Canaanite and Aramaic linguistic remains in the names of the tools and objects in the Palestinian vernacular

Abstract

This study comes as a trial investigation to find out to which linguistic strata these names of tools and objects refer. Thus, we will point out what is Canaanite or what is Aramaic on one hand and what is non-Semitic in these names on the other hand. It will be a solid base to conduct a future research project concerning building a corpus for tool and object names in the area with the following goals: 1. To trace the linguistic elements of ancient Semitic and non-Semitic languages. The Semitic under investigation are: Canaanite (the Canaanite linguistic subdivisions, such as Old Canaanite [Amarna letters], Phoenician, Punic, Epigraphic and Biblical Hebrew), Ugaritic, Aramaic with its subdivisions (Old Aramaic, Official Aramaic, dialects of Deir Alla and Sam¬al, Nabataean, Palmeryien and Syriac), Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian), Classical Arabic, the non-Semitic languages under investigation are: Egyptian, Greek, Latin, Persian and Turkish; in this paper I will only deal with Semitic linguistic elements. 2. To identify the connection between the lexicon and grammar of ancient Semitic languages and the current spoken colloquial of the tool and object names throughout the area. Establishing this will demonstrate the preserva- 2 I. K. H. Halayqa [UF 40 tion of much cultural continuity of old linguistic features. 3. To document the material in order to preserve it. In the light of the technical progress of modern globalization, these tools have been become out of actual use and completely abandoned mostly after the death of the old generation who preserved it within their collective memory. 4. An ethnographical study can be carried out regarding the material, shape and the function of each tool as well as an archaeological study which would trace the existence, usage and continuation of such tools from antiquities until the present