Anaphors before intensifiers: nafs-x in Hebrew and Aramaic

Abstract

The history of English x-self has informed both diachronic and synchronic accounts of anaphors by showing that its source is the focused adjective known as intensifier (as in the queen herself came). I present twocorpora surveys that show a reversed historical trajectory for the Semitic anaphor nafs-x. The findings suggest a refined explanation to the cross-linguistic homophony between anaphors and intensifiers and to the role ofcomplex anaphors in grammar.