Relational meanings of the noun אִישׁ (’îš) in Biblical Hebrew
| dc.contributor.advisor | Van der Merwe, Christo | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Stein, David E. S. | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-02-24T07:21:14Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-04-28T12:07:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-02-24T07:21:14Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-04-28T12:07:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2020. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This interdisciplinary, cross-linguistic investigation of the word ’îš ( אִישׁ ), including its feminine and plural forms, noted more than ten distinctive features compared to other general human nouns in the Hebrew Bible: shorter, more frequent, more broadly dispersed, more relational senses, etc. To explain these features, this noun was classed with those showing similar distinctions: English man/woman, and French homme/femme. Such unusually useful nouns were named “workhorses.” Given that corpus and cognitive linguists have observed discourse-modulating functions and underspecified semantics for man and homme, these concepts were deemed applicable to ’îš. The analysis looked at relational meaning (i.e., relating the referent to something else) on two levels: informational (within the world depicted by the text), and discourse (ensuring good communication). Cognitive science, information theory, discourse analysis, and cognitive linguistics sources together suggest that the mind thinks in terms of situations— especially those that involve a human participant. During communication, the audience constructs a discourse model that tracks a depicted situation and its participants. The speaker deploys nouns so as to manage that model. It was hypothesized that workhorse nouns succinctly label the participants in a prototypical situation as such, thus increasing the efficiency of communication and cognitive processing, as the audience situates and re-situates participants in its discourse model. On the discourse level of meaning, workhorse nouns then offer efficient access for elaborating upon a participant. They can also function efficiently like pronouns due to pragmatic enrichment; and thus they can even be applied to non-human entities. On the informational level, pragmatic enrichment likewise often creates additional meaning, ultimately producing both sortal senses (‘adult male/female’, ‘human being’) and relational ones (‘husband/wife’, ‘party [to a conflict]’, ‘agent [on behalf of someone]’, etc.) via the cognitively licensed extensions of meaning known as metonymy and narrowing. The development of a workhorse’s various meanings from a basic concept is also described in terms of changes in focus on the attributes within a Barsalou cognitive frame. Theoretical predictions were tested on the biblical corpus, confirming that ’îš is the default label for participants in prototypical situations, and that it is used where participation is relevant or consequential. The hypothesized semantic structure and evolution explained the word’s “grammatical” usages and otherwise-puzzling behaviors. Longstanding interpretive cruxes were resolved. Thus the hypothesis evinced greater explanatory power and economy than the existing notions of ’îš in Biblical Studies. The findings not only observe for ’îš the same discourse functions that linguists had found for man and homme, but also provide motivations for those functions, while identifying additional functions that seem to apply to workhorse nouns as a class. The study closes with discussions of the role of gender, the life cycle of workhorse nouns, and implications for Modern Hebrew and for other languages. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie interdissiplinêre ondersoek, oor tale heen, van die woord ’îš ( אִישׁ ), insluitende die vroulike en meervoudsvorm daarvan, het tien onderskeidende kenmerke in vergelyking met ander naamwoorde wat na mense in die algemeen verwys in die Hebreeuse Bybel. Dit is, hulle is fonologies korter, kom meer dikwels voor, kom meer verspreid voor en het meer dikwels ʼn relasionele betekenis, ens. Om hierdie eienskappe te verduidelik, is die naamwoord as dieselfde klas beskou as die wat soortgelyke onderskeiding in Engels (man/woman) en Frans vertoon (homme/femme). Sulke ongewoon handige naamwoorde is “werkperde” genoem. Aangesien korpus- en kognitiewe taalkundiges vir man en homme diskoersregulerende funksies en ʼn ondergespesifiseerde semantiese betekenis onderskei het, is hierdie konsepte beskou as ewe toepaspaar op ’îš. Die analise het hierna relasionele betekenis (met ander woorde, dit wat die referent met iets anders in verband bring) op twee vlakke ondersoek: op die vlak van inligting (in die wêreld soos uitgebeeld in die teks) en op die vlak van diskoers (wat verseker dat kommunikasie goed verloop). Bronne in die kognitiewe wetenskap, inligtingsteorie, diskoersanalise, en kognitiewe taalkunde suggereer almal saam dat die verstand werk in terme van situasies—veral die wat ʼn menslike deelnemer betrek. In die kommunikasieproses skep hoorders ʼn diskoersmodel wat die situasie en die deelnemers daaraan afbeeld. Die spreker gebruik naamwoorde om die model te kan bestuur. Die hipotese is gestel dat werkperdnaamwoorde deelnemers aan ʼn prototipiese situasie bondig as sodanig benoem. Op die wyse vergemaklik hulle die effektiwiteit van die kommunikasie en die kognitiewe verwerking daarvan, soos die hoorders die deelnemers in hulle diskoermodel situeer en hersitueer. Op die diskoersvlak van betekenis bied werkperdnaamwoorde op die wyse effektiewe toegang tot maniere om deelnemers verder te omskryf. Hulle kan as gevolg van pragmatiese verryking ook effektief soos voornaamwoorde funksioneer; hulle kan selfs op nie-menslike entiteite van toepassing gemaak word. Op die inligtingsvlak skep pragmatiese verryking dienooreenkomstig dikwels bykomende betekenisse. Dit produseer uiteindelik sorteerbetekenisse (‘volwasse man/vrou’, ‘menslike wese’) en relasionele betekenisse (‘man/vrou’, ‘betrokkene [aan ’n konflik]’, ‘agent’ [namens iemand anders], ens.) deur middel van die kognitiefgeoorloofde betekenisuitbreidings bekend as metonomie en spesifisering. Die ontwikkeling van werkperdnaamwoorde se verskillende betekenisse vanaf ʼn basiese konsep is ook beskryf in terme van die verandering van die fokus van attribute in terme van ʼn Barsalou-kognitiewe raamwerk. Teoretiese voorspellings is getoets aan die hand van Bybelse korpora, Op die wyse is bevestig dat ’îš die verstek-etiket is vir deelnemers aan ʼn prototipiese situasie, en dat dit gebruik is waar deelname relevant is of uit ʼn situasie voortvloei. Die hipotetiese semantiese struktuur en evolusie verklaar die woord se ‘grammatikale’ gebruike. Andersins is enigmatiese gebruike en ʼn aantal lankbestaande probleemgevalle opgelos Daarom het die hipotese ʼn groter verduidelikende waarde en effektiwiteit as bestaande opvattings van ’îš in die Bybelwetenskappe. Die studie het nie net bevind dat ’îš dieselfde diskoersfunksies het wat taalkundiges aan man en homme toeskryf nie, maar bied ook verklarings vir daardie funksies. Dit identifiseer ook bykomende funksies wat aan werkperdnaamwoorde as ʼn klas toegeskryf kan word. Die studie sluit af met besprekings van die rol van geslag, die lewensiklus van werkperknaamwoorde en die implikasies vir Moderne Hebreeus en ander tale. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Doctoral | en_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | xvii, 259, [37] leaves : illustrations (some color) | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/107875 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Cognitive linguistics | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Lexical semantics | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Hebrew language -- Discourse analysis | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Hebrew language -- Noun | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Hebrew language -- Lexicography | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Hebrew language -- Relational grammar | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Ish (The Hebrew word) | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Relational meanings of the noun אִישׁ (’îš) in Biblical Hebrew | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |