This volume edited by Giuliano Castagna and Lutz Edzard unites six articles based on
presentations at the workshop South Arabia: Old Issues New Perspectives held on December 19
2019 at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg as well as a contribution by Alessandra Serpone on
a related subject. The contributions range all the way from morpho-phonology over syntax to
issues of genetic relationship and semantics. Sabrina Bendjaballah and Philippe Ségéral open
the discussion with an analysis of quadri- and quinque-literal roots in Omani Mehri. Alessandra
Serpone reconsiders the emergence and distribution of the k-suffix traditionally considered to
be a South-Semitic feature across Semitic. Lutz Edzard looks at the functional spectrum of the
-st-diatheses in Jibbali in a comparative Semitic perspective. Fabio Gasparini applies the
current research on clause linking notably on the relationship of syntactic coordination and
subordination to Mehri. Roger Blench takes a fresh lookat the genetic position of Modern South
Arabian within South Semitic. Letizia Cerqueglini specifically investigates the relationship of
Egyptian and Semitic from a South Arabian perspective. Finally Giuliano Castagna highlights a
possible Austronesian lexical substratum in Modern South Arabian.
