Abstract China is Poland’s largest Asian trade partner. Increased trade in recent years, combined with a visible growth of interest in Asian cultures, has contributed to the development of the Polish translation industry, especially in the Polish-Chinese language pair. Although the number of sworn translators registered with the Ministry of Justice remains small (16), the dynamic increase in the number of people dealing with regular translations makes similar services more and more available. The article aims to outline the general situation of Chinese translators in Poland. The methodological basis of the article is a survey conducted in August 2018, in which 67 respondents took part, who declared themselves translators in the aforementioned pair of languages. The survey consisted of 17 questions to which one or more answers could be given. Respondents were asked about the most frequently translated content, aids, and materials used at work, as well as the particularly difficult topics. The image that emerges from these data allows an assessment of the maturity of the industry and the prospects for its further development.
{"title":"Trends and challenges of Chinese-Polish translation and interpretation industry in Poland","authors":"Hanna Kupś, Kamil Burkiewicz","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2020-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2020-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract China is Poland’s largest Asian trade partner. Increased trade in recent years, combined with a visible growth of interest in Asian cultures, has contributed to the development of the Polish translation industry, especially in the Polish-Chinese language pair. Although the number of sworn translators registered with the Ministry of Justice remains small (16), the dynamic increase in the number of people dealing with regular translations makes similar services more and more available. The article aims to outline the general situation of Chinese translators in Poland. The methodological basis of the article is a survey conducted in August 2018, in which 67 respondents took part, who declared themselves translators in the aforementioned pair of languages. The survey consisted of 17 questions to which one or more answers could be given. Respondents were asked about the most frequently translated content, aids, and materials used at work, as well as the particularly difficult topics. The image that emerges from these data allows an assessment of the maturity of the industry and the prospects for its further development.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"62 1","pages":"29 - 39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45224560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract As with most fields of life, China can trace its history of word standardization back to ancient times, when the first dictionaries (such as Erya, ca. 3rd century B.C.) appeared. Modern Standard Chinese used in Mainland China – Putonghua – has been subject to standardization since its proclamation as the official national language of China in 1956. The definition states quite clearly that its base is formed by the Northern dialects. This statement concerns also vocabulary. However, it is not a simple matter to make a choice of words which are to be used throughout the country. On the one hand, the so-called “Northern dialects” are spoken by almost 70% of the Han Chinese population, i.e. by about 800 million people. Although the Northern dialects are said to be quite uniform, the vast area that they cover must bring diversity in vocabulary. On the other hand, the remaining 30% of the Han Chinese speak a range of mutually unintelligible tongues, which are bound to penetrate the Northern dialects. The aim of this paper is to show how the lexicon of Putonghua is being codified. An attempt will be made to reveal how the basic vocabulary was selected during the forming of Putonghua in the 1950s. Some of the tools used by the State Language Commission in order to control the process of vocabulary standardization will be described. Moreover, the paper intends to describe the ongoing changes in the Chinese lexicon. It will show the sources of new words that are gradually accepted into the authoritative dictionaries of modern Chinese.
