TRILITERAL

In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages and some other Afro-Asiatic languages, a 'triliteral' (Arabic: جذر ثلاثي, '') is a root containing a sequence of three consonants (so also known as a 'triconsonantal root'). The majority of consonantal roots in these languages are generally triliterals (but some may be quadriliterals). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the derivation of actual words by adding the vowels and non-root consonants which go with a particular morphological category around the root consonants, in an appropriate way, generally following specific patterns.
For example, the following are some of the forms which can be derived from the triconsonantal root k-t-b (general overall meaning "to write") in Hebrew and Arabic:

Semitological abbreviation	Hebrew name	Arabic name	Morphological category	Hebrew Form	Arabic form	Approximate translation
G verb stem	Qal	''fa‘ala'' فَعَلَ (Stem I)	3rd. masc. sing perfect	katabh כתב	kataba كتب	"he wrote"
			1st. plur. perfect	katabhnu כתבנו	katabnā كتبنا	"we wrote"
			3rd. masc. sing. imperfect	yikhtobh יכתוב	yaktubu يكتب	"he writes, will write"
			1st. plur. imperfect	nikhtobh נכתוב	naktubu نكتب	"we write, will write"
			masc. sing. active participle	kotebh כותב	kātib كاتب	"writer"
Š verb stem	Hiph‘il	''af‘ala'' أَفْعَلَ (Stem IV)	3rd. masc. sing perfect	hikhtibh הכתיב	’aktaba أكتب	"he dictated"
			3rd. masc. sing. imperfect	yakhtibh יכתיב	yuktibu يكتب	"he dictates, will dictate"
Št(D) verb stem	Hitpa‘‘el	''istaf‘ala'' أسْتَفْعَلَ (Stem X)	3rd. masc. sing perfect	hitkattebh התכתב	istaktaba استكتب	"he corresponded" (Hebrew), "he asked (someone) to write (something), had a copy made" (Arabic)
			3rd. masc. sing. imperfect	yitkattebh יתכתב	yastaktibu يستكتب	(imperfect of above)
Noun with ''m-'' prefix and original short vowels:		''maf‘al'' مَفْعَل	singular	mikhtabh מכתב	maktab مكتب	"letter" (Hebrew), "office" (Arabic)

:''Note: The Hebrew fricatives transcribed as "kh" and "bh" above are single phonetic sounds, which can also be transcribed in a number of other ways, such as "ch" and "v" (Eastern-European influenced) or [x] and [v] (IPA). They are transcribed "kh" and "bh" on this page to retain the connection with the pure consonantal root k-t-b.''
In Hebrew grammatical terminology, the word 'binyan' (Hebrew בנין, plural בינינים ''binyanim'') is used to refer to a verb stem or overall verb derivation pattern, while the word Mishqal (or Mishkal) is used to refer to a noun derivation pattern, and these words have gained some use in English-language linguistic terminology. The Arabic terms, called وزن '''wazn''', (plural أوزان, ''’awzān'') for the pattern and جذر '''' (plural جذور, '') for the root have not gained the same currency as the Hebrew equivalents, and Western grammarians continue to use "stem"/"form"/"pattern" for the former and "root" for the latter (though "form" and "pattern" are literal translations of ''wazn'', and "root" is a literal translation of ''ǧaḏr'').

Contents

See also

External links

See also

★ Nonconcatenative morphology

★ Arabic grammar

★
★ Broken plural

★ Apophony vs. transfixation (root-and-pattern)

★ Proto-Indo-European root

External links

★ Project Root List