Research on Classical and Medieval Languages

Abstract

This chapter focuses on participant reference, report verbs, and structural variation, which are basic formal properties of speech margins, common to reported speech across most languages. The ancient cognates of Biblical Hebrew have been comparatively lacking in terms of research into their margins. The chapter concludes with couple of brief studies exploring the interface between syntax and pragmatics. These studies show that syntactical construction of speech margins can vary according to reporter's goals pertaining both to evidentiality and to status of information. The three phenomena (i.e., word order, conjunctions, subject representation) are treated by Levinsohn at general level of New Testament (NT) Greek usage in narrative, prior to a specific focus on their relevance for speech margin analysis. Latin epic and narrative poetry make much less use of such formulaic expressions. Michiko Ogura's study of speech verbs in Medieval English pursues concerns that largely differ from pragmatic interests of monograph.Keywords: Biblical Hebrew; Latin epic; medieval languages; Michiko Ogura's study; New Testament (NT) Greek usage; speech margins