[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2014-ornan-innovation-verbs-hebrew/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [docs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/) / [papers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/) / [Modern Hebrew](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/he/) / Innovation of Verbs in Hebrew # Innovation of Verbs in Hebrew **Authors:** [Uzzi Ornan](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/authors/uzzi-ornan/) · **Year:** 2014 · **Venue:** Proceedings of the Joint Workshop on Social Dynamics and Personal Attributes in Social Media, pages 94–97 **Link:** [aclanthology.org/W14-2713](https://aclanthology.org/W14-2713/) · library `aclbulk-2014-ornan-innovation-verbs-hebrew` · **Licence:** [CC BY-NC-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) — summary only [**1** citations](https://openalex.org/works?filter=cites:W2251557891) openalex-snapshot · 2026-10-14[Proceedings of the Joint Workshop on Social Dynamics and Personal Attributes in Social Media](https://aclanthology.org/volumes/W14-27/)[licence](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) - [Publisher's page](https://aclanthology.org/W14-2713/) - [PDF](https://aclanthology.org/W14-2713.pdf) - [DOI 10.3115/v1/w14-2713](https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/w14-2713) - [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W2251557891) **Authors (1)** 1. [Ornan, Uzzi](https://openalex.org/A5016702137) h 5 · 94 citations · 27 works Citations and author metrics from openalex-snapshot (2026-10-14); authors with the same name are not always told apart. ## What it is about A short paper on how Hebrew makes new verbs. Hebrew words sit in a root-pattern array: several thousand consonant roots cross 100–120 noun patterns, but only seven verb patterns. When a foreign noun has no verb form, speakers apply "squeezing": the vowels are removed from the noun, the remaining consonants become a new root, and that root gets a new row in the array, where a verb can then be built from one of the seven patterns. The paper gives examples (telephone, giving a verb to phone; basis; compile, debug, format, fax, discuss, Pascal, Rentgen), and shows that squeezing also works on Hebrew nouns (mispar, "number", gives a verb to number) and on a two-word idiom. It is a description of a generation procedure; the paper reports no measurements. ## Ideas - I1. A squeezing generator for loan verbs: given a loan noun, delete its vowels to get a consonant root, place the root in the array, and fill the seven verb patterns. Output the candidates with a flag "unchecked" for a lexicon entry. This is a deterministic table, not a model. - I2. A test set from the paper: the squeezed verbs it lists (for example le-qampel for compile, le-dabbeg for debug, le-farmet for format, le-faqses for fax) are source-noun-to-verb pairs. Run the generator on the source nouns and measure how many of the listed verbs it reproduces. - I3. Squeezing from phrases: because the procedure also works on two-word idioms, a verb-noun expression can yield a new verb root. Use this as a candidate rule when a Hebrew verb-noun expression has no single verb in the lexicon. ## For Mova I1 goes into [05b. Verb paradigms: the strong verb in seven binyanim and the weak roots](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/he/05b-verb-paradigms/). I2 is a test for the generator and is documented in [8. Lexicon and register](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/he/08-lexicon-register/) under loan words. I3 goes into [05. The verb: system, binyanim, tense and use](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/he/05-verbs/), next to the verb-noun expressions. ## Cite The paper itself, not this card. