Semantic and combinational copying of the deictic force

In Biblical Hebrew, true demonstratives, i.e. demonstratives with a z or l element such as zè ‘this’, are distinguished from the so-called quasi-demonstratives, i.e.

definite pronouns such as the determined third-person pronoun hahû´ ‘that’ (Waltke

& O’Connor 1990: 313).

True demonstratives may be used as attributive adjectives or as predicative ad-jectives, but may have deictic force in certain expressions. For example zè ‘this’

may be “used with numerals in expressions of time” “and appears to emphasize the time” (Waltke & O’Connor 1990: 310–312). (64) illustrates this feature of Biblical Hebrew. In the Karaim translation we can see that the demonstrative pronoun bu

‘this’ is used, as expected, as the translational equivalent of the Hebrew demonstra-tive pronoun, although the Hebrew semantic property has also been copied onto the Karaim demonstrative pronoun.

(64)

Biblical Hebrew

wayünassû ´ötî

and they tested.CONJ.V:PIEL.W.CONS.IPRF.MASC3PL me.DIR.OBJ.SUFF:1SG

zè `eºSer Pü`ämîm

this ten.CARD.FEM.SG.ABS occurrences.N:FEM.PL.ABS

‘and yet have put me to the proof these ten times’

Num. 14:22

Halich Karaim

dạ sinạ:di:lar mẹni bu on keret:ler and test:DI.PST:3PL me (ACC) this ten occurrence:PL

‘and they tested me these ten times’

Num. 14:22 (336/7)

The Trakai Karaim translation published by Kowalski represents this feature, too. In Job 19:3 we find the demonstrative pronoun bu ‘this’ preceding the numeral expres-sion on kurłałar ‘ten times’ (Kowalski 1929a: 16), see (65).

(65)

Biblical Hebrew

zè `eºSer Pü`ämîm

this.ADJ:MASC.SG ten.CARD:FEM.SG.CONST occurrences.N:FEM.PL.ABS

Taklîmûºnî

you have humiliated me.V:HIPH.IPRF.MASC2PL.SUFF:1SG

‘these ten times you have cast reproach upon me’

Job 19:3 Trakai Karaim

bu on kurła:łar iḿȧńdiŕ:a:siź ḿeni this ten time:PL disgrace:A.NPST:2PL me (ACC)

‘these ten times you have disgraced me’

Job 19:3

The Crimean Karaim translations contain no sample for this feature, most probably due to the small amount of the material. The Book of Samuel has no example of such a numeral expression; therefore H̠aki’s Turkish translation does not demon-strate this property.

The demonstrative zè ‘this’ can have a special function in Biblical Hebrew, namely to emphasize an exclamatory question or a presentative (Waltke &

O’Connor 1990: 312). In HKB, the usual translational equivalent of zè, i.e. bu

‘this’ is used in such questions; however, it is not grammatical in this function, see (66). Again, the semantic and combinational properties of the Hebrew enclitic de-monstrative pronoun have been copied.

(66)

Biblical Hebrew

läºmmâ zzè

to why.PREP.Q this.ADJ:MASC.SG

he`élîtäºnû mimmicraºyim you brought us.V:HIPH.PRF.MASC2SG.SUFF:1PL from Egypt.PREP.PROP

‘why did you bring us up out of Egypt?’

Exod. 17:3 Halich Karaim

nege bu cigar:di:n biz:ni micri:den why this bring out:DI.PST:2SG we:ACC Egypt:ABL

̒why did you bring us out from Egypt?’

Exod. 17:3 (164/7)

The Crimean Karaim Bible translations provide no example of the emphatic use of demonstratives in interrogation. The Trakai Karaim translation sometimes demon-strates this feature by the use of ńeǵa-bu ‘why-this’ for the Hebrew ‘why-this’ form, as in HKB (Kowalski 1929a: 23). Sometimes, however, only ńeǵa ‘why’ is used, and bu is omitted (for such an instance, see Job 9: 29 on page 9 in Kowalski 1929a) (67)

Biblical Hebrew

wülommâ- zzè

and to why this.CONJ.PREP.Q this.ADJ:MASC.SG

heºbel TehBäºlû

empty you have been worthless.V:QAL.IPRF.MASC2PL

‘why then have you become altogether vain?’

