Spelling Cues in Nominals

Abstract

This is the first of a series of three chapters analyzing the systematic cues in Hebrew words which guide reader/writers in constructing morpho-orthographic representations. Chapter 10 focuses on the structure of Hebrew nominals – nouns, adjectives, and beynoni present-tense verbs. It shows that the derivational structure of nominals, though often semi- or fully opaque, systematically marks prefixes and suffixes in the written modality. MTNH מתנה pattern prefixes, TNH תנה and AHWY אהוי pattern and linear suffixes, are all uniquely spelled by the function alternants of homophonous segments. Thus, when a literate Hebrew reader/writer encounters an initial or final t on a nominal, she would expect it to be spelled with T ת rather than Ŧ ט, and she would most often be right, given the high frequency of T ת as an affix – whether the nominal structure is transparent or opaque. From another perspective, even borrowed nouns promote vowel under-representation, so that Hebrew users would not expect to see A א and H ה word-medially. A large and well-established vocabulary would enable reader/writers elicit statistical patterns regarding different derivational structures and make use of them in establishing spelling patterns.