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. [DOI 10.3115/v1/w14-2713](https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/w14-2713) ``` @inproceedings{ornan2014innovation, title = {{Innovation of Verbs in Hebrew}}, author = {Ornan, Uzzi}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Joint Workshop on Social Dynamics and Personal Attributes in Social Media}, year = {2014}, doi = {10.3115/v1/w14-2713}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/w14-2713} } ``` - [← previous Multi-document multilingual summarization corpus preparation, Part 2: Czech, Hebrew and Spanish](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2013-elhadad-multi-document-multilingual-summarization-corpus/) - [next → Semantically Motivated Hebrew Verb-Noun Multi-Word Expressions Identification](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2016-liebeskind-semantically-motivated-hebrew-verb-noun/) - [↑ back to Modern Hebrew](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/he/) ## References 7 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet. 1. Bat-El Outi, 1994. Stem Modification and Cluster Transfer in Modern Hebrew. Natural Language and a LinguisticTheory 12, pp. 571-596 [↗](https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00992928) 2. Bolozky, Shmuel 1978. Word Formation Strategies in the Hebrew Verb System, Denominative Verbs. Afroasiatic Linguistics 5:3 pp. 111-136. McCarthy, John. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Bolozky%2C+Shmuel+1978%2E+Word+Formation+Strategies+in+the+Hebrew+Verb+System%2C+Denominative+Verbs%2E+Afroasiatic+Linguistics+5%3A3+pp%2E+111%2D136%2E+McCarthy%2C+John%2E) 3. J., 1981. A Prosodic Theory of Nonconcatenative Morphology. Linguistic Inquiry 12. pp. 373-418. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=J%2E%2C+1981%2E+A+Prosodic+Theory+of+Nonconcatenative+Morphology%2E+Linguistic+Inquiry+12%2E+pp%2E+373%2D418%2E) 4. Ornan, Uzzi. 1976. םישדח םישרוש תריצי לע (on generating new roots). Leshonenu- la-ˁam, Academy of Hebrew Language, Jerusalem, Vol 27, pp 254-267. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ornan%2C+Uzzi%2E+1976%2E+%D7%9D%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%93%D7%97+%D7%9D%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9+%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%99+%D7%9C%D7%A2+%28on+generating+new+roots%29%2E+Leshonenu%2D+la%2D%CB%81am%2C+Academy+of+Hebrew+Language%2C+Jerusalem%2C+Vol+27%2C+pp+254%2D267%2E) 5. Ornan, Uzzi. 1983. דציכ תירבעה הלימה תרוצת (How do we build a Hebrew word). Bar-Asher et al. (editors), Studies in Hebrew dedicated to Ze`ev Ben-Haiim, Magnes Press, Jerusalem, pp. 13-42. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ornan%2C+Uzzi%2E+1983%2E+%D7%93%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9B+%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%94+%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%94+%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%AA+%28How+do+we+build+a+Hebrew+word%29%2E+Bar%2DAsher+et+al%2E+%28editors%29%2C+Studies+in+Hebrew+dedicated+to+Ze%60ev+Ben%2DHaiim%2C+Magnes+Press%2C+Jerusalem%2C+pp%2E+13%2D42%2E) 6. Ornan, Uzzi. 1990. Machinery for Hebrew Word Formation, Martin Charles Golumbic (ed), Advances in Artificial Intelligence, Springer-Verlag, pp. 75-93. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ornan%2C+Uzzi%2E+1990%2E+Machinery+for+Hebrew+Word+Formation%2C+Martin+Charles+Golumbic+%28ed%29%2C+Advances+in+Artificial+Intelligence%2C+Springer%2DVerlag%2C+pp%2E+75%2D93%2E) 7. Ornan, Uzzi. 2003. הנורחאה הלימה (The Final Word), University of Haifa pub, pp. 103-126. various new roots are dealt with in Ornan, 2003 pp. 110-116. pattern root psq gmr ḥbr ˁbd prsm ṭlgrp _a_a_ _i__e_ ma__e_ pasaq gamar ḥabar ˁabad - - pisseq gimmer ḥibber ˁibbed pirsem ṭilgrep mapseq - maḥber - - - Figure 1: Part of Root-Pattern Array list of patterns: ma—ati—o-t list of roots: gmr ḥny h'l'k' MAhlAk Figure 2: Illustrating part of the generating algorithm hit_a__e-__a_ ta__u_a hi__i_ hitpasseq - hitḥabber - hitparsem - psaq gmar - - - - -- taḥbura - - - hipsiq - - hiˁbid - - phonemic word: actual word: /mahlak/ [mahalax] [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ornan%2C+Uzzi%2E+2003%2E+%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%90%D7%94+%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%94+%28The+Final+Word%29%2C+University+of+Haifa+pub%2C+pp%2E+103%2D126%2E+various+new+roots+are+dealt+with+in+Ornan%2C+2003+pp%2E+110%2D116%2E+pattern+root+psq+gmr+%E1%B8%A5br+%CB%81bd+prsm+%E1%B9%ADlgrp+%5Fa%5Fa%5F+%5Fi%5F%5F)