Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

Dear Rolf,

I'm not sure your challenge is a fair one as I have not been making 
any claims, but only examining your ones. Also I have not completed a 
long research programme into this subject and so cannot give any 
definitive answers. But I will take up your challenge to put forward 
some definitions. Now I know that these definitions are far from 
perfect and will need to be refined. I also know that there are 
counter-examples, though perhaps not as many as you might think once 
the texts are properly understood. Furthermore, I cannot prove these 
as rigorously semantic according to the criteria you use. Another 
objection is that of course anything as brief as this is 
over-simplistic, especially that it does not take into account 
discourse factors. Also these defintions are intended to apply to 
"standard" rather than "late" Biblical Hebrew, and their applicability 
in poetry needs to be examined further. But (bearing in mind these 
caveats) here goes with some definitions - rather, some distinguishing 
features of the Hebrew verb forms:

QATAL:          relative past, non-sentence initial*
WAYYIQTOL:      relative past, sentence initial
YIQTOL (long):  relative non-past, non-sentence initial
YIQTOL (short): relative non-past, modal?
WEQATAL:        relative non-past, sentence initial
WEYIQTOL:       relative non-past, modal?, sentence initial

* QATAL may be sentence-initial at the start of direct speech only, in 
this context it is used instead of WAYYIQTOL.

I need to study further modality in relation to the short YIQTOL and 
WEYIQTOL; I am not ready to offer any definition of modality.

As for "relative past" and "relative non-past", I am referring to the 
relationship between the end of the event time and the reference time; 
or you might want to call "deictic point" what I am calling "reference 
time". One might use the terms "perfective" and "imperfective" here, 
as the essence of my "relative past" is that the event is completed at 
the reference time, and of my "relative non-past" that it is not 
completed. Now I realise that this definition does not tie in fully 
with Galia's idea of WAYYIQTOL creating a new reference time. I need 
to think more about this, to see if there is a real difference of 
thinking or simply one of terminology.

Genesis 2:4-7 is a good example for this: the end of verse 4 sets up 
the reference time, verse 5 gives events which took place after this 
reference time (YIHYEH, YICMAX), hence relative non-past, YIQTOL; 
verse 6 gives events which had already started at this reference time 
and which continued until later (YA`ALEH, WEHI$QAH), hence again 
relative non-past, YIQTOL and WEQATAL; in verse 7 we come back to 
events which took place and were completed at the reference time 
(WAYYICER etc), hence relative past, WAYYIQTOL.

You might object that "sentence initial" is not a semantic category. I 
could rewrite this as saying that the verb is non-sentence initial if 
it is negative or if some other sentence component is fronted for 
focus.

Over to you. You are welcome to comment on this, but you have also 
promised to give your definitions.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re[2]: WAW  the conjunction
Author:  <furuli AT online.no> at Internet
Date:    09/01/2000 11:49


Dear Peter,



>
>PK: The problem is, how do you define "perfective" and "imperfective"? 
>You have already rejected Comrie's definition and the definition based 
>on Russian, and indicated I think that Broman Olsen's definition needs 
>to be modified. There is a danger of becoming like Humpty Dumpty here. 
>I am still waiting for your definition of any factor or feature, or 
>combination of them, which distinguishes all QATALs (with or without 
>WAW) from all YIQTOLs (with or without WAW and WAY-). Well, maybe this 
>should be the end result of your research. But putting undefined 
>labels on things is not helpful; even worse is putting labels with 
>commonly understood meanings on things but quietly rejecting those 
>common meanings.
>

RF
Before I comment on your words above, I will ask you for a clarification. 
Your point is: He has not even given a definition so we can know the 
differences between the two aspects he claims are found in Hebrew, so how 
can it be meaningful to deal with "them" at all? I have already given my 
definition on the list at least tvice,and I will after your answer give 
another, but to see the case in perspective, I will ask you for your 
definition.

To illustrate:

English preterit can be defined as events and states occuring or holding 
before the vantagepoint chosen (the deictic point that often is speech 
time) (RT>C). Present tense expresses events and states that are 
contemporaneous with the vantage point (RT=C), and future tense expresses 
events and states that occur or hold after the vantage point (C>RT). The 
relationship between C and RT in each tense is semantic, i.e. it cannot be 
cancelled. Aspects in English are expressed by the present participle and 
the perfect tense respectively, and they can be defined in terms of a 
nucleus view (the imperfective aspect) and a coda view (the perfective 
aspect). The aspects are mutually exclusive; both can be combined with a 
tense (e.g. "He had been drinking." +preterit, +imperfective, and + 
perfective) but not as occurring simultaneously. The relationship between 
the English aspects is semantic (uncancellable).


So please Peter, could you define WAYYIQTOL, YIQTOL, WEYIQTOL, QATAL, and 
WEQATAL as you see them. As terms for definition you have past tense, 
present tense, future tense, indicative and subjunctive mood, the 
imperfective and perfective aspect (nucleus view and coda view) or the 
Russian definition, discourse function etc. I really look forward to your 
description of the differences between the five groups. That will benefit 
the whole list.




Regards

Rolf


Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo







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