The diffraction of iam: contextual effects in interpretation
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Emilia Calaresu
Abstract
This chapter draws attention to a fairly frequent set of occurrences of iam which are usually interpreted as having a deictic value and thus translated as ‘right now’, ‘soon’, or not translated at all. After first discussing the most straightforward temporal uses (corresponding to interpretations such as ‘already’ and ‘almost’), this paper proposes a unified account of iam as a Tense-Aspect- Mood operator, which always maintains a stable ‘anaphoric’ character but allows a diffraction of different though related interpretations depending on context. The data we will discuss are mostly but not exclusively taken from Plautus’s plays.
Abstract
This chapter draws attention to a fairly frequent set of occurrences of iam which are usually interpreted as having a deictic value and thus translated as ‘right now’, ‘soon’, or not translated at all. After first discussing the most straightforward temporal uses (corresponding to interpretations such as ‘already’ and ‘almost’), this paper proposes a unified account of iam as a Tense-Aspect- Mood operator, which always maintains a stable ‘anaphoric’ character but allows a diffraction of different though related interpretations depending on context. The data we will discuss are mostly but not exclusively taken from Plautus’s plays.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
-
Clause
-
Constructions
- Linguistic theory in daily lexicographical practice: dealing with arguments and satellites in the entries of regnare and nectere in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae 1
- The expression of knowledge in Latin: cognosco, nosco, scio, nescio and ignoro 20
- Los verbos latinos timeo y metuo: sintaxis, semántica y pragmática 48
- Potest + passive infinitives: auxiliary or impersonal verb? 67
- Ruinam dare : les complexités d’une construction latine à verbe support 79
- On the use of the ablative of the gerund and the nominative of the present participle in Latin technical literature 96
- Praedicativum and subject complement: a question revisited in light of the Latin verb sto 116
- Der lateinische Dativ: neue Wege in Transitivität und funktionaler Semantik 134
- Between syntax and magic: some peculiarities of nominal syntax in Latin curse tablets 155
- Les complétives en quoniam : étude à partir du latin biblique 174
-
Semantics
- Animacy in Latin: explaining some peripheral phenomena 199
- Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres: Sapir’s typology and different perspectives on totality 219
- General extenders in Latin 241
- Les parcours sémantiques vers l’adversatif : une approche typologique des langues anciennes 259
- The diffraction of iam: contextual effects in interpretation 280
- Le système latin de la déixis et de l’endophore : l’évolution linguistique chez Sénèque 296
-
Discourse
-
Tense and discourse
- On the expression of relative time in Latin narrations 319
- Progression thématique et types de séquences chez quelques historiens romains 339
- Engaging the audience: an intersubjectivity approach to the historic present tense in Latin 351
- ‘I hereby present the use of the Latin first-person perfect indicative as a performative’ 374
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Politeness and identity
- Expressing happiness as a manifestation of positive politeness in Roman comedy 393
- Impoliteness in Plautus’ comedies 413
- How to assess politeness in response to impoliteness: some examples from Latin comedy 431
- Cicero vs. Mark Antony: identity construction and ingroup/outgroup formation in Philippics One and Three 448
- Ego sum Amphitruo: Selbstidentifikation in der römischen Komödie 464
- Index 479
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
-
Clause
-
Constructions
- Linguistic theory in daily lexicographical practice: dealing with arguments and satellites in the entries of regnare and nectere in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae 1
- The expression of knowledge in Latin: cognosco, nosco, scio, nescio and ignoro 20
- Los verbos latinos timeo y metuo: sintaxis, semántica y pragmática 48
- Potest + passive infinitives: auxiliary or impersonal verb? 67
- Ruinam dare : les complexités d’une construction latine à verbe support 79
- On the use of the ablative of the gerund and the nominative of the present participle in Latin technical literature 96
- Praedicativum and subject complement: a question revisited in light of the Latin verb sto 116
- Der lateinische Dativ: neue Wege in Transitivität und funktionaler Semantik 134
- Between syntax and magic: some peculiarities of nominal syntax in Latin curse tablets 155
- Les complétives en quoniam : étude à partir du latin biblique 174
-
Semantics
- Animacy in Latin: explaining some peripheral phenomena 199
- Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres: Sapir’s typology and different perspectives on totality 219
- General extenders in Latin 241
- Les parcours sémantiques vers l’adversatif : une approche typologique des langues anciennes 259
- The diffraction of iam: contextual effects in interpretation 280
- Le système latin de la déixis et de l’endophore : l’évolution linguistique chez Sénèque 296
-
Discourse
-
Tense and discourse
- On the expression of relative time in Latin narrations 319
- Progression thématique et types de séquences chez quelques historiens romains 339
- Engaging the audience: an intersubjectivity approach to the historic present tense in Latin 351
- ‘I hereby present the use of the Latin first-person perfect indicative as a performative’ 374
-
Politeness and identity
- Expressing happiness as a manifestation of positive politeness in Roman comedy 393
- Impoliteness in Plautus’ comedies 413
- How to assess politeness in response to impoliteness: some examples from Latin comedy 431
- Cicero vs. Mark Antony: identity construction and ingroup/outgroup formation in Philippics One and Three 448
- Ego sum Amphitruo: Selbstidentifikation in der römischen Komödie 464
- Index 479
