the consequences of doing/not doing” (in contrast to the true Scale III causative αδ̄κήρ 'aḏkēr “remind [of a fact]”).

The most distinctive feature is the gemination or aspiration of the C₂ consonant or, in the case of quadriconsonantal roots, the reinterpretation of this C₁VC₂C₂VC₃- pattern as -C₁VC₂C₃VC₄-, with the gemination replaced by two root consonants. It is this structure that gives this conjugation the name “D-Stem” (for “doubled”) in comparative Semitic literature.

6.2 Triconsonantal Roots and kəthēb

6.2.1 The Present Tense

The present tense is formed by adding the standard set of prefixes and suffixes to the kəthēb present tense stem. For most roots, the stem takes the form *-C₁əC₂C₂aC₃- with a geminate medial consonant when there is no suffix, and as a contracted *-C₁əC₂C₃- where there is a suffix. If C₂ is one of *P/T/K/Č, it will become a non-geminated aspirate in the former case.

Unlike in katab, there is no trace of the inherent root vowel in the kəthēb present tense. As a result, Barth's Law does not apply, and the prefix vowel is always /i/ (except in the first person singular, where it is /a/).

The roots *sdīr “be ready” and *dkīr “remember” may be used to demonstrate the regular conjugation of kəthēb, where they take the forms σαδδήρ səddēr “prepare, make ready” and δακκήρ dəkhēr “exhort, remind”:

6.2.2 The Preterite Tense

The preterite tense is formed by adding regular preterite endings to the stem *C₁əC₂C₂ēC₃-, replacing the gemination with aspiration if appropriate. In the third person singular feminine and third person plural, the schwa will become /i/ so long as C₂ does not surface as an aspirate.

6.2.3 The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is formed by adding regular endings to the stem *C₁eC₂C₂eC₃-, or *C₁əC₂eC₃- if C₂ surfaces as an aspirate (note the difference in vowel quality). If C₃ can undergo lenition, it does so in all of the first and second person forms. Unlike in katab, there is never any stem contraction.

6.2.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The kəthēb perfective subjunctive is formed by adding a special set of prefixes to the stem *-C₁əC₂C₂eC₃, or *-C₁əC₂eC₃ if C₂ is an aspirate. While the prefixes share a strong resemblence to those of katab, the vowels and stress patterns are different.

6.2.5 The Imperative

The masculine singular takes the form *C₁əC₂C₂ēC₃/*C₁əC₂ēC₃, while the feminine singular and plural forms add the normal imperative endings to the contracted stem *C₁əC₂C₂eC₃-/*C₁əC₂eC₃-.

6.2.6 Deverbatives

Kəthēb has only two deverbatives: an infinitive and an active participle. The infinitive uses the pattern *maC₁əC₂C₂ūC₃, while the participle uses *muC₁əC₂C₂iC₃, replacing gemination with aspiration when appropriate.

6.3 Biconsonantal Roots and kəthēb

Biconsonantal roots may be conjugated in kəthēb, but only by first converting them to standard triconsonantal roots via internal extension (the addition of C₂ *W for roots with *ū, *Y for roots with *ī or *ē, and *' for roots with *ā). These then conjugate as though they were triconsonantal verbs in all forms.

Two examples are the roots *čīl “cold” and *řūn “hot”, which in kəthēb yield the verbs τζαιιήλ čəyyēl “cool, make cold” and ρ̄αυυήν řəwwēn “heat, make hot”. Their conjugation is essentially as though they were always triconsonantal, with the addition of an epenthetic vowel /a/ in some present tense forms to prevent an illegal cluster: τιτζαιαλεί tičəyalī “you (f) are cooling” (not **tičəylī), νερ̄αυανού neřəwanū “we are heating” (not **neřəwnū) ¹ .

6.4 Quadriconsonantal Roots and kəthēb

Quadriconsonantal roots are the most common verbs that use the kəthēb pattern. Their conjugation requires only a few slight modifications to the triconsonantal paradigm:

• The C₂C₂ gemination of triconsonantal roots is replaced everywhere with two single consonants, C₂C₃.
• The schwa is replaced everywhere with /a/.
• An epenthetic /a/ is present in suffixed present tense forms to prevent the formation of illegal clusters.

