Comparative Linguistic Textological Analysis as a Means of Research into the Evolution of the Derivation System (on the Early Church Slavonic Translations of Greek Words with the Prefix συν-)

Abstract

The present study has delved into the different ways the Greek prefix συν- has been translated in the Church Slavonic language. Our research was conducted on the available Church Slavonic translations of four Byzantine hymns (the Akathistos Hymn, the Great Canon of Repentance by St. Andrew of Crete, the Alphabetical Shichera from the Great Canon service and the Antiphons of the Great and Holy Friday) examined in the South and East Slavonic manuscripts of the 11th — 15th century. The textological study of the Slavonic translation revealed the existence of eight versions of the texts caused by several successive corrections of the Slavonic text in accordance with the Greek original. Based on these results, the linguistic textological method was applied in order to reveal the main differences between said versions in regard to the conveyance of the words with the prefix συν-. We examined a total of 46 words in 58 contexts and separated them in four categories depending on their grammatical characteristics. The comparative analysis of the structures corresponding to the συν- prefix in the Slavonic translation revealed eight different ways in which the semantics of this prefix could be conveyed in the target language. The results of our research showcased the different role the calque word formation in accordance with the Greek pattern played in the Slavonic noun and verb derivation. The relatively small amount of calque verbs with the prefix съ-, which is the Church Slavonic equivalent of the Greek συν-, is a result of the weak aspect formation potential of this prefix in comitative semantics. Therefore, the linguistic textological method helps us arrive at conclusions that are of interest to the fields of translation theory, history of the Church Slavonic language, Greek — Slavonic language communication, and comparative linguistics