TIP OF THE DAY 43: Name: Grammatical roles clause search

MJ. Smith · October 29

link to next post TIP OF THE DAY 44: Name: Grammatical relationships - Logos Forums

Since the forum change has been delayed, I've started adding these posts to the previous tip list. See L/V 10 Tip of the Day

QUESTION: What are grammatical roles?

SOFTWARE: The Logos/Verbum all search provides reasonable results with a search argument of “grammatical role.”

ANSWER: from the all search synopsis:

Grammatical roles are an essential aspect of syntax that determine how words function within a sentence. They influence various syntactic behaviors, including word position in a clause, verb agreement, and participation in operations like passivization. In biblical analysis, examining grammatical roles can provide insights into the relationships between words and their meanings. For instance, in Jonah 1:4, the grammatical role of God as the subject of the verb "hurled" can be studied to understand the context and intent of divine actions. Similarly, in Matthew 4:10, analyzing the grammatical roles of "worship" as the verb, "you" as the subject, and "Lord" as the object can help in comprehending biblical worship. The study of grammatical roles can also be applied to measure levels of topicality in biblical narratives, as seen in the analysis of Abraham and God's mentions across different episodes.[1]

VOCABULARY for grammatical roles:

Subject Function: A constituent that represents the agent of typically transitive verbs and the single argument of intransitive verbs.^{^[2]}

A subject is a syntactic element of a clause. It is the element which the predicate or verb is about. The subject is usually indicated by the nominative case.^{^[3]}

Object Function: A constituent that represents the patient or goal of the action of a proposition.^{^[4]}Indirect object :

Adverbial Function: A constituent that represents when, where, how, or why of a proposition.^{^[5]}

Indirect Object Function: A constituent that represents the intended recipient of the action of a proposition.

Verbal Function: A constituent that represents the action/event of a proposition. In verbal clauses, this is the head of the clause, on which all other clause constituents depend.^{^[7]}

The Greek language uses verbs to express events, motion, state of being and copular connections.

Participant role: Another term for semantic role. See below.

Preposition: A word that occurs before a nominal phrase, forming a single unit with it (a prepositional phrase) to express the prepositional phrase’s semantic relation to another unit within the clause (typically indicating when, where, how or why).^{^[9]}

The preposition is a part of speech that modifies another phrase or verb adverbially, and governs an object. Prepositions developed from adverbs, and their objects have syntactic requirements for case.^{^[10]}

Negation: Negation is a method of reversing polarity. Negation can have effect on any level from phrase to sentence. It is primarily used in clauses to indicate that an event or state is not the case.^{^[11]}

Perpexity provides the following list of grammatical roles which is more expansive but compatible with those defined in Logos.

Based on the search results, here are the main grammatical roles/functions and their definitions:

1. Subject - The noun phrase that performs the action of the verb or is described by the predicate.

2. Predicate - The part of a sentence containing the verb and giving information about the subject.

3. Direct Object - The noun phrase that receives the action of the verb.

4. Indirect Object - The noun phrase that receives the direct object or benefits from the action of the verb.

5. Object of a Preposition - The noun phrase that follows a preposition.

6. Subject Complement - A word or phrase that follows a linking verb and describes or renames the subject.

7. Object Complement - A word or phrase that describes or renames the direct object.

8. Adverbial - A word, phrase or clause that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb, providing information about time, manner, place, etc.

9. Attribute/Modifier - A word, phrase or clause that describes or gives more information about a noun.

10. Complement - A word, phrase or clause that is necessary to complete the meaning of a given expression.

11. Appositive - A noun or noun phrase that renames or describes another noun right beside it.

12. Predicator - The main verb in a clause that expresses the action or state.

These grammatical functions describe the syntactic roles that words, phrases and clauses play within a sentence structure. The specific function depends on the position and relationship to other elements in the sentence.[12]

QUESTION: Why may the same proper name appear both as a declinable proper noun and as an indeclinable proper noun in Koine Greek?

SOFTWARE: We have previously identified 3 lemma for Paul – Paul, Saul, and the indeclinable: lemma.g:Σαῦλος, lemma.g:Παῦλος, and lemma.g:Σαούλ. The first and last lemmas in this list gave rise to this question.