With ταργήν targēn “translate”:

6.5 Geminate Roots and kəthēb

Geminate roots conjugate as though they were triconsonantal, with the geminate root consonant split into two single consonants. The root *dall “be humble”, for instance, becomes δαλλήλ dəllēl “tame, subdue, subjugate”:

6.6 Introduction to kəthāb Verbs

Kəthāb, or Passive Scale II, is the passive counterpart to kəthēb. It is derived from kəthēb via the internal passive vowel pattern -u-ā-, while maintaining the distinctive gemination of kəthēb. However, some modifications have been made to certain forms due to the merger of short vowels before aspirates in order to maintain the saliency of passive marking.

Any transitive kəthēb verb may be made passive by shifting it to kəthāb: τυργών turgān “be translated”, λαττώφ ləthāf “be shrunk”, в̄ακκώδ vəkhād “be set alight”, σαδδώρ səddār “be prepared”.

6.7 Triconsonantal Roots and kəthāb

6.7.1 The Present Tense

The present tense is formed by adding the present tense prefixes and suffixes to the stems *-C₁əC₂C₂āC₃- (when there is no suffix) or *-C₁əC₂C₂aC₃- (when there is a suffix), replacing the geminates with aspirates if appropriate. The schwa is these forms was once /u/ (from the -u-ā- passive vowel pattern), but was centralized to /ə/ before aspirated consonants and subsequently generalized.

As a result, kəthāb forms came to look very similar to their active voice kəthēb counterparts. This was resolved by reintroducing -u- as the prefix vowel: first person plural *nu-, second person *tu-, third person *yu-. Even the first person singular marker became *'u-, making kəthāb the only conjugation to mark the first person singular present with a vowel other than /a/ or /aː/.

The verbs used below are σαδδώρ səddār “be prepared”, the passive of σαδδήρ səddēr “prepare”, and δακκώρ dəkhār “be brought to [someone's] mind”, the passive of δακκήρ dəkhēr “remind [someone of the consequences of an action]”.

6.7.2 The Preterite Tense

The preterite is formed by adding the usual preterite endings to the stem *C₁əC₂C₂āC₃-. The conjugation is thus essentially the same as kəthēb, except for the vowel /aː/ in place of the kəthēb /eː/. There is no /ə/~/i/ alternation in the third person as seen in kəthēb.

6.7.3 The Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is formed by adding the regular passive endings (with -a- rather than -e- in the first and second person) to the stem *C₁uC₂C₂aC₃-, or *C₁əC₂aC₃- if C₂ surfaces as an aspirate. If C₃ can undergo lenition, it does so in all of the first and second person forms.

6.7.4 The Perfective Subjunctive Tense

The perfective subjunctive is formed by adding a special set of prefixes to the stem *-C₁əC₂C₂aC₃, replacing gemination with aspiration if appropriate. As with the present tense, the prefixes have been modified to reinstate the passive /u/ that was lost before aspirate consonants, with *vu- in the first person singular, *vanū- in the first person plural, *vatū- in the second person, and the unchanged *vē in the third person.

6.7.5 The Imperative

No imperative exists for kəthāb.

6.7.6 Deverbatives

The infinitive uses the pattern *maC₁əC₂C₂āC₃ and the passive participle uses *muC₁əC₂C₂aC₃.

6.8 Biconsonantal Roots and kəthāb

Biconsonantal roots in kəthāb undergo internal extension (insertion of medial *Y, *W, or *'), and conjugate as regular triconsonantal verbs. The root *čil “cold”, for instance, becomes τζαιιώλ čəyyāl “be cooled”.

6.9 Quadriconsonantal Roots and kəthāb

Quadriconsonantal roots use a slightly different vowel pattern than other classes of roots in kəthāb. The /ə/ of the triconsonantal paradigm is replaced by /u/ in all forms except the passive participle, where it is replaced by /a/ instead. The prefixial /u/ of triconsonantal roots is nevertheless kept, having spread analogously throughout the kəthāb paradigm.

6.10 Geminate Roots and kəthāb

Geminate roots conjugate as though they were triconsonantal, with the geminate root consonant split into two single consonants. The root *dall “be humble”, for instance, becomes δαλλώλ dəllāl “be tamed, subdued, subjugated”:

6.11 Weak Roots in Scale II

Kəthēb and kəthāb are for the most part much more regular than katab and nuktāb, though there are still a number of irregular subclasses.

