The Status and Functions of the Ancient Greek particle δή in the Dialogues of Plato, with an Analysis of its Translation into Dutch and Polish

This dissertation is divided into two main sections: a theoretical and an analytical one. The corresponding chapters of the theoretical part are focused on (1) the early approach to Greek particles: the definition and the classification of particles in Ancient Greek linguistic thought and (2) the discourse-pragmatic approach to Greek particles. The analytical part consists of corpus research, and analyses (3) the function and uses of the particle δή in the dialogues of Plato and (4) the translation of the particle δή into modern languages: Dutch and Polish. The goal of the present dissertation is to make the reader conscious of the importance of studying particles in a dead language, of the difficulty of translating particles from one language to another, and of the (universal) functional relevance of particles for the nuanced expression of thoughts and feelings. Particles can be regarded as culture-specific words that may nuance the expression of people's thoughts and reflect their intentions. However, the exact definition of the lexical terms that we now regard as 'particles' has never been clear. Opinions on this matter still diverge. The identification of the notion of 'particle' goes back to Antiquity. Ancient grammarians, however, did not describe particles as a single word group. They referred to the part of speech that we nowadays call particles as syndesmos. The category of syndesmos received much attention from ancient scholars. The problem I will address in the first chapter of this thesis is to examine the use of the term syndesmos, which is closest to an equivalent of the modern notion of 'particle', describing its roots in Greek Antiquity and, most importantly, tracing its history in detail. I will try to establish a clear picture of the syndesmos by discussing its treatment in the works of the most important ancient Greek grammarians or language philosophers: Aristotle, the Stoics, Dionysius Thrax and Apollonius Dyscolus. I will then argue that they invested their efforts in specifying the nature of syndesmos by giving a definition, providing subclassification and offering exemplification, which was all of immense importance for the future research on the category of particles. In order to place the problem of interpreting particles in a dead language in the context of current research, it is, however, important to extend the ancient perspective of syndesmos to modern linguistic traditions. Against this background the next step of this work is to discuss one of the most influential among contemporary approaches to Ancient Greek particles, i.e. the pragmatic approach, and that with regard to the one presented by Denniston in his monograph The Greek Particles (1934), which is still the standard reference concerning Greek particles. The main reason for this choice is the fact that of the various recent theoretical approaches to this much debated issue of Greek particles, the pragmatic approach seems to provide the most fruitful contribution to the problem in question. Taking into account the fact that new analytical methods have lately been developed within the field of linguistics and that much work has been done concerning the functional analysis of language as a means of communication, we dispose of a solid basis for research on the specific particles in dead languages. In this chapter I will present the basic theoretical assumptions of the pragmatic approach that I adopt in my research on Greek particles. The next goal of this dissertation is to apply the pragmatic approach to my own analysis of Ancient Greek particles. However, I do not aim at giving an exhaustive description of all the particles concerned. I will limit my investigation here to one issue, which was already the most interesting one among the ancient scholars, viz. 'the meaning' of the expletive combiners. The reason for this choice is, firstly, that Greek particles as a whole constitute a subject too complex to deal with in a satisfactory manner in a single study. Secondly, in order to get a clear picture of the problem concerning the meaning of the particles there is need for an investigation dealing with their specific subgroups. Thirdly, the subcategory of the expletive combiners is the one that is most frequently left without translation into modern languages. In most cases the Greek examples of the expletives find no single equivalent in translation or they are constantly rendered with one and the same modern term. Finally, the purpose of my description is limited to the expletives, given the fact that many excellent observations on the other types of particles have already been made either in the detailed monographs or in problem focused articles. One of the particles listed among the expletive combiners by ancient scholars is the particle δή. Although research has already established the function of the most common Greek particles, there is a significant gap in comparison with other particles in the research on the function of δή. Assigning a functional significance to this particle is problematic, especially since a satisfactory definition of the function of δή remains, I believe, a desideratum. The usage of the particle δή may appear at the first sight to have little significance in Greek texts. This study aims to show that nothing could be further from the truth. The particle δή has a considerable impact in the discourse. Seen from this perspective the aim of the third chapter of this thesis is to provide a detailed account of the particle δή by analysing the dialogues of Plato. The analysis is focused on three dialogues - the Apology, Phaedrus and the Sophist, as it is commonly agreed that they were written during three different periods of Plato's