E. V. Yanzina, O. V. Korneev Some comments on the role of grammar in creation of the language of ancient Greek philosophy (pp. 1034–1050)
Author
E. V. Yanzina, O. V. Korneev (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow City Teacher Training University)
Pages\n 1034–1050
Summary\n
The article discusses some grammatical issues of the ancient Greek language, which have become necessary linguistic premises for the creation of the language of ancient Greek philosophy and its technical vocabulary. The issues under consideration exist on various levels of the language. On the lexical level terms of philosophy can be developed from elements of common language and be borrowed of existing terms from other sematic fields by metaphors, metonymy etc. Terms are also taken from other technical vocabularies. On the level of word-formation new terms of philosophy can be created through affixation, compounding and conversion. The remarkable example of conversion is article substantivation that is the formation of grammatical noun from almost any other part of speech, word-group or even clause through adding the definite article to it. Such article substantivation in the field of Greek philosophical terminology was first employed by Parmenides and since Aristotle became a typical method of coinage of new philosophical terms. Alongside with the article substantivation an important role is played by exploiting the specific semantic characteristics of the Greek verb “to be” (εἶναι) and variations of its usage, which is based on its two meanings – predicative (to be something/ somewhere etc.) and absolute (in two variants: existential – “to be” as “to exist” and veridical – “to be” as “to be so, to be true”). The unity of system of “to be” in Greek provides the capability to join together three concepts – predication, truth and existence, which has a remarkable impact on evolution of ancient Greek ontology and epistemology. Keywords philosophy, terminology, Anaxagoras, Aristoteles, Heraclitus, Democritus, Melissus, Parmenides, Plato, Protagoras, Stoics.
References\n
Coulon V., van Daele M. Aristophanes. Acharnenses. Aristophane, vol. 1. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1923 (repr. 1967 (1st edn. corr.)).
Dover K. J. Aristophanes. Nubes. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968 (repr. 1970).
Ross W. D. Aristoteles. Analytica priora et posteriora. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964 (repr. 1968).
Ross W. D. Aristoteles. De anima. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961 (repr. 1967).
Diels H., Kranz W. Protagoras. Fragmenta. Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, vol. 2, 6th edn. 1952 (repr. 1966).
Dain A., Mazon P. Sophocles. Trachiniae. Sophocle, vol. 1. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1955 (repr. 1967 (1st edn. rev.)).
Marchant E. C. Xenophon. Anabasis. Xenophontis opera omnia, vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1904 (repr. 1961).
Vasil'eva T. V. Afinskaya shkola filosofii. Filosofskiy yazyk Platona i Aristotelya [Athenian school of philosophy. Philosophical language of Plato and Aristotle]. M., 1985, chapter «Chto est' chto?» [What is What?]. (In Russ.).
Vol'f M. N. Standartnaya angloyazychnaya interpretatsiya ucheniya Parmenida [Standard Anglo-American interpretation of Parmenides]. Vestnik NGU. Seriya «Filosofiya» [Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University. Philosophy Series], vol. 7, iss. 2, 2009, pp. 96–105. (In Russ.).
Lebedev A. V. Grecheskaya filosofiya kak reforma yazyka [Greek philosophy as a Reform of Language]. Indoevropeyskoe yazykoznanie i klassicheskaya filologiya – XIII [Indo-European Linguistics and Classical Philology – XIII]. SPb., 2009. (In Russ.).
Stolyarov A. A. Stoya i stoitsizm [Stoa and Stoicism]. M., 1995. (In Russ.).
Kahn Ch. The verb ‘be’ in ancient Greek. The verb ‘be’ and its synonyms: philosophical and grammatical studies. Part 6. J. W. M. Verhaar (ed.). Dordrecht–Holland; Boston–U.S.A.: D. Reidel Publishing Company, 1973.
Kahn Ch. The Greek verb ‘to be’ and the concept of being. Foundations of Language, 1966, no. 2, pp. 245–265.
Kahn Ch. The Thesis of Parmenides. The Review of Metaphysics, vol. 22, no. 4, 1969, pp. 700–724.
Kahn Ch. Some philosophical uses of ‘to be’ in Plato. Phronesis, vol. 26, no. 2, 1981, pp. 105–134.
Kahn Ch. Being in Parmenides and Plato. La Parola del Passato, Rivista di Studi Antichi, vol. XLIII, 1988, pp. 237–261.