Status constructus
Encyclopedia
The construct state or status constructus is a noun
form
occurring in Afro-Asiatic languages
. It is particularly common in Semitic languages
(such as Arabic
and Hebrew
), Berber languages
, and in the extinct Egyptian language
. Forms analogous to the construct state are also found in some other languages, such as Dholuo
.
In Semitic languages
, nouns are placed in the construct state when they are semantically definite
and modified by another noun in a genitive construction
. Note that this differs from the more familiar genitive case
of European languages in that it is the head
(modified) noun rather than the dependent (modifying) noun that is marked. However, in Semitic languages with grammatical case
(e.g. Classical Arabic
), the modifying noun in a genitive construction is placed in the genitive case
, in addition to marking the head noun with the construct state.
In some non-Semitic languages, the construct state has various additional functions besides marking the head noun of a genitive construction.
Depending on the particular language, the construct state of a noun is indicated by various phonological properties (e.g. a different suffix, different vowels or different stress) and/or morphological properties (such as inability to take a definite article).
with a semantically definite modified noun. The modified noun is placed in the construct state, which lacks any definite article
(despite being semantically definite), and is often phonetically shortened (as in Biblical Hebrew). The modifying noun is placed directly afterwards, and no other word can intervene between the two. For example, an adjective that qualifies either the modified or modifying noun must appear after both. (This can lead to potential ambiguity if the two nouns have the same gender, number and case; otherwise, the agreement marking of the adjective will indicate which noun is modified.) In some languages, e.g. Biblical Hebrew and the modern varieties of Arabic
, feminine construct-state nouns preserve an original -t suffix that has dropped out in other circumstances.
In many modern Semitic languages, the use of the construct state in forming genitive constructions has been partly or completely displaced by the use of a preposition, much like the use of the modern English "of". In these languages (e.g. Modern Hebrew
and Moroccan Arabic
), the construct state is used only in forming compound nouns. An example is Hebrew bet ha-sefer "the school", lit. "the house of the book"; bet is the construct state of bayit "house". To actually say "the house of the book", Modern Hebrew would say ha-bayit shel ha-sefer, which corresponds word-for-word with English "the house of the book".
, the particular genitive construction where the construct state is used is called al-ʼiḍāfah (الإضافة; lit. "addition, annexion"). The construct is one of the three grammatical states of nouns in Arabic, the other two being the indefinite state and the definite state. Concretely, the three states compare like this:
In Classical Arabic
, words in the construct state are semantically definite. Nonetheless, they do not occur with the definite article
al; nor do they receive the indefinite suffix -n (nunation
). Some words also have a different suffix in the construct state, for example masculine plural "teachers" vs. "the teachers of ...". Formal Classical Arabic uses the feminine marker -t in all circumstances other than before a pause, but the normal spoken form of the literary language omits it except in a construct-state noun. This usage follows the colloquial spoken varieties of Arabic
.
In the spoken varieties of Arabic
, the use of the construct state has varying levels of productivity. In conservative varieties (e.g. Gulf Arabic
), it is still extremely productive. In Egyptian Arabic
, both the construct state and the particle bitāʿ "of" can be used, e.g. kitāb Muḥammad "Muhammad's book" or al-kitāb bitāʿ Muḥammad "the book of Muhammad". In Moroccan Arabic
, the construct state is used only in forming compound nouns; in all other cases, dyal "of" or d- "of" is used. In all these varieties, the longer form with the "of" particle (a periphrastic
form) is the normal usage in more complicated constructions (e.g. with an adjective qualifying the head noun, as in the above example "the beautiful queen of the nation") or with nouns marked with a dual or sound plural suffix.
.
order).
In some cases, (not) applying the construct state could completely alter the meaning of the phrase. The Berber particle d means "and" and "is/are" in English. Also, many Berber verbs are both transitive and intransitive. In the intransitive case, the construct state is required for the subject.