{"title":"How to choose the proper words? The process of vocabulary standardization in Putonghua","authors":"Maria Kurpaska","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2020-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2020-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract As with most fields of life, China can trace its history of word standardization back to ancient times, when the first dictionaries (such as Erya, ca. 3rd century B.C.) appeared. Modern Standard Chinese used in Mainland China – Putonghua – has been subject to standardization since its proclamation as the official national language of China in 1956. The definition states quite clearly that its base is formed by the Northern dialects. This statement concerns also vocabulary. However, it is not a simple matter to make a choice of words which are to be used throughout the country. On the one hand, the so-called “Northern dialects” are spoken by almost 70% of the Han Chinese population, i.e. by about 800 million people. Although the Northern dialects are said to be quite uniform, the vast area that they cover must bring diversity in vocabulary. On the other hand, the remaining 30% of the Han Chinese speak a range of mutually unintelligible tongues, which are bound to penetrate the Northern dialects. The aim of this paper is to show how the lexicon of Putonghua is being codified. An attempt will be made to reveal how the basic vocabulary was selected during the forming of Putonghua in the 1950s. Some of the tools used by the State Language Commission in order to control the process of vocabulary standardization will be described. Moreover, the paper intends to describe the ongoing changes in the Chinese lexicon. It will show the sources of new words that are gradually accepted into the authoritative dictionaries of modern Chinese.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"62 1","pages":"41 - 53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48119477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The aim of this paper is to present speech shadowing (the listener’s repetition of a word, phrase or sentence immediately after hearing it) as an effective teaching technique. Shadowing has been practiced in English classes in Japan for decades and many studies have confirmed its effectiveness for improving learners’ listening comprehension and pronunciation skills. Even though some studies have already indicated that this technique is successfully used in teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) (Zajdler & Chu 2019), its potential has not been widely utilized in the Chinese classroom in Poland. Thus, the present paper will first discuss the auditory and cognitive underpinnings of shadowing, then a classification of the types of shadowing will be proposed. Finally, practical aspects of shadowing as an effective in-class CFL teaching technique will be presented.
{"title":"Speech shadowing as a teaching technique in the CFL classroom","authors":"E. Zajdler","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2020-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2020-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The aim of this paper is to present speech shadowing (the listener’s repetition of a word, phrase or sentence immediately after hearing it) as an effective teaching technique. Shadowing has been practiced in English classes in Japan for decades and many studies have confirmed its effectiveness for improving learners’ listening comprehension and pronunciation skills. Even though some studies have already indicated that this technique is successfully used in teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) (Zajdler & Chu 2019), its potential has not been widely utilized in the Chinese classroom in Poland. Thus, the present paper will first discuss the auditory and cognitive underpinnings of shadowing, then a classification of the types of shadowing will be proposed. Finally, practical aspects of shadowing as an effective in-class CFL teaching technique will be presented.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"62 1","pages":"77 - 88"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43626385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This contribution will address the variants among parallel versions of this hymn, with special attention to the Paippalāda version (of which a critical edition is currently in preparation), and how these variants reflect the different chronology, socio-religious goals and textual history of the different recensions.
{"title":"As above, so below: textual variation in the Paippalāda sūryā-sūkta","authors":"Kristen de Joseph","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2019-0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2019-0013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This contribution will address the variants among parallel versions of this hymn, with special attention to the Paippalāda version (of which a critical edition is currently in preparation), and how these variants reflect the different chronology, socio-religious goals and textual history of the different recensions.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"61 1","pages":"49 - 60"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42908068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Piera Candotti, T. Pontillo, Velizar Sadovski
