"are kings" (sing. ܡܱܡܠܷܟ), &c. Then in Syriac even the sheva mobile has often quite disappeared, as we are able in part to establish, even for very early times, through the relations of Rukkākhā and Quššāyā (§ 23 D): compare also the treatment of originally doubled consonants (§ 21 B).
B. A sharpened syllable does not count for an open one, even when the double-consonant is itself simplified (§ 21 A, B). Thus the short vowel remains, with resulting hardness, in ܪܱܒܻ݁ܝ (rabbī, West-Syrian rabī) "brought up"; ܪܷܒܻ݁ܝܬ݂ܳܐ "interest"; ܡܱܚܶܡ (maḥḥem) "heats"; ܩܽܘܜܳܠܴܐ (quṭṭālā) "murder"; and so even ܫܱܐܷܠ "asked"; ܫܽܘܐܴܠܳܐ "question" (for theoretical šaʾʾel, šuʾʾālā). Here and there the falling away of the doubling in the pronunciation is to be made up for by lengthening the vowel.
C. But still in certain cases a short vowel holds its ground even in an open syllable: thus with ܐ as the initial letter of a syllable (§ 34), e. g. ܡܱܠܱܐܟ݂ܳܐ for מַלְאֲכָא "angel"; in the secondary forms ܢܷܩܽܘܡ, ܢܱܣܺܝܡ for ܢܩܽܘܡ, ܢܣܺܝܡ "stands", "sets" (§ 177 C) ; in many later forms like ܩܜܰܠܽܘܢ, ܩ̈ܜܰܠܷܝܢ (§ 158 D); and in the forms of the Imperative with Object-suffixes like ܕܰܒܱܪܱܝܢܝ "lead me" (§ 190), &c. So also is it in forms like ܓܰܠܝܱܬ݂ܶܗ "she revealed it" (§ 152), a recent formation from ◌ܶܗ + ܓܰܠܝܱܬ. The Nestorians (always?) lengthen the a in such cases (§ 42).
D. Where there had been two open syllables with short vowels, one of these had of course to remain ; thus ܕܰܗܒ݂ܳܐ from dahavā "gold"; ܕܶܟ݂ܪܴܐ from dakharā "a male"; ܩܷܜܠܱܬ݂ from qaṭalath "she killed", &c.
E. So too, when the prefixes ܘ ܕ ܠ ܒ come before a vowel-less consonant, their vowel remains as an a[1], thus ܒܱܡܠܷܟ݂ from ܡܠܷܟ݂ + ܒ "in a king"; ܠܱܓ݂ܒ݂ܳܪ "to a man"; ܕܰܩܜܰܠ "who killed"; ܘܱܢܣܱܒ݂ "and took". With the words mentioned in § 51, which may assume an ܐܷ as their commencement, the prefix ܒ is given as ܒܷ, and so with the other prefixes, thus ܒܷܫܜܳܪܴܐ "in the written bond"; ܠܷܫܬܴ݁ܐ "to the six", &c.
Thus too, a appears in the corresponding case, when several such prefixes come together at the beginning of a word: ܘܱܕ݂ܡܱܠܟܳܐ "et regis",- ↑ With ܘ and ܠ, a is the original vowel; perhaps ܒ has just been adapted thereto by analogy, though originally it appears to have been bi and certainly analogy explains the treatment of ܕ, which is shortened from dī.