Examples:
(one of the Luo languages
) shows alternations between voiced and voiceless states of the final consonant of a noun stem. In the construct state (the form that means 'hill of', 'stick of', etc.) the voicing of the final consonant is switched from the absolute state. (There are also often vowel alternations
that are independent of consonant mutation.) 'hill' (abs.), god (const.) 'stick' (abs.), luð (const.) 'appearance' (abs.), kit (const.) 'bone' (abs.), tʃok (const.)
, the construct state is known as smikhut (smiˈχut) (סמיכות, lit. "support" (the noun), "adjacency"). Simply put, smikhut consists of combining two nouns, often with the second noun combined with the definite article, to create a third noun.
Modern Israeli Hebrew grammar
makes extensive use of the preposition shel (evolved as a contraction of she-le- "which is (belonging) to") to mean both "of" and "belonging to", thus almost completely avoiding the construct state except in a limited set of fixed terms, expressions, titles and names.
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
form
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
occurring in Afro-Asiatic languages
Afro-Asiatic languages
The Afroasiatic languages , also known as Hamito-Semitic, constitute one of the world's largest language families, with about 375 living languages...
. It is particularly common in Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
(such as Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
), Berber languages
Berber languages
The Berber languages are a family of languages indigenous to North Africa, spoken from Siwa Oasis in Egypt to Morocco , and south to the countries of the Sahara Desert...
, and in the extinct Egyptian language
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
. Forms analogous to the construct state are also found in some other languages, such as Dholuo
Dholuo language
The Luo language, Dholuo or Luo proper, is the eponymous language of the Luo group of Nilotic languages, spoken by about 4.4 million Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania, who occupy parts of the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and areas to the south...
.
In Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, nouns are placed in the construct state when they are semantically definite
Definiteness
In grammatical theory, definiteness is a feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between entities which are specific and identifiable in a given context and entities which are not ....
and modified by another noun in a genitive construction
Genitive construction
In grammar, a genitive construction or genitival construction is a type of grammatical construction used to express a relation between two nouns such as the possession of one by another , or some other type of connection...
. Note that this differs from the more familiar genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
of European languages in that it is the head
Head (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
(modified) noun rather than the dependent (modifying) noun that is marked. However, in Semitic languages with grammatical case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
(e.g. Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
), the modifying noun in a genitive construction is placed in the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
, in addition to marking the head noun with the construct state.
In some non-Semitic languages, the construct state has various additional functions besides marking the head noun of a genitive construction.
Depending on the particular language, the construct state of a noun is indicated by various phonological properties (e.g. a different suffix, different vowels or different stress) and/or morphological properties (such as inability to take a definite article).
Semitic languages
In the older Semitic languages, the use of the construct state is the standard (often only) way to form a genitive constructionGenitive construction
In grammar, a genitive construction or genitival construction is a type of grammatical construction used to express a relation between two nouns such as the possession of one by another , or some other type of connection...
with a semantically definite modified noun. The modified noun is placed in the construct state, which lacks any definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
(despite being semantically definite), and is often phonetically shortened (as in Biblical Hebrew). The modifying noun is placed directly afterwards, and no other word can intervene between the two. For example, an adjective that qualifies either the modified or modifying noun must appear after both. (This can lead to potential ambiguity if the two nouns have the same gender, number and case; otherwise, the agreement marking of the adjective will indicate which noun is modified.) In some languages, e.g. Biblical Hebrew and the modern varieties of Arabic
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
, feminine construct-state nouns preserve an original -t suffix that has dropped out in other circumstances.
In many modern Semitic languages, the use of the construct state in forming genitive constructions has been partly or completely displaced by the use of a preposition, much like the use of the modern English "of". In these languages (e.g. Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew , also known as Israeli Hebrew or Modern Israeli Hebrew, is the language spoken in Israel and in some Jewish communities worldwide, from the early 20th century to the present....
and Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...