The first versions of the contributions collected in this volume were presented and discussed on the occasion of the Workshop “Diversity in the Vedic Lexicon and its role in reconstructing the most ancient Indo-Aryan language layers” within the framework of the 33rd South Asian Languages Analysis Roundtable (SALA 33) hosted by the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (15-17 May 2017). The topic proposed here is in line with a trend of research that has characterized the last three decades and focuses on the multiplicity of cultural matrices at the basis of the complex repertoire of Vedic texts. The alleged homogeneity of Vedic culture and language has been explicitly questioned by a number of scholars, to quote only some recent milestones: Witzel (1987; 1997), Bronkhorst (1993; 1998; 2007), Pinault (2006), Parpola (2015). Albeit from different perspectives, they all identified at least two different cultural matrices in the ancient Indo-Aryan sources. The reconstruction of different waves of Indo-Aryan immigrants (Hoernle 1880; Grierson 1903; 1927; Parpola 1983; 2012; 2015) offers a plausible explanation of such perceived plurality, but it is far from being the only possible scenario. Reflections on the role of substrate/adstrate (e.g. by Lubotsky 2001; Thapar 2013) or on the diachronic and diatopic dynamics of linguistic and cultural changes (e.g. by Witzel 1989; 2011; Hock 2012), or, again, on the role played by prestige in a diglottic/polyglottic context (Houben 2012; 2018) also offer pertinent interpretative patterns. Moreover, the relevant studies have been clearly disentangled from a purely IndoEuropean approach: the recent contributions to the history of the ancient Indian Sprachbund (Hock 1986) and the current research on the so-called South Asian linguistic area (e.g. Masica 2005 [1976]; Scharfe 2006) are no longer exclusively aimed at decoding the several steps in the assumed process of systematic divergence from a common ancestor, but also aim to recognize a process complementary to this, namely the tendency for languages gradually to converge with other languages in the area. Within this succinctly sketched framework, the present project is specifically focused on the lexical analysis of Vedic sources. Such a methodological approach is somewhat marginal in the present scientific debate,1 not only because it lies in an area of intersection between linguistics and philology, but also due to vestiges of a prejudice that sees lexical data as inherently unreliable in a strictly genealogical perspective. Still, if it is true that
{"title":"Introduction","authors":"Maria Piera Candotti, T. Pontillo, Velizar Sadovski","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2019-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2019-0010","url":null,"abstract":"The first versions of the contributions collected in this volume were presented and discussed on the occasion of the Workshop “Diversity in the Vedic Lexicon and its role in reconstructing the most ancient Indo-Aryan language layers” within the framework of the 33rd South Asian Languages Analysis Roundtable (SALA 33) hosted by the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (15-17 May 2017). The topic proposed here is in line with a trend of research that has characterized the last three decades and focuses on the multiplicity of cultural matrices at the basis of the complex repertoire of Vedic texts. The alleged homogeneity of Vedic culture and language has been explicitly questioned by a number of scholars, to quote only some recent milestones: Witzel (1987; 1997), Bronkhorst (1993; 1998; 2007), Pinault (2006), Parpola (2015). Albeit from different perspectives, they all identified at least two different cultural matrices in the ancient Indo-Aryan sources. The reconstruction of different waves of Indo-Aryan immigrants (Hoernle 1880; Grierson 1903; 1927; Parpola 1983; 2012; 2015) offers a plausible explanation of such perceived plurality, but it is far from being the only possible scenario. Reflections on the role of substrate/adstrate (e.g. by Lubotsky 2001; Thapar 2013) or on the diachronic and diatopic dynamics of linguistic and cultural changes (e.g. by Witzel 1989; 2011; Hock 2012), or, again, on the role played by prestige in a diglottic/polyglottic context (Houben 2012; 2018) also offer pertinent interpretative patterns. Moreover, the relevant studies have been clearly disentangled from a purely IndoEuropean approach: the recent contributions to the history of the ancient Indian Sprachbund (Hock 1986) and the current research on the so-called South Asian linguistic area (e.g. Masica 2005 [1976]; Scharfe 2006) are no longer exclusively aimed at decoding the several steps in the assumed process of systematic divergence from a common ancestor, but also aim to recognize a process complementary to this, namely the tendency for languages gradually to converge with other languages in the area. Within this succinctly sketched framework, the present project is specifically focused on the lexical analysis of Vedic sources. Such a methodological approach is somewhat marginal in the present scientific debate,1 not only because it lies in an area of intersection between linguistics and philology, but also due to vestiges of a prejudice that sees lexical data as inherently unreliable in a strictly genealogical perspective. Still, if it is true that","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"61 1","pages":"7 - 10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46887028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The aim of this paper is to address the problem of the polysemy of Sanskrit words using the example of the meanings of the word vána used in the Ṛgveda (“a tree, wood, forest, fire drill, vessel for Soma, water and material of the world”). I will show that the methodology of cognitive linguistics is very useful to analyse the rational background of polysemy and its conceptual consistency. The basis for my analysis is three assumptions accepted in cognitive linguistics: 1. the meaning of words reflects thinking about the designate; 2. thinking is motivated by experience and cultural beliefs; 3. the associations between semantic aspects of the word can be modelled as conceptual metonymy, conceptual metaphor and conceptual blending. On the basis of these assumptions, I will reconstruct the semantic structure of the word vána. It is a radial category, the centre of which is constituted by its most literal meaning, “tree”, and its metonymic extensions, i.e. wood and forest. The meanings of things made of wood (i.e. fire drill and vessel) are also close to the central meaning and are metonymic extensions. The meanings of water and the material of the world are metaphoric extensions of the central meaning and more peripheral. They are based on cultural beliefs and models shared by the Ṛgvedic poets. I will also argue that the Ṛgvedic poets consciously shaped the semantics of the word vána by using it in contexts which forced the recipient to activate its less literal meanings. Thus they could create a general concept of the hiding place of desirable goods, such as fire, Soma, the sun, and the world.
