Home Philosophy Zur Semantik von singen unde sagen im mittelhochdeutschen Sangspruch
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Zur Semantik von singen unde sagen im mittelhochdeutschen Sangspruch

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
„singen unde sagen“
This chapter is in the book „singen unde sagen“

Abstract

This paper examines the semantics and usage of the pair formula singen unde sagen (to sing and say), its variants and related pair constructions in Middle High German Sangspruch. The overarching meaning of the formula expresses the idea of a unity of words and melody in performance. Depending on the context the semantic spectrum can comprise a distinction from non-human, i. e. non-rational birdsong, a legitimisation of vernacular artistic practices by referring to religious songs of praise and the singing of the Psalms in particular, a metonymic reference to the genre of Sangspruch, and a marked platform for artful verbal play in which the aesthetic of the genre and the roles of the singer-poets are negotiated. The different meanings are not mutually exclusive, rather they overlap and offer potentials for semantic interferences. The verbal pair constructions emerge not only syntagmatically, but the artful design also includes paradigmatic structures in which the verbal construction appears across lines.

Abstract

This paper examines the semantics and usage of the pair formula singen unde sagen (to sing and say), its variants and related pair constructions in Middle High German Sangspruch. The overarching meaning of the formula expresses the idea of a unity of words and melody in performance. Depending on the context the semantic spectrum can comprise a distinction from non-human, i. e. non-rational birdsong, a legitimisation of vernacular artistic practices by referring to religious songs of praise and the singing of the Psalms in particular, a metonymic reference to the genre of Sangspruch, and a marked platform for artful verbal play in which the aesthetic of the genre and the roles of the singer-poets are negotiated. The different meanings are not mutually exclusive, rather they overlap and offer potentials for semantic interferences. The verbal pair constructions emerge not only syntagmatically, but the artful design also includes paradigmatic structures in which the verbal construction appears across lines.

Downloaded on 5.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111406251-004/html
Scroll to top button