The organization of the lexicon in Arabic and other semitic languages

PAPERS FROM THE SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON ARABIC LINGUISTICS, CAMBRIDGE, MARCH The widely accepted conception of the triliteral root as the basis of the lexical system of Semitic languages is refuted by findings of two studies described by Abelhadi Razouk (1999-2000). In study 1, Arabic speakers enrolled in university programs of Arabic language & literature in Morocco & France (N = 107 & 25 respectively) were tested on the identification of the root in 20 selected Arabic words; results show only 0%-18% correct responses for all but three of the test items. Study 2 presented the same words in a connected text to first-year students of Arabic (N = 10) for sight reading, after which the test of study 1 was repeated. Results indicate a reading error rate of 3% & an error rate of 93% in root identification across all Ss & are argued to show that the root is irrelevant to the reading process. It is proposed instead that the Arabic lexicon is organized at three levels: (1) the phonetic matrix, an unordered combination of matrices of phonetic features linked to a semic nucleus; (2) the etymon, an unordered combination of phonemes that particularize the semic nucleus of the matrix; & (3) the radical, an expansion of the etymon by adding at least one vowel & either a resonant or a copy of the last consonant, with expansion of the semic nucleus.