{"title":"Polysemy and cognitive linguistics. The case of vána","authors":"J. Jurewicz","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2019-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2019-0014","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The aim of this paper is to address the problem of the polysemy of Sanskrit words using the example of the meanings of the word vána used in the Ṛgveda (“a tree, wood, forest, fire drill, vessel for Soma, water and material of the world”). I will show that the methodology of cognitive linguistics is very useful to analyse the rational background of polysemy and its conceptual consistency. The basis for my analysis is three assumptions accepted in cognitive linguistics: 1. the meaning of words reflects thinking about the designate; 2. thinking is motivated by experience and cultural beliefs; 3. the associations between semantic aspects of the word can be modelled as conceptual metonymy, conceptual metaphor and conceptual blending. On the basis of these assumptions, I will reconstruct the semantic structure of the word vána. It is a radial category, the centre of which is constituted by its most literal meaning, “tree”, and its metonymic extensions, i.e. wood and forest. The meanings of things made of wood (i.e. fire drill and vessel) are also close to the central meaning and are metonymic extensions. The meanings of water and the material of the world are metaphoric extensions of the central meaning and more peripheral. They are based on cultural beliefs and models shared by the Ṛgvedic poets. I will also argue that the Ṛgvedic poets consciously shaped the semantics of the word vána by using it in contexts which forced the recipient to activate its less literal meanings. Thus they could create a general concept of the hiding place of desirable goods, such as fire, Soma, the sun, and the world.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"61 1","pages":"61 - 72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44604560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract It is well known that the perfect with the particle ha is used in the narrative sense in the younger Vedic prose. In the older Vedic prose, Maitrāyaṇī Saṁhitā (MS), Kāṭhaka-Saṁhitā (KS) and Taittirīya-Saṁhitā (TS), there is a certain distribution of past tense categories: the imperfect for the gods myths and the perfect for the past of the period of predecessors. It is supposed that the latter use of the perfect was extended to the area of the former use of the imperfect. In this paper, uses of the particle ha in the three Yajurveda-Saṁhitā texts will be examined. The results suggest that the different uses of ha characterize different language layers in these texts. The following points are of special interest: 1) ha and ha vái with the present verb often characterize a logical consequence derived from the context; hence, they mean “namely, in conclusion”. Many examples of this use are found in MS, but fewer in KS and TS. 2) ha sma ( ā́ ) with the present indicative indicates a repeated and habitual action in the past. In MS, it is almost always used with āha (functionally present) and indicates a ritual opinion of predecessors: “(A predecessor, i.e. Aruṇa Aupaveśi or Keśin Satyakāmi) used to say.” KS and TS have examples with verbs other than āha. 3) ha with the perfect hardly appears in MS, but KS and TS have many examples. 4) ha vai ... uvāca in KS corresponds to ha sma (vā́) āha in MS in the parallel passages. This may be the origin of the narrative use of the perfect. It may be concluded that the language of KS and that of TS are close to each other and that the language of MS has different features from them, even though it is generally supposed that MS and KS belonged to the same branch but TS to another. Moreover, linguistic innovations occurred not always gradually, but through certain innovative authors. This may provide a new perspective for clarifying the relations between the three texts and their process of composition.
