Peculiarities of the Formation of Abstract Nouns in Hebrew

Abstract

One of the sources of enrichment of Hebrew vocabulary is the creation of new words from already established stems and word‑derivation models in grammar (including cases of borrowing from other languages). However, there are also instances of artificially expanding the vocabulary. The ongoing process of vocabulary renewal develops in three directions: a) new lexical units are created; b) words that have become obsolete are moved into the passive vocabulary; c) the number of meanings of words changes. As a result, neologisms and archaisms emerge in the language (Kornienko 1979, 11). In Hebrew, a large number of neologisms (particularly nouns) result from morphological word‑formation. Abstract nouns are especially numerous, and those with the ת∙ו suffix are even more prominent. Among them, the number of lexemes formed from internationalisms is particularly high. To determine why the ת∙ו suffix is so productive in the formation of neologisms in Hebrew – whether its attachment to words is artificial in nature or a logical outcome of ongoing linguistic processes – we found it reasonable to study the characteristic features of all models of abstract noun formation. To reach a logical conclusion, we consider it necessary to study not only Hebrew grammatical models but also their relations to other Semitic languages. This comparative approach would allow us to determine more precisely the morphological and semantic functions of abstract models and affixes in modern Hebrew, taking into account general Semitic data. We believe these issues are of interest and significance for those engaged in lexicology and word‑formation processes (as in our case), and also for the systematization of Hebrew grammatical categories, since this important topic is presented only fragmentarily in the theoretical literature.