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Browsing Hebrew by Author "Wilson, Daniel Joseph"
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Item Open Access Copular predication in Biblical Hebrew(University of the Free State, 2015-07) Wilson, Daniel Joseph; Miller-Naudé, Cynthia L.; Naudé, Jacobus A.English: This study provides an analysis of the different forms of copular predication in Biblical Hebrew (BH). BH uses two syntactic constructions to convey copular predication. One construction utilises a finite form of the BH copula היה and the other construction merely juxtaposes the subject and the predicate with no overt copula. This second form is known as the verbless clause (or nominal clause). The traditional explanation for the use of the BH copula rather than a verbless clause is to convey the tense, aspect, or mood of a situation by means of the verbal morphology. An overt copula is used to satisfy certain inflectional demands in a sentence. While this explanation is true in many examples, there are many examples of verbless clauses in the Hebrew Bible that are not ambiguous as to their tense, aspect or mood. The traditional explanation seems incomplete in accounting for the presence of an overt copula. Additionally, there are several forms of the copula that occupy different syntactic positions. What effect, if any, does the position of the copula have on the overall meaning of the sentence? To answer these questions I utilise an integrated theoretical approach which starts with the generative assumption that all statements of being are copular constructions whether or not they have an overt copula in the sentence. I challenge the traditional verbless/verbal clause distinction in BH syntax and adopt a categorisation of predicate types that is consistent with many linguistic studies of predication. I utilise a stratification of formal strategies of predication from cross-linguistic typology in order to explain the different forms of BH copular predication. I also adopt a view of the copula that is informed by network semantics. This dissertation examines each example of copular predication in Joshua through 2 Kings and categorises them according to a semantic taxonomy. Each of these forms has a unique syntactic markedness profile with respect to tense, aspect and mood. The critical contribution of this dissertation is that these syntactic profiles exist under a broader categorisation of +change-of-state and –change-of-state semantics and that there is a semantic network of nuances that these forms are capable of conveying. This is a challenge to the traditional definition of the copula which defines it as a semantically-empty constituent that merely has a structural role. Newer research on copular constructions suggests that there is a network of semantic nuances which a copula can convey in certain languages. The data revealed that one construction in both +change-of-state and –change-of-state categories can express several different semantic nuances. In this dissertation I demonstrate that the presence or absence of a finite form of היה is attributed to the syntactic profile and semantic network of each form of copular predication and each form is connected to its function. A. The zero copula strategy (the verbless/nominal clause) is the unmarked strategy and does not indicate change-of-state. B. Sentences in which a finite form of the verbal root היה is preceded by a constituent are marked for aspect (perfective or imperfective) and do not indicate change-of- state. C. Sentences with ויהי or והיה as well as any finite form of the root היה with an obligatory prepositional phrase with ל indicate change-of-state.