{"title":"The development of the uses of ha / ha vái / ha sma vái with or without the narrative perfect and language layers in the old Yajurveda-Saṁhitā texts","authors":"Kyōko Amano","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2019-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2019-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract It is well known that the perfect with the particle ha is used in the narrative sense in the younger Vedic prose. In the older Vedic prose, Maitrāyaṇī Saṁhitā (MS), Kāṭhaka-Saṁhitā (KS) and Taittirīya-Saṁhitā (TS), there is a certain distribution of past tense categories: the imperfect for the gods myths and the perfect for the past of the period of predecessors. It is supposed that the latter use of the perfect was extended to the area of the former use of the imperfect. In this paper, uses of the particle ha in the three Yajurveda-Saṁhitā texts will be examined. The results suggest that the different uses of ha characterize different language layers in these texts. The following points are of special interest: 1) ha and ha vái with the present verb often characterize a logical consequence derived from the context; hence, they mean “namely, in conclusion”. Many examples of this use are found in MS, but fewer in KS and TS. 2) ha sma ( ā́ ) with the present indicative indicates a repeated and habitual action in the past. In MS, it is almost always used with āha (functionally present) and indicates a ritual opinion of predecessors: “(A predecessor, i.e. Aruṇa Aupaveśi or Keśin Satyakāmi) used to say.” KS and TS have examples with verbs other than āha. 3) ha with the perfect hardly appears in MS, but KS and TS have many examples. 4) ha vai ... uvāca in KS corresponds to ha sma (vā́) āha in MS in the parallel passages. This may be the origin of the narrative use of the perfect. It may be concluded that the language of KS and that of TS are close to each other and that the language of MS has different features from them, even though it is generally supposed that MS and KS belonged to the same branch but TS to another. Moreover, linguistic innovations occurred not always gradually, but through certain innovative authors. This may provide a new perspective for clarifying the relations between the three texts and their process of composition.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"61 1","pages":"11 - 24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48325021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The linguistic variedness of the ancient Vedic texts is a well-known fact. This can be observed within the Ṛgveda itself, the most ancient collection of hymns, and if one compares the language of the Ṛgveda with that of the Atharvaveda. Glimpses of Vedic dialects can be detected in several passages and words, although the poetic language displays a high degree of convention and normalisation. Among the hymns of the Rigveda few specific features can be attributed to the different families of bards, even though one can surmise that they belonged to different regions of the Vedic world. It is also likely that some families or so-called “branches” were linguistically mixed. The hymns resort to different genres of discourse. The dānastuti, lit. ‘praise of the gift’, marks a distinct part of the poetic competence. The passages in question, which are often limited to a single stanza, although others are more developed, making up a substantial part of the poem, are devoted to praise of the generosity of the patron, who is expected to reward the poet appropriately for his work. A comprehensive survey of these parts of the hymns of the Rigveda was made in the dissertation of Manilal Patel (1929), a student of Karl F. Geldner. This meritorious book describes mostly cultural, historical and ritual features. On the other hand, the familiar, and in cases crude or mischievous, tone of these pieces has been noted by several commentators of the Rigveda. It would be too simple, however, to consider that these parts faithfully reflect everyday speech. The paper aims to explore the linguistic traits of the dānastutis which contrast with the standard layer of the Ṛgvedic language at all levels: phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary. On the level of stylistics and poetics, it will be shown that the phraseology of the dānastutis relies on sophisticated devices derived from the standard phraseology which was used otherwise for the praise of the gods and goddesses in the core of the hymns.