6.11.1 C1 = Ř

Roots with initial root consonant *Ř are completely regular except in the present tense of active kəthēb. Here, the prefix vowel /i/ is lowered to /e/ throughout. For example, the root *řdāṯ “new, recent” produces the verb řəddēṯ “renew, restore” with the third person singular masculine present ιέρ̄αδδαθ yeřəddaṯ “he is renewing/restoring” (not **yiřəddaṯ).

6.11.2 C2 = Ř

Roots with medial *Ř cause some problems in Scale II because the geminated **řř is not permitted in Alashian. Two different methods have arisen to resolve this.

Historically, this was fixed by having the vowel immediately before the *Ř lengthen in compensation for the lack of gemination. Alashian, however, has no long schwa, so the vowel that would be inserted was the long version of whatever the original vowel had once been. For instance, the root *lřāb “wide, spacious” produced the verbs λωρ̄ήβ lāřēb “widen, expand” (not **ləřřēb) and λουρ̄ώβ lūřāb “be widened, expanded” (not **ləřřāb). This technique is the only one seen in texts from the 19th century and earlier.

However, this method required the reintroduction of vowels whose quality had been lost in other triconsonantal verbs for centuries. As a result, over time many speakers generalized the schwa seen in the rest of triconsonantal Scale II while preserving the non-gemination of *Ř, giving the forms λαρ̄ήβ ləřēb “widen, expand” and λαρ̄ώβ ləřāb “be widened, expanded”. Nowadays this is by far the dominant pattern used in written Alashian and the only one used in speech.

The one exception to this pattern is the imperfect, which has never fully lost the quality of the first vowel. As a result, the first vowel is always lengthened: λήρ̄εв̄ετ lēřevet “you (m) were widening” (not **leřřebet), λούρ̄αβ lūřab “it (m) was being widened” (not **luřřab).

6.11.3 C3 = Ř

The effects of root-final *Ř are the same as in Scale I. One such root is *mlāř “salty”, which derives the verbs μαλλήρ̄ məllēř “salt” and μαλλώρ̄ məllāř “be salted”.

In the present tense of both kəthēb and kəthāb and the imperative of kəthēb, the feminine singular marker *-ī is replaced by *-ēyi, spelled -ηι: μαλλερ̄ήι məlleřēyi “salt! (f)” (not **məlleřī), ιυμαλλαρ̄ήι yuməllařēyi “it (f) is being salted” (not **yuməllařī).

In addition, the /i/ that immediately precedes C₃ in the active participle is lowered to /e/: μύμαλλερ̄ muməlleř “salting” (not **muməlliř).

6.11.4 C1 = '/H

Root-initial *' and *H are prone to dropping, but are not especially problematic. Such roots include *'xīr “be late, last” and *hlāk “behave” ² , yielding the Scale II verbs αχχήρ 'əxxēr “delay”, αχχώρ 'əxxār “be delayed”, and ηαλλήκ həllēk “behave”.

These verbs are only irregular when a prefix is present, namely in the present, perfective subjunctive, and deverbatives. In these forms, the *'/H is replaced by /j/: άιαχχαρ 'ayəxxar “I am delaying” (not **'a'axxar), в̄ήιαλλεκ vēyəllek “[that] he/she/they behaved” (not **vēhəllek), μύιαχχαρ muyəxxar “being delayed, delayed”.

All other forms are regular.

6.11.5 C2 = '/H

Medial *' and *H suffer from the same problems as medial *Ř: Alashian phonotactics do not allow them to undergo gemination. Thus, just as with medial *Ř, two possible resolutions exist: the older technique, calling for the compensatory lengthening of the previous vowel, and the newer technique, simply ignoring the need for gemination. Using the older technique, the root *k'āb “hurt, be painful” produces the verbs κωήβ kā'ēb “hurt, cause pain” and κουώβ kū'āb “be hurt”, while using the newer technique, these forms become καήβ kə'ēb and καώβ kə'āb.

In the imperfect tense, however, compensatory lengthening is required: κήεв̄ετ kē'evet “you were hurting” (not **ke''evet), κηεβού kē'ebū “they were being hurt” (not **ke''ebū).

6.11.6 C3 = '

Root-final *' behaves quite erratically, but has all of the same irregularities as Scale I verbs. The root *brī' “pure, clear, free” will be used to demonstrate; its Scale II realizations are βαρρή bərrē “purify, liberate, pronounce free (of a debt, claim, etc)” and βαρρώ bərrā “be purified, pronounced free”.