), the construct state is used only in forming compound nouns. An example is Hebrew bet ha-sefer "the school", lit. "the house of the book"; bet is the construct state of bayit "house". To actually say "the house of the book", Modern Hebrew would say ha-bayit shel ha-sefer, which corresponds word-for-word with English "the house of the book".
Arabic
In Arabic grammarArabic grammar
Arabic grammar is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with the grammar of other Semitic languages....
, the particular genitive construction where the construct state is used is called al-ʼiḍāfah (الإضافة; lit. "addition, annexion"). The construct is one of the three grammatical states of nouns in Arabic, the other two being the indefinite state and the definite state. Concretely, the three states compare like this:
| State | Noun form | Meaning | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | "a queen" | "a beautiful queen" | ||
| Definite | "the queen" | "the beautiful queen" | ||
| Construct | "the queen of ..." | "the beautiful queen of the country" | ||
| State | Noun form | Meaning | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | "a queen" | "a beautiful queen" | ||
| Definite | "the queen" | "the beautiful queen" | ||
| Construct | "the queen of ..." | "the beautiful queen of the country" | ||
In Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
, words in the construct state are semantically definite. Nonetheless, they do not occur with the definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
al; nor do they receive the indefinite suffix -n (nunation
Nunation
In some Semitic languages, notably Arabic, nunation is the addition of a final nun to a noun or adjective to indicate that it is fully declinable and syntactically unmarked for definiteness....
). Some words also have a different suffix in the construct state, for example masculine plural "teachers" vs. "the teachers of ...". Formal Classical Arabic uses the feminine marker -t in all circumstances other than before a pause, but the normal spoken form of the literary language omits it except in a construct-state noun. This usage follows the colloquial spoken varieties of Arabic
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
.
In the spoken varieties of Arabic
Varieties of Arabic
The Arabic language is a Semitic language characterized by a wide number of linguistic varieties within its five regional forms. The largest divisions occur between the spoken languages of different regions. The Arabic of North Africa, for example, is often incomprehensible to an Arabic speaker...
, the use of the construct state has varying levels of productivity. In conservative varieties (e.g. Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic
Gulf Arabic is a variety of the Arabic language spoken around the shore of the Persian Gulf such as in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman...
), it is still extremely productive. In Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
, both the construct state and the particle bitāʿ "of" can be used, e.g. kitāb Muḥammad "Muhammad's book" or al-kitāb bitāʿ Muḥammad "the book of Muhammad". In Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic
Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...
, the construct state is used only in forming compound nouns; in all other cases, dyal "of" or d- "of" is used. In all these varieties, the longer form with the "of" particle (a periphrastic
Periphrasis
In linguistics, periphrasis is a device by which a grammatical category or grammatical relationship is expressed by a free morpheme , instead of being shown by inflection or derivation...
form) is the normal usage in more complicated constructions (e.g. with an adjective qualifying the head noun, as in the above example "the beautiful queen of the nation") or with nouns marked with a dual or sound plural suffix.
Aramaic
In Syriac Aramaic the construct state evolved much in the same way as in Modern Hebrew, becoming a relic by the time of the PeshittaPeshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
.
Berber
In Berber, the construct state is used for the possessor, for objects of prepositions, nouns following numerals, and subjects occurring before their verb (modified from the normal VSOVSO
VSO is a three-letter acronym with multiple meanings, as described below:* Voluntary Service Overseas, an international development charity* Valdosta Southern Railroad...
order).
In some cases, (not) applying the construct state could completely alter the meaning of the phrase. The Berber particle d means "and" and "is/are" in English. Also, many Berber verbs are both transitive and intransitive. In the intransitive case, the construct state is required for the subject.
Examples:
- Taddart n urgaz — lit. "The house of the man" — (instead of: "Taddart n argaz).
- Aghyul d userdun — lit. "The donkey and the mule" — (instead of: Aghyul d aserdun, which means: The donkey is a mule).
- Udem n temghart — lit. "The face of the woman" — (instead of: Udem n tamghart).
