Re: The syntax of " ti phago^sin" in Mark 8:2

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sun Feb 21 1999 - 06:48:15 EST


<x-rich>At 5:21 AM -0600 2/21/99, Moon-Ryul Jung wrote:

>"Kai ouk echousin ti phago^sin".

>"And they do not have what they might eat".

>

>My question is whether we should regard "ti phago^sin" as

>indirect question or "ti" + relative clause. If the statement

>were something like "they do not KNOW what they might eat".

>then the first option makes sense. But in this context,

>where the meaning is "they do not have anything to eat",

>the second option seems to make better sense. But from the

>viewpoint of syntax, I wonder whether "ti" + subjunctive clause

>can be considered a relative clause. Is there any other examples

>for such use?

This is not quite an indirect question, but a sort of conflation of
indirect question and deliberative, I think. I've been tempted hitherto
to consider this a Latinism, inasmuch as it is a common Latin species
of purpose clause. Compare:

Mt 8:20 = Lk 9:58 hAI ALWPEKES FWLEOUS ECOUSIN KAI TA PETEINA TOU
OURANOU KATASKHNWSEIS, hO DE hUIOS TOU ANQRWPOU OUC ECEI POU THN
KEFALHN KLINHi.

Lk 12:17 KAI DIELOGIZETO EN hEAUTWi LEGWN: TI POIHSW, hOTI OUK ECW POU
SUNAXW TOUS KARPOUS MOU.

<underline><fontfamily><param>Geneva</param><bigger>

</bigger></fontfamily></underline><fontfamily><param>Geneva</param><bigger>In
Latin, these clauses may be introduced by an indefinite, an
interrogative word, or even a pronoun, and have verbs in the
subjunctive. They might have originated as independent deliberative
subjunctives with interrogatives, but they appear to be constructions
wherein the antecedent of a relative/interrogative functioning as an
object in the main verb is suppressed or understood. Cf. English: "I
don't know where to go" = "I don't know where I should go."
</bigger></fontfamily>

Carl W. Conrad

Department of Classics/Washington University

One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018

Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649

cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us

WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

</x-rich>



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:40:17 EDT