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  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Use and Misuse of Waw in Verb Tenses
  • Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 15:34:40 +0200

Dear Ken,

The answer is No, because my study is as yet unpublished. (An article will be published in ZDMG and the whole study will be published as well.) Several lingusits in Norway are positive to my model of approach. Your question is an honest question, but at the same time it gives some food for thought.

In Norway we have the word "trynefaktor" ("snout-factor"): "We don't like your face and therefore we reject your conclusions." Unfortunately, such a spirit also exists among scientists, including Semitists. One the one hand, it is a balanced approach to give weight to conclusions that are accepted by different authorities. One the other hand, to give too much weight to the opinions of scholars with great names may prevent progress.

Because my model turns completely upside down the almost universally accepted grammatical ideas of modern hebraists, I expect that the snoutfactor will be applied with full force. What I hope, however, is that scholars will take time to scrutinize my model and test the conclusions.


Best regards

Rolf Furuli

University of Oslo

Ken Penner wrote:

Dear Rolf,

Do any linguists accept your model of the Hebrew verb?

Ken Penner, McMaster/DSS
Dead Sea Scrolls scholars' list owner,
http://mailman.McMaster.CA/mailman/listinfo/g-megillot


I have lectured about my verbal model for groups of scholars, and I do not expect that the model immediately should be accepted, or necessarily accepted at all. But frankly speaking, I am surprised to find how difficult it is to be able to have a meaningful discussion regarding the linguistic principles at stake. It seems to me that very few professors of Semitic languages are able to fathom that there is a distinction between semantic ( uncancellable) factors inside a language and pragmatic factors. This seems to be something they never have thought of. So it is high time that linguistics are introduced into Semitic studies.









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