- Afus deg ufus — lit. "Hand in hand" — (instead of: Afus deg afus)
- Semmust n terbatin — lit. "Five girls" — (instead of: Semmust n tirbatin).
- Icca ufunas — "The bull has eaten" — (while "Icca afunas" means: He ate a bull).
Dholuo
The Dholuo languageDholuo language
The Luo language, Dholuo or Luo proper, is the eponymous language of the Luo group of Nilotic languages, spoken by about 4.4 million Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania, who occupy parts of the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and areas to the south...
(one of the Luo languages
Luo languages
The Nilotic Luo languages, or Lwoian, are a dozen languages spoken by the Luo peoples in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They form one of the two branches of Western...
) shows alternations between voiced and voiceless states of the final consonant of a noun stem. In the construct state (the form that means 'hill of', 'stick of', etc.) the voicing of the final consonant is switched from the absolute state. (There are also often vowel alternations
Apophony
In linguistics, apophony is the alternation of sounds within a word that indicates grammatical information .-Description:Apophony is...
that are independent of consonant mutation.) 'hill' (abs.), god (const.) 'stick' (abs.), luð (const.) 'appearance' (abs.), kit (const.) 'bone' (abs.), tʃok (const.)
- buk 'book' (abs.), bug (const.) 'book' (abs.), kɪtap (const.)
Hebrew
In Hebrew grammarHebrew grammar
-History of studies in Hebrew grammar:The Masoretes in the 7th to 11th centuries laid the foundation for grammatical analysis of Hebrew. As early as the 9th century Judah ibn Kuraish discussed the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew...
, the construct state is known as smikhut (smiˈχut) (סמיכות, lit. "support" (the noun), "adjacency"). Simply put, smikhut consists of combining two nouns, often with the second noun combined with the definite article, to create a third noun.
- בַית — [ˈbajit] — "(a) house"
- הבַית — [ha-ˈbajit] — "the house"
- בֵית — [bet] — "house-of"
- ספר — [ˈsefeʁ] — "(a) book"
- בֵית ספר — [bet ˈsefeʁ] — "(a) school" (literally "house(-of) book")
- בֵית הספר — [bet ha-ˈsefeʁ] — "the school" (formal; literally "house(-of) the book")
- הבֵית ספר — [ha-bet-ˈsefeʁ] — "the school" (colloquial, high-grade cohesionCohesion (linguistics)Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical relationship within a text or sentence. Cohesion can be defined as the links that hold a text together and give it meaning. It is related to the broader concept of coherence...
(bet-sefer as a single lexical unit); literally "the house(-of) book")
- עוגה — [uˈɡa] — "cake" (feminine)
- גבינה — [ɡviˈna] — "cheese"
- עוגת גבינה — [uˈɡat ɡviˈna] — "cheesecake"
- דיבור — [diˈbuʁ] — "speech" (an example for a noun for which the smikhut-form is identical to the regular form)
- חופש — [ˈħofeʃ] — "freedom"
- חופש הדיבור — [ˈħofeʃ ha-diˈbuʁ] — "freedom of speech" (literally "freedom(-of) the speech")
Comparison between Classical and Modern Hebrew
According to linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, unlike in Classical Hebrew, the construct state indicating possession is not productive in Modern Israeli Hebrew. Compare the Classical Hebrew construct state [em ha-ˈjeled] ('child's mother') with the more analytic Modern Hebrew phrase [haˈima ʃel ha-ˈjeled].Modern Israeli Hebrew grammar
Hebrew grammar
-History of studies in Hebrew grammar:The Masoretes in the 7th to 11th centuries laid the foundation for grammatical analysis of Hebrew. As early as the 9th century Judah ibn Kuraish discussed the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew...
makes extensive use of the preposition shel (evolved as a contraction of she-le- "which is (belonging) to") to mean both "of" and "belonging to", thus almost completely avoiding the construct state except in a limited set of fixed terms, expressions, titles and names.