life. The basic explanation for this corpus is the fact that it provides us with a wide range of different functions of δή. Besides, apart from the practical grounds of working with a corpus, the choice of Plato is based on the following factors. Firstly, Plato's work displays different types of communication settings. In the typical conversations presented in his dialogues Plato brings together the interlocutors in a vivid and detailed discussion, presenting systematic and coherent arguments conducted in such a way as to lead to the final aim. His dialogues feature a linguistic interaction between speakers and hearers displayed not only in rapid exchanges of words, but also in long speeches and monologues, where one must always take into account the addressee being affected by the speech and what is intended by the speaker. In the second place, Plato carefully selects not only the content of the conversations in his dialogues, but also the way of expression of that content. He tends to be highly conscious of his language and the usage of particles, which seem to be essential to the rhetorical shape of Plato's arguments. Thirdly, the concentration on a synchronic description of δή in one author has the advantage of linguistic consistency and allows us to present the account on δή which is at least to some extent coherent. Lastly, while the use of particles in Plato, including δή, and the other nuances of his language usage have, in fact, been studied by scholars with the aim of applying this material for determining the chronology of the dialogues, my interest is primarily in the nuances of the meaning of δή themselves, which then makes it possible to gain a clear picture of this particle. The focus on the rhetorical shape of arguments through the use of δή in Plato and the analysis of the occurrences of this particle in different contexts shows a wealth of various motives for its use. In order to present a precise description of these motives and to provide a linguistically accurate interpretation I decided to separate the occurrences of δή in declarative sentences from its use in interrogatives and commands and to divide my analysis accordingly into three parts, each reflecting different perspectives on a variety of the use of δή according to the categorization goals. My approach is characterized primarily by a strong analytical concern, combined with the detailed observation of the context, argumentative structure and sequence of the source texts. The analysis results in a list of types of uses of the particle δή in each of the three major frames. My analysis of the particle δή is preceded by a status quaestionis, including the moot points of my stance and ideas for further consideration. Interestingly, the pragmatic approach to Ancient Greek particles has won full recognition in particular among Dutch-speaking scholars. The insights generated by linguistic research in the pragmatics of discourse have been incorporated into the study on Greek particles mostly by Dutch-speaking classicists influenced by functional linguistic theories. In line with this insight I present the way in which scholars carry out their pragmatic investigations on the particle δή. Specific attention is paid to (a) the question how modern scholars classify this particle, and (b) what kind of definition and characteristics they assign to this particle and (c) what purpose this particle is intended to serve in discourse according to current research. Finally, in the last section of this work I will draw attention to the translation of δή into two modern languages: Dutch and Polish. The material used for a close reading analysis consists of Dutch and Polish translations of three dialogues of Plato: the Apology, Phaedrus and the Sophist, which were the basis for close examination of the particle δή as presented in chapter (3). The analysis has shown that the particle δή can be employed in a great variety of contexts to express a wide scope of different logical relationships. Taking into account the significant role of this particle in highlighting the logical relations between the arguments and its importance for organising textual discourse, it is worthwhile to examine the translation of this particle into modern languages - Dutch and Polish. Two different translators have been at work. The Polish translation of Plato dialogues is made by Władysław Witwicki, the Dutch translation by Xaveer de Win. I will investigate whether the translators were aware of the semantic and functional flexibility of the particle δή and if they were able to replicate it in the target text. The aim of this chapter is also to trace the way the translator employed the resources of respectively Polish and Dutch connectors and particles to recreate the semantic subtleties expressed through the use of δή in the Greek source text. It will be argued that the function of δή seems to be peculiar and idiomatic for Greek. It is therefore hard to grasp in translation because it entails variations in meaning that are often context-driven. Nevertheless, through the process of translation into modern languages it becomes possible to map semantic fields, which can give us a basis on which one can confirm an earlier hypothesized meaning of δή. This will emphasize the idea that translation corpora can be a valuable tool for exploring the phenomenon of particle use in a dead language. This line of reasoning will closely adhere to the pragmatic approach to particles, as previously discussed. As a matter of fact, translators do not translate words in isolation but rather consider a linguistic element in its context. The translation corpora can therefore serve as a heuristic tool for discovering the function, or the role of a given particle in an utterance in a source text.

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Toegankelijkheid:Embargoed