Instead of word order, why should we use the term constituent order?
The reason for this is simple: subjects, objects, and even verbs can be more than one word. For example, consider the sentence “The grizzly bear was following the dazed hikers.” The complete subject (“The grizzly bear”), the complete verb (“was following”), and the direct object (“the dazed hikers”) are all more than one word, but each is a single constituent.
Instead of word order, why should we use the term constituent order?
The reason for this is simple: subjects, objects, and even verbs can be more than one word. For example, consider the sentence “The grizzly bear was following the dazed hikers.” The complete subject (“The grizzly bear”), the complete verb (“was following”), and the direct object (“the dazed hikers”) are all more than one word, but each is a single constituent.
What is the default constituent order of Greek?
Verb–Subject–Object (VSO)
Though Greek has a more flexible order than English
What types of words do commonly appear before the verb without contradicting the VSO ordering?
(1) some conjunctions, (2) interjections, and (3) most adverbs (including the negatives οὐ and μή).
Is VSO the most common ordering?
No
But this is the default, any deviations is marked for some information
What are two central reasons for “fronting” a constituent in front of a verb?
- It marks asserted information (which is generally new or “non-established” information) as being particularly significant (the technical term for fronted asserted information is “marked focus”)
- It marks presupposed information as being that which is going to be discussed in the following text (the technical term we use for fronted presupposed information is “point of departure”).[4] Points of departure are typically old or “established” information, or at least they are information that is accessible by virtue of information that has already been established previously in the text
What is the technical term for fronted asserted information?
marked focus
What is the technical term for fronted presupposed information?
point of departure
[ Levinsohn (Discourse Features, 1–68) uses the terms “point of departure” and also speaks of “focus” that is “marked.” Instead of “point of departure,” Runge uses the alternative label “frame of reference” and Buth uses the label “contextualizing constituent.” Similarly, instead of “marked focus,” Runge speaks simply of “emphasis.”]
On which basis is default constituent order decided?
- statistics: the default is the order that is the most common
- explanatory power: the default order is the one that most easily explains the deviations represented by other orders
- subject-initial: the order subject–verb–object is universal
- verb-final: the verb will always be at the end of the clause
Your answer : explanatory power: the default order is the one that most easily explains the deviations represented by other orders
What is a “point of departure”?
a starting point for a clause or larger unit of discourse. [Levinsohn states that a point of departure is “a device that signals discontinuities of situation, of reference, and sometimes of action, viz., the placement at the beginning of a clause or sentence of an adverbial or nominal constituent.” (Discourse Features, 7). For a full discussion of points of departure, see Levinsohn, Discourse Features, 7–28; Runge, Discourse Grammar, 207–242.]
How does an author develop the “point of departure”?
Points of departure in Greek take known or presupposed information (i.e., the information is “old” or at least related to what is old information) and put it at the front of the clause. By placing a point of departure in this marked position, the author communicates to the reader: “Something in the discourse has changed since the last sentence and you need to interpret the words that follow the point of departure as being related to it.”
The following underlined phrases are all points of departure:
- After studying Greek in college, Mike dreamed of being a Bible translator.
- As for the cheesecake, it is all gone.
- I unpacked your clothing for you. Your shirts I put in this first drawer; your socks I put in this second drawer; and your slacks I hung up in the closet.
[Each of the underlined points of departure above provide a starting point for processing the information that follows. Imagine that the first sentence appeared in a biographical description and that the readers had already learned from an earlier part of the description that Mike went to college and that he studied Greek. Thus, Mike studying Greek in college would be old information. Imagine that the second sentence is part of a broad-ranging conversation in which a wife has already expressed that she would like a piece of cheesecake for dessert and now her husband returns to the topic of the cheesecake. Here, then, the cheesecake is a known entity and functions as the point of departure for the bad news: the cheesecake is all gone. Imagine that the third sentence is spoken by a wife to her husband after arriving in their hotel room. After the statement “I unpacked your clothing for you,” the noun “clothing” (which is a general term that can include items like shirts, socks, and slacks) is now old information. Thus “your shirts,” “your socks,” and “your slacks” are all related to old information, and each one of these phrases functions as a point of departure within its clause, shifting from one referent to the next and “framing” the rest of the information in each clause as being related to that point of departure.]The first example sentence above illustrates a situational point of departure, while the last two example sentences illustrate referential points of departure.”
Point of departure in simplified terms.
A point of departure uses information that is already known to begin to talk about information that is new. Using the known to explain the unknown.
What is a referential point of departure?
Points of departure that signal that there has been a change in reference.
Two examples of referential points of departure:
Ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ·
To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given,
ἐκείνοις δὲ τοῖς ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὰ πάντα γίνεται
but to those who are outside all things come in parables
The pronoun Ὑμῖν is old information since the addressees are the same individuals as those in v. 10 (indeed, any pronoun that has an antecedent is old information by virtue of the fact that the antecedent has already been mentioned). The phrase “those who are outside” is also old information, with Jesus’ family being an example of those who are outside (note the use of ἔξω twice in the prior context to refer to Jesus’ family in 3:31 and 3:32).[4] The fronted ἐκείνοις . . . τοῖς ἔξω indicates that Jesus is shifting from a statement involving “you” (Ὑμῖν) to a statement involving “those who are outside.” Indeed, the shift between two referential points of departure in such close proximity serves to heighten the contrast between them
What are the grammatical requirements for a referential point of departure?
They can be any grammatically required element of the clause, whether subject, direct object, indirect object, or prepositional phrase
How can we explicitly translate a referential point of departure?
If we want to explicitly translate a point of departure into English, we can often use the words “as for” as helping words. Thus we could translate 4:14’s ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει with “As for the sower, he sows the word.”
How can we explicitly translate a referential point of departure?
If we want to explicitly translate a point of departure into English, we can often use the words “as for” as helping words. Thus we could translate 4:14’s ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει with “As for the sower, he sows the word.”
Summary of referential point of departure
A referential point of departure is a marked construction that involves moving a constituent before the clause’s verb (i.e., “fronting” the constituent), thus violating the default VSO word order. This marked word order draws attention to the fronted constituent in order to identify it as a reference point for what is about to be spoken about. It typically also involves a referential shift from something in the preceding context to something else. When appearing with an also-fronted marked focal constituent, the point of departure will appear first.
What are situational points of departure?
- Situational points of departure, like referential points of departure, function as starting points for what follows.
- They provide a context for the clause that follows, connecting an event or set of events to their context via time, place, or logical relationship (e.g., cause, purpose, result, condition). Within narrative, however, most situational points of departure are temporal.
Are situational points of departure foreground or background?
These categories are inherently background information, so situational points of departure do not move the narrative forward.
In reference to the ordering of the constituent parts, how is the situational point of departure structured?
Like referential points of departure, in Greek they appear before the main verb in the sentence (though not necessarily immediately before the verb).
What part of speech are situational points of departure?
They are adverbial in nature, rather than being a subject, object, or other constituent grammatically required by the verb.
Consider the following examples in English, with the situational points of departure underlined:
- After she went home, Sarah ate dinner and curled up with a good book. (temporal point of departure)
- Because Steve was not paying attention, he had to wait until the next train arrived. (causal point of departure)
- If Jane finishes her homework, she can go play
Notice that all of the situational points of departure are adverbial in nature, although the specific adverbial relationship to the main clause can vary (e.g., temporal, causal, or conditional).outside. (conditional point of departure)
