Verb innovation in Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic

This study investigates the criteria for form selection in the formation of new verbs in Modern Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic. The verbal systems of these languages consist of templatic forms (binyanim, sg. binyan), where every verb that enters the language must conform to one of them. Some binyanim are not used at all for the formation of new verbs, while others are used quite rarely. The paper is based on productions of new verbs that have been collected during the past six years. It is shown that the interaction of thematic-semantic and morpho-phonological criteria dictates the selection of binyan for new verbs and explains why certain binyanim are favored over others. Morpho-phonological criteria involve the properties of the base from which the verb is derived. Thematic-semantic criteria relate to the distinction between basic and derived entries in the lexicon as well as semantic resemblance to existing words. Verb innovation provides direct access to the process of word formation and shows how different types of criteria and constraints are taken into consideration.