The Verbal Nouns of The Medially Weak Augmented Patterns: 2af3ala And (2i)staf3ala

Abstract

The verbal nouns: 2if3āl and (2i)stif3āl of the respective augmented hollow verb patterns: 2af3ala and (2i)staf3ala deviate from their counterparts of medially consonantal or semi-consonantal radicals. The ancient scholars’ renowned explanation of this deviation is that the long characteristic vowel /ā/ of these verbal nouns is silent, but preceded by a short /a/ that can be moved backward, thus transforming the medial /w/ and /y/ in the underlying structure to another /ā/ and eventually bringing two long vowels in juxtaposition, a condition that can’t be tolerated and must be avoided by deleting one of the two /ā/s, and adding the affix -a(t) in compensation. Some modern scholars suggest that the ending -a(t) is a substitute for the extra vowel length expected after deleting the weak radicals. The present paper suggests that the ending -a(t) is derivational and a direct compensation for the deletion of the weak radicals themselves, without going through ill-motivated and devious steps.