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b-hebrew - Re[2]: More on wayyiqtol-resent

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  • From: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • To: ButhFam AT compuserve.com
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re[2]: More on wayyiqtol-resent
  • Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 16:38:26 -0400


Dear Randall,

I'm sorry, I didn't get your whole argument as it was so compressed.
But looking again, I do not agree that this is decisive. My tentative
hypothesis would be that when the present tense was used as historic
this became specifically indicated by fronting it in the sentence and
linking it with the waw conjunction - this explains why the form
without the conjunction (yiqtol) is not mixed with wayyiqtol. At some
time in the development of the language, I would suggest, only
wayyiqtol and not yiqtol alone became acceptable for "historic
present", and so qatal came to be used for cases where the verb could
not be fronted (e.g. a special focus on the noun subject, either as
part of a contrasting pair or in introducing a new topic) or where waw
could not sensibly be prefixed (e.g. start of a speech). As wayyiqtol
had come to be specifically used as "historic present", its use in
non-past contexts lost favour, except occasionally in poetry, and
weqatal was introduced. And I am talking about a time when participles
were not in regular use as a present tense, hence no participles.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Re: More on wayyiqtol-resent
Author: ButhFam AT compuserve.com at internet
Date: 16/04/1999 09:50


> On the other hand, Randall's comment "'present' is not the way hebrew
> storytelling is done... BH tells Hebrew stories in the past" simply
> begs the question: in so far as BH tells Hebrew stories with
> wayyiqtol, this statement is true if wayyiqtol is a past tense, but
> false if it is a present tense!

peter, i think you missed my point.
there were several tests given to show that "present" is not the force of
the form.
e.g. vayyomer vs X---amar, but never vayyomer vs. X---yomer/yomar.

randall buth





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