{"title":"Models of Word Order in Biblical Hebrew","authors":"Vasile A. Condrea","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10149","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"For some time, linguists have agreed that (1) English is an SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) language and that (2) the purpose of this order is to indicate the difference between “John loves Mary” and “Mary loves John.” In contrast, Hebraists are still debating the first item. According to Holmstedt, Biblical Hebrew is an SVO language with the Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) order being “triggered” from SVO. By contrast, Hornkohl, Khan, and van der Merwe maintain that Biblical Hebrew is a VSO language with the SVO being the “marked” order. Hebraists rely on linguistic methods to answer these questions. This article evaluates the claims of the abovementioned authors from two perspectives: whether the linguistic methods they use are compatible (some approaches do not work well together) and whether the principles of their chosen linguistic method are followed. Suggestions for improvement for Khan and van der Merwe’s model are included.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10149","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
For some time, linguists have agreed that (1) English is an SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) language and that (2) the purpose of this order is to indicate the difference between “John loves Mary” and “Mary loves John.” In contrast, Hebraists are still debating the first item. According to Holmstedt, Biblical Hebrew is an SVO language with the Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) order being “triggered” from SVO. By contrast, Hornkohl, Khan, and van der Merwe maintain that Biblical Hebrew is a VSO language with the SVO being the “marked” order. Hebraists rely on linguistic methods to answer these questions. This article evaluates the claims of the abovementioned authors from two perspectives: whether the linguistic methods they use are compatible (some approaches do not work well together) and whether the principles of their chosen linguistic method are followed. Suggestions for improvement for Khan and van der Merwe’s model are included.
一段时间以来,语言学家们一致认为:(1) 英语是一种 SVO(主语-动词-宾语)语言;(2) 这种顺序的目的是表明 "约翰爱玛丽 "和 "玛丽爱约翰 "之间的区别。与此相反,希伯来语学家仍在争论第一项。Holmstedt 认为,圣经希伯来语是一种 SVO 语言,动词-主语-宾语(VSO)顺序是从 SVO 中 "触发 "出来的。相比之下,Hornkohl、Khan 和 van der Merwe 则认为《圣经》希伯来语是一种 VSO 语言,SVO 是 "标记 "顺序。希伯来语学家依靠语言学方法来回答这些问题。本文从两个方面评估了上述作者的主张:他们所使用的语言学方法是否兼容(有些方法不能很好地结合使用),以及他们所选择的语言学方法是否遵循了原则。文章还对 Khan 和 van der Merwe 的模型提出了改进建议。
期刊介绍:
Vetus Testamentum is a leading journal covering all aspects of Old Testament study. It includes articles on history, literature, religion and theology, text, versions, language, and the bearing on the Old Testament of archaeology and the study of the Ancient Near East. ● Since 1951 generally recognized to be indispensable for scholarly work on the Old Testament. ● Articles of interest in English, French and German. ● Detailed book review section in every issue.