{"title":"Exploring the language layer of the dānastuti genre","authors":"G. Pinault","doi":"10.2478/linpo-2019-0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/linpo-2019-0016","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The linguistic variedness of the ancient Vedic texts is a well-known fact. This can be observed within the Ṛgveda itself, the most ancient collection of hymns, and if one compares the language of the Ṛgveda with that of the Atharvaveda. Glimpses of Vedic dialects can be detected in several passages and words, although the poetic language displays a high degree of convention and normalisation. Among the hymns of the Rigveda few specific features can be attributed to the different families of bards, even though one can surmise that they belonged to different regions of the Vedic world. It is also likely that some families or so-called “branches” were linguistically mixed. The hymns resort to different genres of discourse. The dānastuti, lit. ‘praise of the gift’, marks a distinct part of the poetic competence. The passages in question, which are often limited to a single stanza, although others are more developed, making up a substantial part of the poem, are devoted to praise of the generosity of the patron, who is expected to reward the poet appropriately for his work. A comprehensive survey of these parts of the hymns of the Rigveda was made in the dissertation of Manilal Patel (1929), a student of Karl F. Geldner. This meritorious book describes mostly cultural, historical and ritual features. On the other hand, the familiar, and in cases crude or mischievous, tone of these pieces has been noted by several commentators of the Rigveda. It would be too simple, however, to consider that these parts faithfully reflect everyday speech. The paper aims to explore the linguistic traits of the dānastutis which contrast with the standard layer of the Ṛgvedic language at all levels: phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary. On the level of stylistics and poetics, it will be shown that the phraseology of the dānastutis relies on sophisticated devices derived from the standard phraseology which was used otherwise for the praise of the gods and goddesses in the core of the hymns.","PeriodicalId":35103,"journal":{"name":"Lingua Posnaniensis","volume":"61 1","pages":"83 - 105"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46864918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In this article the meaning of the bahuvrīhi compound kavíkratu (attested ten times in the ṚV: 1.1.5; 3.2.4; 3.14.7; 3.27.12; 5.11.4; 6.16.23; 8.44.7; 9.9.1; 9.25.5; 9.62.13; seven times used as an attribute for Agni, thrice for Soma) is examined. Its morphology (adjectival possessive compound) and the meaning of its two constituents kaví “poet” and krátu “resolve” are more or less undisputed, hence the common translation “with a poet’s resolve”. However, in spite of the rare occurrence and the apparent lucidity of the morphology and semantics of kavíkratu, such a translation may not be appropriate. The uneven distribution of this term and its marked position within the stanzas where it occurs, in combination with the semantic ambiguity of Sanskrit compounds, may be taken as an indication that this compound possesses a more intricate structure, and that this intricacy is the reason for its occurrence. In this article it is argued that this compound admits more than one translation, and that it is necessary to reproduce its semantic ambiguity in translation. Finally, the possibility of using the uneven distribution of kavíkratu to identify differences between certain groups within the Ṛgveda with regard to their world-views is briefly discussed.