Job 27:12 Trakai Karaim

da ńeǵa-bu γ́eč̍lik była γ́eč̍lȧń:a:siź?

and why this nothingness with be deceived:A.NPST:2PL

‘why then with nothingness have you been deceived?’

Job 27:12

In H̠aki’s translation, the demonstrative pronoun never occurs, and instead niçün

‘why?’ is always used. See, for example, 1Sam. 20: 8 (Neudecker 1994: 83).

Quasi-demonstratives, like true demonstratives, can also have deictic force in Biblical Hebrew (Waltke & O’Connor 1990: 313). This is illustrated in (68). The translational equivalent of hahû´ is ol ‘the’ in HKB, and it appears in exactly the same position in the clause as the original pronoun. Although the definite article is attached to the Hebrew pronoun and the translational equivalent of the Hebrew defi-nite article is always ol in the corpus, we do not find *ol ol in this instance. It seems

that the double use of ol would have been unacceptable to the translator; therefore he omitted one ol in the translation.

(68)

Biblical Hebrew

wannëºlek ´ët Kol-

and we walked.PREP.V:QAL.W.CONS.IPRF1PL DIR.OBJ all of.N:MASC.SG.CONST

hammidBär haGGädôl

the wilderness.DEF.N:MASC.SG.ABS the great.DEF.ADJ:MASC.SG.ABS

wühannôrä´ hahû´

and the terrible.CONJ.DEF.V:NIPH.PTCP.MASC.SG.ABS the it

̒and went through all that great and terrible wilderness’

Deut. 1:19 Halich Karaim

dạ bar:di:ḵ osol bar ol midbar:dạ and go:DI.PST:1PL that all the wilderness:LOC

ol ullu dạ ol ḵorḵunclu ol

the great and the terrifying (s)he, it

‘and we went through all in the great and terrifying wilderness’

Deut. 1:19 (394/22)

Although, the translation of Hebrew hahû´, which is the combination of the definite article and the personal pronoun, is not the equivalent we would expect based on the method used by the translator and described so far, the last occurrence of ol in this Karaim example has the same deictic force as the original form. Thus, the combina-tional and the semantic properties of the Hebrew quasi-demonstrative have been copied onto the Halich Karaim ol ‘the’ in this case.

No data is available in the Trakai or Crimean Karaim translations to demonstrate this characteristic. On the other hand, H̠aki’s Turkish translation provides one exam-ple in which the pronoun ʼo ‘(s)he, it, that’ occurs; see (69).⁵⁶

56 Consider the translational difficulties of the Hebrew demonstrative in such cases in the following English translation: ERV ‘which they drave before those other cattle’. The Hungarian translation of the same verse is ‘mely:ek:et tulajdon barm:uk előtt hajt:ának’ [which:PL:ACC own cattle:POSS3PL front drive:PRES3PL].

(69)

Biblical Hebrew

wühaBBäqär nähágû

and the cattle.CONJ.DEF.N:MASC.SG.ABS they drove.V:QAL.PRF3PL

lipnê

to the front of.PREP.N:BOTH.PL.CONST

hammiqnè hahû´

the cattle.DEF.N:MASC.SG.ABS the he.DEF.PRN:MASC3SG

‘and the people drove those cattle before him’⁵⁷

1Sam. 30:20 Haki’s Turkish translation

ve sıġır:ı sür:di:ler ʼo ʼalay ʼöŋ:i:nde

and cattle:POSS3SG drive:DI.PST:3PL it group of people front:POSS3SG:LOC

‘and the people drove those cattle before him’

1Sam. 30:20

In document To Amelija Abrahamowicz (Pldal 111-115)