Expect the Unexpected: Aspects of Pragmatic Foregrounding in Old Testament Narratives

309 Pages·2010·2.095 MB·English

by  Stefano Cotrozzi

LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE/
OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES

510

Formerly Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

Editors
Claudia V. Camp, Texas Christian University
Andrew Mein, Westcott House, Cambridge

Founding Editors
David J. A. Clines, Philip R. Davies and David M. Gunn

Editorial Board
Richard J. Coggins, Alan Cooper, John Goldingay, Robert P. Gordon,
Norman K. Gottwald, Gina Hens-Piazza, John Jarick, Andrew D. H. Mayes,
Carol Meyers, Patrick D. Miller, Yvonne Sherwood
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EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Aspects of Pragmatic Foregrounding
in Old Testament Narratives

Stefano Cotrozzi
Copyright © 2010 by Stefano Cotrozzi

Published by T & T Clark International
A Continuum imprint
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International.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-0-567-56838-0 (hardback)

Typeset and copy-edited by Forthcoming Publications Ltd. (www.forthpub.com)
Printed in the United States of America
To my beloved Gabriele and Winona
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xiv

Chapter 1
THE CONCEPT OF FOREGROUNDING 1
1.1. The Many Facets of Foregrounding 1
1.2. Overview of the Work 9

Chapter 2
A SHORT HISTORY OF PRAGMATIC FOREGROUNDING 11
2.1. Shklovsky and the Russian Formalists 11
2.1.1. Criticism 13
2.2. The Prague School 14
2.2.1. J. Muka(cid:1)ovský 14
2.2.2. R. Jakobson 15
2.2.3. Criticism 16
2.3. British Stylistics 19
2.3.1. G. N. Leech and M. H. Short 19
2.3.2. M. A. K. Halliday 21
2.3.3. R. Fowler 21
2.3.4. G. Cook 22
2.3.5. J. Douthwaite 22
2.4. Empirical Studies 23
2.5. Summary 25
2.6. The Approach Followed in This Work 25

Chapter 3
SCHEMA THEORY 27
3.1. A Short History of the Concept of “Schema” 27
3.2. Other Terms: Frame, Scenario and Script 31
3.3. Schank and Abelson’s Version of Schema Theory (1977) 33
3.3.1. Scripts 33
3.3.2. Plans 36
3.3.3. Goals 37
3.3.4. Themes 37
3.3.5. Criticism Levelled at Schank and Abelson (1977) 38
3.4. Further Developments in Schema Theory 38
viii Expect the Unexpected
3.5. Evidence for Schemata 41
3.6. Criticism Levelled at Schema Theory 43
3.7. Schemata and Foregrounding 44
3.7.1. Schemata and Foregrounding: Empirical Data 48
3.8. Schemata and Culture 49
3.9. Summary 50

Chapter 4
SCHEMATA AND FOREGROUNDING IN OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVES 52
4.1. Schema Theory and the Old Testament 52
4.2. Frames 52
4.3. Schemata 59
4.4. Scripts 63
4.5. Plans 80
4.6. Goals 89
4.6.1. Con(cid:2)icting Goals 93
4.7. Themes 95
4.8. Conclusions 96

Chapter 5
EVALUATION IN NARRATIVE 98
5.1. The Labovian Model 98
5.1.1. Evaluation 100
5.1.1.1. External Evaluation 101
5.1.1.2. Internal Evaluation 102
5.1.1.3. Narratives of Personal vs. Vicarious Experience 104
5.1.2. Criticism 104
5.1.3. The Labovian Model and Literature 106
5.2. Complementary Approaches 107
5.2.1. R. E. Longacre 107
5.2.2. L. Polanyi 107
5.3. Summary 108

Chapter 6
EVALUATION IN OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVES 110
6.1. Previous Studies of Evaluation
in Biblical Hebrew Narratives 110
6.2. Evaluation in Biblical Hebrew Narratives 111
6.2.1. External Evaluation 111
6.2.2. Internal Evaluation 112
6.2.2.1. Intensi(cid:3)ers 112
6.2.2.1.1. Quanti(cid:3)ers 112
6.2.2.1.1.1. Symbolic Use of Numbers 113
6.2.2.1.2. Repetition 114
6.2.2.1.2.1. Threefold Contiguous Repetition of Adjectives 114
Contents ix
6.2.2.1.3. Piling up of Synonyms 114
6.2.2.1.4. Over-Enumeration 117
6.2.2.1.5. Restatement 120
6.2.2.1.6. Wordplays 121
6.2.2.1.6.1. Antanaclasis 121
6.2.2.1.6.2. Paronomasia 122
6.2.2.1.6.2.1. Paronomasia with Local Scope 122
6.2.2.1.6.2.2. Paronomasia with Global Scope 124
6.2.2.1.6.3. Double Entendre 126
6.2.2.1.7. Conventional Actions 127
6.2.2.2. Comparators 129
6.2.2.2.1. Contrast 130
6.2.2.2.2. Position in a List 131
6.2.2.3. Correlatives 132
6.2.2.3.1. Appositives 132
6.2.2.3.2. Double Attributives 133
6.2.2.4. Explicatives 134
6.2.2.5. Overspeci(cid:3)cation by Redundant Descriptions 135
6.3. Conclusions 136

Chapter 7
THE HISTORIC PRESENT: A CROSS-LINGUISTIC SURVEY 139
7.1. The Historic Present 139
7.1.1. The HP and Its Functions 140
7.1.2. Aspectual Considerations. Aktionsart 144
7.1.3. Types of Verbs Which Often Occur in the HP 147
7.1.4. Conclusions 148
7.2. H. Weinrich’s Theory 149
7.3. The Imperfect and the Participle as the Historic Present
in the Semitic Languages 151
7.3.1. Akkadian 151
7.3.1.1. Iparras 151
7.3.1.2. P(cid:4)ris 159
7.3.2. Aramaic 159
7.3.2.1. Yiq(cid:1)ul 160
7.3.2.2. Q(cid:4)(cid:1)il/Q(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:5)l 161
7.3.2.2.1. Biblical Aramaic 161
7.3.2.2.2. Neo-Aramaic 163
7.3.3. Ugaritic 165
7.3.3.1. Yaq(cid:1)ulu 166
7.3.3.2. Q(cid:4)(cid:1)il 167
7.3.4. Arabic 167
7.3.4.1. Yaqtulu 167
7.3.4.1.1. Classical Arabic 168
7.3.4.1.2. Modern Arabic 169