In the present tense of kəthēb, the glottal stop drops entirely when word-final and assimilates into the preceding consonant when there is a suffix, causing gemination. In kəthāb, only the former occurs, since the glottal stop never comes in contact with another consonant.

The preterite features the same special set of suffixes as seen in Scale I. 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 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 glottal stop drops in all forms of the perfective subjunctive:

In the imperative (kəthēb only), the glottal stop is lost in the masculine singular due to being word-final:

The deverbatives simply lose the glottal stop, but are otherwise regular:

6.11.7 C3 = H

Final *H behaves in a rather unusual manner. In Scale II, C₂ and C₃ appear to switch places, so that a root such as *zgāh “crazy, mad” forms the verbs ζαηήγ zəhēg “drive mad” and ζαηώγ zəhāg “be driven mad” (cf. the katab form ζαγώ zagā “be crazy, mad”). More precisely, roots with final *H adopt a biconsonantal-like paradigm outside of Scale I, which in turn undergo internal extension with -h- in Scale II.

The conjugation of ζαηήγ zəhēg, therefore, follows the C₂ = *H pattern, as though the root were actually *zhāg. Just as with true C₂ = *H verbs, two possible paradigms exist; shown below is the newer, more common system:

6.11.8 C1 = Y/W

Root-initial *Y and *W are actually completely regular in Scale II. Example roots instead *ybīs “dry”, yielding ιαββής yəbbēs “dry” and ιαββώς yəbbās “be dried”, and *wsīn “sleep”, yielding в̄ασσήν vəssēn “put [a child] to bed, say 'good night'” and в̄ασσών vəssān “be put to bed, be told 'good night'”. Roots with initial *W will automatically alternate between /v/ word-initially and /w/ word-internally.

6.11.9 C3 = Y/W

The consonants *Y and *W in C₃ position will monophthongize or drop entirely when word-final or checked by another consonant. At times they will disappear intervocalically as well. Two such roots are *zmāy “thirsty”, yielding ζαμμή zəmmē “make thirsty” and ζαμμώ zəmmā “be made thirsty”, and *bdāw “empty, desolate”, yielding βαδδή bəddē “empty” and βαδδώ bəddā “be emptied”.

In the kəthēb present tense, the word-final sequences *-ay and *-aw collapse into an unstressed *-ē and -ū respectively: άζαμμἠ 'azəmmē “I make thirst” (not **'azəmmay), τίβαδδοὐ tibəddū “you (m) empty” (not **tibəddaw). Suffixed forms are regular: νιζαμιού nizəmyū “we make thirst”, ιβαδυεί yibədwī “she empties”.

The kəthēb preterite forms lose the final *Y/W in all cases other than the third person singular feminine and third person plural: ζαμμήτα zəmmēta “you (m) made thirst” (not **zəmmēyta), βιδδηυώ biddēwā “she emptied”. In the first person singular, contraction takes place: ζαμμήτ zəmmēt “I made thirst” (not **zəmmēyet), βαδδήτ bəddēt “I emptied” (not **bəddēwet).

In the kəthēb imperfect, the sequences *-ey and *-eye- both collapse into *-ē-, with a stress shift if appropriate: ζεμμής̄ zemmēš “you (f) were making thirst” (not **zemmeyeš), ζεμμή zemmē “he was making thirst” (not **zemmey). The third person singular feminine and third person plural are regular. When C₃ = *W, the result of *-ew and *-ewe- contraction may be either *-ū- or *-ē- (as in katab), with the latter being more common nowadays: βεδδούν beddūn / βεδδήν beddēn “we were emptying” (not **beddewen).

In the kəthēb perfective subjunctive, C₃ simply drops and the vowel immediately beforehand lengthens in compensation, with stress shifting to the last syllable: в̄αζαμμή vazəmmē “[that] I made thirst” (not **vazəmmey), в̄ετειβαδδή vetībəddē “[that] you (m) counted” (not **vetībəddew).

In the kəthēb imperative, C₃ drops in the masculine singular and is kept in other forms: βαδδή bəddē “empty! (m)” (not **bəddēw), βαδδευεί bəddewī “empty! (f)”.

