Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Douglas L Kasten <doug.kasten AT juno.com>]

Dear Fr. Niccacci,

Thanks for your response to my query re: your theory and some of
Longacre's assertions, copied below.  You directly address some of the
questions I had concerning L's theory when I was studying in Dallas,
namely the perhaps overly deterministic emphasis L places on text type. 
Also, the notion of genre mixing seems important to me, a point with
which I think L would  agree yet which is not addressed in what I've read
of his.  I'll read your article in Bergen.  To date I've only skimmed it.

Peace,
Doug

On Fri, 7 May 1999 14:06:33 +0200 Studium Biblicum Franciscanum
<sbfnet AT netvision.net.il> writes:
> Your thread regarding the status of weqatal and negative imperative
is a

> good one, and I'm following with interest.  Lee writes:

> 

> > Another situation that causes confusion is when a series of
weqatals

> occur within a double sentence, e.g.  Deu. 26:1-4, that says:

> 

> Fr. Niccacci, in your response to Lee, you write:

> 

> - The volitive set is as follows:

>       *speech-initial form: yiqtol (x-yiqtol in some cases) = 3rd person
/

> imperative = 2nd person / cohortative = 1st person

>       *continuation form:weyiqtol -- eventually, a chain of mainline

> weyiqtols

>       *offline form: x-yiqtol = 3rd and 1st person / x-imperative = 2nd

> person (background)

>       *negative form of mainline: 'al+yiqtol

>       *negative form of offline: x-'al+yiqtol.


        1) 

> What is your response to the analysis which would pose another text
type

> for Dt 26:1-4 as, say, a procedural text (Distinct from narrative,
which

> would be classified as another text type), where weqatal would be
the

> mainline.  "You do this and then you do that and then you'll do
another

> thing...."  

> 

        2)

> Though I'm probably not representing Longacre as he'd  wish, I do
believe

> that I have the substantial idea in question here:  that there are

> different genres of text types and the 'mainline' of each will be

> different.  I believe Longacre posits 4 Hebrew text types: 
Narrative,

> Procedural, Behavioral, and Expository.  Procedural mainline might
just

> have weqatal as a mainline verb form.  How about this idea?  Can it
be

> incorporated into your analysis, Fr. Niccacci.


______________________________REPLY______________________________________
_____


Dear Douglas Kasten,


1) I would not make the verbforms dependent on the text types. I would
say that the opposite is the case--the text types depend on the
verforms used.


2) It seems difficult to me to incorporate Longacre's text types into
the analysis I propose. First, the text types usually occur mixed.
Second, in different text types the same verbforms occur in many cases,
so that there is considerable overlapping.

Identitying the text types, if possible, is useful; however, I would
not begin the analysis from the perspective of the text types. As I
said, the verforms have their own functions prior to the text types.


You might wish to see my discussion of this issue in R.D. Bergen (ed.),
_Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics_, SIL 1994, pages 117-118.


Peace and all good.

Alviero Niccacci



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