The Semantics of Verbal Pragmatics: Clarifying the Roles of Wayyiqtol and Weqatal in Biblical Hebrew Prose
The parameters of temporal succession (labelled consecution or sequentiality) and foregrounding have long been associated with wayyiqtol and weqatal in Biblical Hebrew. Many recent models of the Biblical Hebrew verbal system distinguish these two waw-prefixed forms from qatal and yiqtol, respectivel...
| Published in: | Journal of Semitic studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2004
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| In: |
Journal of Semitic studies
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The parameters of temporal succession (labelled consecution or sequentiality) and foregrounding have long been associated with wayyiqtol and weqatal in Biblical Hebrew. Many recent models of the Biblical Hebrew verbal system distinguish these two waw-prefixed forms from qatal and yiqtol, respectively, based on the parameter of temporal succession, foregrounding, or both. Unfortunately, these parameters are generally presented as self-evident concepts and are therefore rarely defined with sufficient precision nor in many cases even distinguished from one another. This article distinguishes between temporal succession as a semantic property of clauses and the foreground-background distinction as a psycholinguistic feature of the processing and organizing of discourse. Correlation, or lack thereof, between each of these parameters and the waw-prefixed verb forms in Biblical Hebrew is then examined. This article concludes that a semantic analysis is crucial to explaining correlations between verb forms and discourse functions. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-8556 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jss/49.2.247 |