[B-Greek] Re: Predicate as topic
R Yochanan Bitan Buth
ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il
Mon Jun 27 18:08:26 EDT 2005
The quote from Helma Dik by Kline:
>The first one being that there is no Topic, and the predicate has
Focus function
(as in (5) and (6) in 4.1); and alternatively, that there is no
pragmatic
function assignment at all.97 In other words, these clauses are about
nothing and do not make a point. Neither description is satisfactory
for a
considerably large number of instances.>
For me, Dik is assuming that every sentence must have pragmatic topic
assignment, otherwise "these clauses are about nothing and do not make
a point." I do not make that assumption. I am perfectly happy to say
that a sentence can have a default order without any SPECIAL MARKING.
So I don't have a problem with a clause-initial verb and nothing else
specially marked for Topic.
ERRWSO
Randall Buth
Randall Buth, PhD
Director, Biblical Language Center
www.biblicalulpan.org
and Director, Biblical Studies in Israel
Hebrew University, Rothberg International School
ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il
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