Dear David,
It takes much time to participate in discussions like this one, and I am on the
point of finishing a book. So I cannot continue much longer. Just a few short questions:
1) What is the "prototypical funtion" of a verb? How can it be identified? On the basis of texts? Or is the identification just guesswork without any controlling parameters to check the conclusions?
2) How can we distinguish between past tense (grammaticalised location in time) and past reference (when the reference is based on the context and not on the verb form)?
A few examples:
1a) And I heard (WAYYIQTOL) a voice. Isaiah 6:8
1b) I heard a voice (YIQTOL). Job 4:16
1c) And the Queen of Sheba heard (participle) the report, 1 Kings 10:1
1d) When Hiram heard (infinitive) the message of Solomon. 1 Kings 5:21 /5:7/
2a) And the messenger came (WAYYIQTOL). 2 Kings 10:8
2b) By de way he came (YIQTOL). 2 Kings 19:33
2c) And look! Esau came (participle). Genesis 33:1
2d) When Abraham came (infinitive) to Egypt. Genesis 12:14
In these examples with WAYYIQTOL, YIQTOL, participle, and infinitive respectively, the event occurred before the deictic center (the vantage point of the story teller). How can we distinguish past reference from past tense in these examples? Are there any criteria, or is it just guesswork?
In my dissertation there are several hundred similar examples.
Best regards,
Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo
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