A reconstruction of the system of verb aspects in proto-Berbero-Semitic

Several verbal forms reconstructed for proto-Semitic strongly resemble reconstructed forms in proto-Berber: compare Semitic yV-PaRRaS to Berber y- FaRRaS, Semitic yV-PRaS to Berber y- FRaS, and Semitic yV-PRuS and yV-PRiS to Berber y-aFR S. We suggest that these forms are historically related and sketch a line of development from the reconstructed meanings to their attested uses. yVPaRRaS, originally imperfective, retains that value in both Berber and Semitic. yVPRas, originally stative, gained a perfective meaning in Berber and Semitic; the stative meaning is retained in Berber, but was largely lost in Semitic. yVPRus/yVPRiS, originally perfective, retained that meaning in Semitic, merging with the newly perfective yVPRas forms; in Berber, yVPRaS completely replaced perfective yVPRuS/yVPRiS, relegating the latter to non-aspectual uses. We conclude by considering the quality of the first vowel; the alternation seen in Berber y- FRaS and y-aFR S supports reconstructions as yiPRaS and yaPRuS/yaPRiS, conforming to the Barth-Ginsberg Law of Semitic.