The kəthēb infinitive is formed regularly, except that C₃ is absent. The active participle is similar, except that the short /i/ is lengthened to /iː/ and it declines as though it had the nisba suffix (see adjectives section) in all forms other than the masculine singular.

Kəthāb forms closely mirror kəthēb, with some variation in how monophthongization occurs.

In the kəthāb present tense, C₃ drops when word-final; otherwise the forms are regular: υζαμμώ 'uzəmmā “I am made thirsty” (not **'uzəmmāy), ιυβαδδαυού yubəddawū “they are emptied”.

In the kəthāb preterite, C₃ is lost when word-final or checked: ζαμμώτα zəmmāta “you (m) were made thirsty” (not **zəmmāyta). In the first person singular, C₃ is also lost and contraction takes place: βαδδώτ bəddāt “I was emptied” (not **bəddāwet).

The sequences *-ay/*-aya- and *-aw/*-awa- in the kəthāb imperfect collapse into *-ā- and *-ā-/*-ū- respectively: ζυμμώ zummā “I was being made thirsty” (not **zummay), βυδδώτυν buddātun / βυδδούτυν buddūtun “you all (m) were being emptied” (not **buddawtun). For C₃ = *W roots, the *-ā- realization is more common nowadays.

In the kəthāb perfective subjunctive, C₃ drops and the preceding vowel is lengthened in compensation.

C₃ drops in the kəthāb infinitive: μαζαμμώ mazəmmā “be made thirsty” (not **mazəmmāy), μαβαδδώ mabəddā “be emptied” (not **mabəddāw). The participle undergoes monothongization depending on C₃: μυζαμμή muzəmmē “being made thirsty” (not **muzəmmay), μυβαδδού mubəddū “being emptied” (not **mubəddaw).

6.11.10 C1/C2/C3 = N

Roots with *N—including *nmīs “envy” (ναμμής nəmmēs “make envious” and ναμμώς nəmmās “be made envious”), *snād “arm” (σαννήδ sənnēd “lean” and σαννώδ sənnād “be leaned”), and *lbīn “white” (λαββήν ləbbēn “whiten” and λαββών ləbbān “be whitened”—tend to undergo assimilation in Alashian, but in Scale II at least they are quite regular. In fact, only C₃ = N roots are irregular.

Root-final *N is only irregular in the two past tenses, as the *N assimilates into the following consonant in many forms. The following tables show the kəthēb and kəthāb forms of *lbīn:

6.11.11 C1 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

Root-initial aspirate consonants only appear as surface aspirates when a prefix is present; otherwise, when word-initial, they appear as normal unaspirated consonants. The root *khbāl “agree” is one such example, generating the verbs καββήλ kəbbēl “convince” and καββώλ kəbbāl “be convinced”.

Aspiration appears in the present, perfective subjunctive, and the deverbatives. Any immediately preceding short vowel is reduced to /ə/. In particular, this results in the kəthēb and kəthāb present tenses looking very similar:

6.11.12 C2 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

Root-internal aspirates are actually completely regular, except that wherever a geminate appears in the standard paradigm, a single non-geminated aspirate appears instead. The root *rthīb “wet” serves as an example, deriving the verbs ραττήβ rəthēb “moisten” and ραττώβ rəthāb “be moistened”.

6.11.13 C3 = PH/TH/KH/TSH/ČH

C₃ aspirates affect the forms of verbal suffixes and the quality of neighboring vowels. One example is the root *rmīčh “shine, glow”, producing the verbs ραμμήτζ rəmmēč “reflect” and ραμμώτζ rəmmāč “be reflected”.

The kəthēb present tense is regular, with no aspirated consonants appearing on the surface, though preceding short vowels still reduce to schwa. In kəthāb, however, aspirated consonants do appear whenever a suffix is present:

The kəthēb and kəthāb preterite tenses both feature aspirated second person endings as well as an epenthetic vowel between the stem and ending in several forms:

The imperfect appears more or less as expected in kəthēb and kəthāb, except in the second person plural forms, where C₃ metathesizes with the previous vowel and the endings are aspirated; this results in the loss of C₂ gemination as well:

The perfective subjunctive and imperative (kəthēb only) are regular, albeit with heavy vowel reduction. The third person perfective subjunctive is identical in the active and passive voices, depending on context to disambiguate.

The deverbatives are also regular, aside from the predictable vowel reduction.