摘要本文对bahuvri - hi化合物kavíkratu(在ṚV中证实了十次:1.1.5;3.2.4条;3.14.7;3.27.12;5.11.4;6.16.23;8.44.7;9.9.1;9.25.5;9.62.13;七次作为Agni的属性,三次作为Soma的属性)被检查。它的词形(形容词所有格复合)和它的两个组成部分kaví“poet”和krátu“resolve”的意思或多或少是无可争议的,因此通常翻译为“with a poet’s resolve”。然而,尽管kavíkratu出现的次数很少,而且词形和语义都很清晰,但这样的翻译可能并不合适。这个词的不均匀分布和它在诗节中出现的明显位置,再加上梵语复合词的语义模糊,可能表明这个复合词具有更复杂的结构,而这种复杂性是它出现的原因。本文认为,这一复合词可以有多种翻译,在翻译中有必要再现其语义歧义。最后,简要讨论了利用kavíkratu的不均匀分布来确定Ṛgveda内某些群体之间世界观差异的可能性。
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Abstract This article highlights how the process of semantic extension applied to the OIA onomatopoeic noun dundubhí, usually meant as “drum”, is the token of significant cultural changes: especially within ritual performances, such as the mahāvrata rite, gradually canonised in the Brahmanical ritualism, it turns out to be a device to promote a new model of sovereignty, related to the establishment of the so-called Kuru-Pañcāla realm. Such a cultural transformation, carried out in the Middle and Late Vedic period in northern India, entailed that ancient Indo-European tribal cultural traits were intermingled with cultural substrate/adstrate elements: the term dundubhí is “etymologically” connected to the Proto-Muṇ ḍa *ḍub-/*dum- “to be swollen, roundish”, the PAA *duby-/*dub- “tail, buttock, animal limbs”, and Middle Iranian isoglosses meaning “tail, extremities, fat-tailed animals”. Moreover, as bhūmidundubhi “earth-drum” beaten on the border of the ritual area in the mahāvrata rite, representing earthly sonority and the “mighty bellowing” of cattle, it is associated with the IIr myth of valá/vará, the “enclosure”, in which the treasure/cattle “endowed with rock as foundation” (ádri-budhna, ṚV 10.108.7ab), is hidden. The related lexicon and imagery recall mythical archetypes, such as the Serpent of the Bottom (OIA áhir budhníyaḥ, Gr Pythô ophis) or primordial Monster of the Deep (Gr Typhôn/Typhôeus), and BMAC interferences are also embedded. However, although linguistic evidence confirms the etymological relationship between the OIA budh-ná and the Greek pythmên, the case of the Greek Typhôn/Typhôeus seems more uncertain: the IE reconstruction *dhubh-/*dhub “depths” is considered a secondary outcome, and cannot be convincingly applied to the term dundubhí, because of its onomatopoeic nature. Nonetheless, as an outcome of linguistic and cultural interferences, “Sanskritised” within the ritualism, which supported the paradigm of the Kuru-Pañcāla sovereignty, the term dundubhí conveys the double “redundant” value of deep/high sonority and swollen/roundish abundant prosperity, to which the figure of Bṛhaspati is correspondent: in ṚV 10.64.4 he is defined as the kaví tuvīrávān “poet endowed with powerful bellowing”, which announces prosperity, spreading it loftily, throughout the cosmos.
摘要本文强调了OIA拟声名词dundubhí(通常意为“鼓”)的语义扩展过程是文化发生重大变化的标志:尤其是在仪式表演中,如在婆罗门仪式主义中逐渐被推崇的mahāvrata仪式,它被证明是一种促进新主权模式的手段,与建立所谓的库鲁帕尼卡拉王国有关。这种在印度北部吠陀中后期进行的文化转变意味着古代印度-欧洲部落文化特征与文化基质/基质元素交织在一起:术语dundubhí在词源上与Proto-Mu联系在一起ṇ ḍa*ḍub-/*dum-“肿胀、圆滚滚”,PAA*duby-/*dub-“尾巴、臀部、动物四肢”,中伊朗同音词意为“尾巴、四肢、肥尾动物”。此外,正如在mahāvrata仪式中在仪式区域的边界上敲击的bhāmidundubhi“土鼓”,代表着世俗的声音和牛的“强有力的吼叫”,它与瓦拉/瓦拉的IIr神话“围栏”联系在一起,在“围栏”中,宝藏/牛“被赋予岩石作为基础”(ádri budhna,ṚV 10.108.7ab),是隐藏的。相关的词汇和意象让人想起了神话原型,比如底部的蛇(OIAáhir budhníyaḥ, Gr Pythôophis)或原始的深渊怪物(Gr Typhôn/Typhóeus),以及BMAC干扰也被嵌入。然而,尽管语言学证据证实了OIA budh-ná和希腊地峡之间的词源关系,但希腊语Typhôn/Typhóeus的情况似乎更不确定:IE重建*dhubh-/*dhub“深度”被认为是次要结果,由于其拟声性质,无法令人信服地应用于dundubhí一词。尽管如此,作为语言和文化干扰的结果,在仪式主义中“梵语化”,这支持了库鲁-帕尼卡主权的范式,dundubhi一词传达了深度/高度响亮和膨胀/圆形丰富繁荣的双重“冗余”价值ṛhaspati通讯员:ṚV 10.64.4他被定义为kavítuvīráVān“被赋予强大咆哮的诗人”,这宣告了繁荣,并将其崇高地传播到整个宇宙。
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