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Identifier

000409392

Title

Syntax and semantics of the time-denoting adverbes in -ως as used in private letters of the Greco-Roman Egypt

Alternative Title

Η σύνταξη και η σημασιολογία των χρονικών επιρρημάτων σε -ως σύμφωνα με τη χρήση τους στις ιδιωτικικές επιστολές της ελληνορωμαϊκής Αιγύπτου

Author

Τριανταφύλλου, Γεώργιος

Thesis advisor

Παναγιωτάκης, Στέλιος

Abstract

Although it is commonly believed that all adverbs ending in -ως denote manner, it seems that there are several exceptions. Within this thesis, then, a special category of those adverbs is examined: The adverbs in -ως which denote time. The texts selected to be examined are the private letters of Greco-Roman Egypt. The selection criterion was the language of these texts, which is as close to the vernacular of ancient times as possible, since precision of utterance is not required in this type of documents, in contrast to the official ones. The adverbs were classified into two major groups, depending on the effort required on the part of the reader to identify the notion of time within their meaning. In the first group adverbs, in which the notion of time is inherent, were placed: Therefore, the time is denoted directly by those adverbs. On the other hand adverbs with indirect temporal nuances were placed in the second group: The indication of time by those adverbs is detected after the enforcement of pragmatic reasoning. From the point of semantics, adverbs of the first group answer the question "when?", and they cannot be analyzed by means of the corresponding adjective, which derives from the same stem. Instead, adverbs of the second group answer the question "how?", and they can be semantically analyzed as a function of the corresponding adjective. From the point of syntax, adverbs in -ως, as all the adverbials, function as a complement of a verbal form, either as a part of the verb phrase, or as an external adverbial phrase. The placement of the adverb in the phrase structure varies, and, consequently, some adverbs are found before the modified constituent, while others usually follow that. From the point of use, some adverbs occur in letters of all three periods, namely the Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine, while other adverbs occur only in letters dated to specific periods. Finally, there are some adverbs, the use of which in private letters was influenced by their use in non-epistolary types of documents, and there are also other adverbs, which probably belonged to the informal vocabulary.

Language

English

Subject

Aspects of Time Adverrbs

Pragmatics

Private letters

Semantics

Syntax

Επιρρήματα σε -ως

Ιδιωτικές επιστολές

Πραγματολογία

Σημασιολογία