ANSWER: From Perplexity:

In Koine Greek, there is indeed a mix of declinable and indeclinable proper nouns. The key difference between these two types of proper nouns lies in how they behave grammatically within sentences. Let's examine the characteristics of each:

Declinable Proper Nouns

1. Change form: These nouns alter their spelling (decline) to indicate their grammatical function in a sentence.

2. Inflection: They typically have different forms to show gender, number, and case.

3. Origin: Often of Greek origin or fully assimilated into Greek.

4. Examples: Names like Πέτρος (Petros, Peter) or Παῦλος (Paulos, Paul).

Indeclinable Proper Nouns

1. Fixed form: These nouns maintain the same spelling regardless of their grammatical function in a sentence.

2. No inflection: They do not change to indicate gender, number, or case.

3. Origin: Usually borrowed from other languages, such as Hebrew, Latin, or Aramaic.

4. Examples: Names like Ἀβραάμ (Abraham) or place names like Βηθσαϊδά (Bethsaida).

Key Differences

1. Grammatical flexibility: Declinable proper nouns adapt to the grammatical structure of the sentence, while indeclinable ones remain constant.

2. Ease of identification: The function of declinable nouns in a sentence can often be determined by their form, whereas indeclinable nouns require context for understanding their role.

3. Origin: Declinable proper nouns are more likely to be of Greek origin or fully integrated into Greek, while indeclinable ones are often foreign borrowings.

4. Consistency: Indeclinable proper nouns will appear with the same spelling throughout the New Testament (barring variant spellings), while declinable ones will have different forms.

It's worth noting that the distinction between declinable and indeclinable proper nouns can sometimes pose challenges for readers and translators of Koine Greek texts, as the grammatical function of indeclinable nouns must be inferred from context rather than form.

QUESTION: How do I find where a person, e.g.Paul, referenced by name is the subject of the clause?

SOFTWARE: Subject by lemma:

Note I was unable to get correct results from Σαούλ the indeclinable so I have omitted it.

Open Search panel.
Select clause search. Remember this search is not compatible with the Bible-Book-Morph search but rather has its own syntax.
Set the resource to the Greek New Testament.
Enter “subject” into the argument line.
Select subject-lemma.
Copy and paste the lemma for Saul
Insert OR and repeat process for Paul
Run the query with the search argument just built: subject-lemma:Σαῦλος OR subject-lemma:Παῦλος
If desired, use the add translation to add your preferred Bible to the results.

QUESTION: How do I find where a person, e.g.Paul, referenced by name is the direct object of the clause?

SOFTWARE: Subject by lemma:

Open Search panel.
Select clause search. Remember this search is not compatible with the Bible-Book-Morph search but rather has its own syntax.
Set the resource to the Greek New Testament.
Enter “object” into the argument line.
Select object-lemma.
Copy and paste the lemma for Saul
Insert OR and repeat process for Paul and in the indeclinable Saul lemma
Run the query with the search argument just built: object-lemma:Σαῦλος OR object-lemma:Παῦλος OR object-lemma:Σαούλ
If desired, use the add translation to add your preferred Bible to the results.

QUESTION: How do I find where a person, e.g.Paul, referenced by name is the indirect object of the clause?

SOFTWARE: Indirect-object by lemma:

Open Search panel.
Select clause search. Remember this search is not compatible with the Bible-Book-Morph search but rather has its own syntax.
Set the resource to the Greek New Testament.
Enter “indirect” into the argument line.
Select indirect-object-lemma.
Copy and paste the lemma for Saul
Insert OR and repeat process for Paul and in the indeclinable Saul lemma
Run the query with the search argument just built: object-lemma:Σαῦλος OR indirect-object-lemma:Σαῦλος OR indirect-object-lemma:Παῦλος OR indirect-object-lemma:Σαούλ
If desired, use the add translation to add your preferred Bible to the results.

[1] International Linguistics Department, Glossary of Linguistic Terms (SIL International, 1996–).and Logos Pro Team, LT271 Study the Bible with Logos: Jonah 1, Logos Mobile Education (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).and Logos Pro Team, LT261 Study the Bible with Logos: Matthew 4:1–11, Learn with Logos (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).and Jean-Marc Heimerdinger, Topic, Focus and Foreground in Ancient Hebrew Narratives, vol. 295, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 114–115.

^{^[2]} Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

^{^[3]} n.d.

^{^[4]} Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

^{^[5]} Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

^{^[7]} Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

n.d.

^{^[9]} Andi Wu and Randall K. Tan, Cascadia Syntax Graphs of the New Testament: Glossary (Lexham Press, 2009).

^{^[10]} n.d.

^{^[11]} n.d.

[12] https://pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/8-8-grammatical-roles/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_relation and http://www.englicious.org/lesson/grammatical-functions-clause and https://langeek.co/en/grammar/19/grammatical-functions and https://wac.colostate.edu/books/grammar/glossary.pdf and https://www.grammar-monster.com/grammar_terms_and_definitions.htm and https://speechify.in/blog/9-basic-english-grammar-functions and https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-grammatical-function-1690821