Historical present (was: Linguistics and opposite conclusions)
Jonathan Robie
jonathan.robie at datadirect-technologies.com
Mon Oct 28 07:54:55 EST 2002
At 07:54 AM 10/28/2002 +0300, Iver Larsen wrote:
>"Traditionally, the historic present has been associated with added
>vividness to the narrative (cf. Buth 1977:7, Levinsohn 1977:13, and Boos
>1984:18). Buth, Levinsohn, and Boos agree that the traditional description
>is inadequate and set out to describe its function from a discourse
>perspective. Boos briefly summarizes various theories and concludes that the
>primary function of the historical present is to "highlight those episodes
>which build suspense towards a climax in the plot structure and directly
>relate to the author's purpose" (1984:20). A second function is "a
>kataphoric reference to a following important event" (ibid., 22)... The
>effect of using the present tense in a past-tense narrative is to create
>suspense as Boos has noted. (Levinsohn 1977:27 also talks of the use of the
>historic present in an inciting event.) The idea of creating suspense is
>similar to the traditional idea of adding vividness. The suspense-creating
>function also supports Boos's suggestion that it is used particularly in
>"inciting incidents" or "building-up units." It may also be used in peak
>episodes and occasionally in post-peak sentences when the tension is still
>high."
I like that paragraph, it makes sense to me. If I understand what you are
saying, the vividness of the historical present may well come from the
tension between the implied time of the verb and the overruling time of the
context, and a present tense used for present time would not be 'marked'.
I'm not familiar with "Selected Technical Articles Relating to Translation"
or "Notes on Translation" - where would I find these articles? Are they
available online?
Incidentally, in private email, someone knowledgeable pointed out in
parallel passages, Luke uses a past tense or a participle to render phrases
that use the historical present in Mark:
Mark 4:35 KAI LEGEI AUTOIS . . . DIELQWMEN EIS TO PERAN.
Luke 8:22 KAI EIPEN PROS AUTOUS DIELQWMEN EIS TO PERAN THS LIMNHS.
This person suggested that if Luke uses Mark as a source, then Luke's
decision to change the historical presents to past tenses is evidence that
these verb forms state or imply time.
Jonathan
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list