The Hittite Demonstratives
Studies in Deixis, Topics and Focus
by Petra Goedegebuure
Hardback (Published)
(September 2014)
ISBN: 9783447102285
6.65 x 9.49 inches
Price: $136.00
In stock
In order to mitigate the lack of context inherent to the study of dead languages, the author has developed a descriptive model that combines (a) cognitive approaches to reference, (b) a theory of information structure, and (c) typological studies on demonstratives. With the help of this model the author not only provides for the first time a thorough description of the long-known demonstratives ka- “this” and apa- “that”, but also identifies a third demonstrative, asi “that, yonder”. This identification has led to a reappraisal of the distal semantics of apa-: apa- does not mark remote objects at all but points at objects in the vicinity of the addressee. In short, the Hittite demonstratives are not distance- but person-based. As a third person pronoun, apa- also expresses emphasis. A detailed analysis within the framework of information structure shows, for example, that apa- in preverbal position marks a referent as the Contrastive Focus of its clause (in “the dog (not the cat) chased the horse”, dog is in Contrastive Focus). Non-contrastive focal apa-, on the other hand, always occurs in initial position. The addition of information structure to the grammatical description of Hittite thus provides a better understanding of the meaning effects of word order variation in this SOV language.
In order to mitigate the lack of context inherent to the study of dead languages, the author has developed a descriptive model that combines (a) cognitive approaches to reference, (b) a theory of information structure, and (c) typological studies on demonstratives. With the help of this model the author not only provides for the first time a thorough description of the long-known demonstratives ka- “this” and apa- “that”, but also identifies a third demonstrative, asi “that, yonder”. This identification has led to a reappraisal of the distal semantics of apa-: apa- does not mark remote objects at all but points at objects in the vicinity of the addressee. In short, the Hittite demonstratives are not distance- but person-based. As a third person pronoun, apa- also expresses emphasis. A detailed analysis within the framework of information structure shows, for example, that apa- in preverbal position marks a referent as the Contrastive Focus of its clause (in “the dog (not the cat) chased the horse”, dog is in Contrastive Focus). Non-contrastive focal apa-, on the other hand, always occurs in initial position. The addition of information structure to the grammatical description of Hittite thus provides a better understanding of the meaning effects of word order variation in this SOV language.
- By (author) Petra Goedegebuure
Other Titles in this Series
At the Interface of Religion and Administration
The Hittite Cult Inventories: With a contribution by Adam Kryszen
Volume 68
Functional Differentiation in Hittite Festival Texts
An Analysis of the Old Manuscripts of the KI.LAM Great Assembly
Volume 65
Liturgie oder Literatur?
Die Kultrituale der Hethiter im transkulturellen Vergleich. Akten eines Werkstattgesprachs an der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur. Mainz, 2.-3. Dezember 2010
Volume 60
Two Festivals Celebrated by a Hittite Prince (CTH 647.I and II-III)
New Light on Local Cults in North-Central Anatolia in the Second Millennium BC
Volume 61
Schicksalsbestimmende Kommunikation
Sprachliche, gesellschaftliche und religiose Aspekte hethitischer Fluch-, Segens- und Eidesformeln
Volume 52
The Tablets and Their Scribes
The Palaeography of Hittite Cuneiform and Writing Practices in Hittite Anatolia. Proceedings of the Second International HFR Symposium, Mainz, 2–4 May 2024
Volume 73
Studies in Hittite Economic Administration
A New Edition of the Hittite Palace-Temple Administrative Corpus and Research on Allied Texts Found at Hattusa. Volume I: Background, Corpus Overview, Case Studies, Lexical Commentary, and Glossary
Volume 70
Studies in Hittite Economic Administration
A New Edition of the Hittite Palace-Temple Administrative Corpus and Research on Allied Texts Found at Hattusa. Volume II: Text Editions and Philological Commentary
Volume 71
Luwili
Hittite-Luwian Ritual Texts Attributed to Puriyanni, Kuwattalla and Silalluhi (CTH 758-763). Volume I: Edition and Commentary. Volume II: Discussion and Glossary
Volume 72
Cult, Temple, Sacred Spaces
Cult Practices and Cult Spaces in Hittite Anatolia and Neighbouring Cultures. Proceedings of the First International HFR Symposium, Mainz, 3-5 June 2019
Volume 66
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