Re: Matt. 12:32

From: Edgar Foster (questioning1@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jul 23 1998 - 12:51:51 EDT


---Jim West wrote:

> Please, pardon the question, but what exactly is "deep structure"?
Is this some new literary methodology? If so, what is the source? I
have not heard of it (though I do my best to keep up with developments
in Biblical Studies).<

> What is the purpose of such a reading? What are the procedures used
to employ the method?<

Dear Jim,

According to psychologists, sentences have both a surface and deep
structure. Surface structure has reference to the words and phrases
that make up a sentence. Deep structure is the underlying meaning of
the words and phrases in a sentence. Deep structure per se isn't
"new", but the application of deep structure to Biblical studies is a
fairly "new" development.

> What are the goals of this method? What can it show? What does it
fail to show?<

Linguist Norm Chomsky (1957) discovered that grammar allows the
speaker to move from surface struture to deep structure via the
components of semantics and syntax. These movements are called
transformations. Thus, the goal of deep structure is to ascertain the
essential or underlying meaning behind the morphemes, and lexemes in a
sentence. One way this can be done, and the model I'm working with is
to classify words semantically (over against classifying them
grammatically).

Let us use as an example, John 1:1c.

KAI is grammatically a copulative. Semantically, however, it is a
relational term. QEOS is grammatically a substantive. Semantically, it
is an object. Both HN and hO are also relational words. Finally, LOGOS
is an object. Thus the semantic classification of 1:1c would be as
follows:

KAI (R) + QEOS (O) + HN (R) + hO (R) + LOGOS (O)

>From this diagram, the translator then proceeds to understand the
underlying meaning of the clause under discussion.

John 1:1c might be pretty self-evident, and easy to translate, other
examples are not quite so easy. For example, in 1 John 4:8, we read:
hO QEOS AGAPH ESTIN.

This would be semantically classified as follows:

hO (R) + QEOS (O) + AGAPH (Abstract) + ESTIN (Event)

One more example which helps us to see the difference that deep
structure reading can make is Mark 1:4. In this example, nouns are
transformed into events! I.e., when stripped of their "superficial
noun-ness" (Black), seeming substantives become VERBS. Thus in Mark
1:4, hAMARTIWN (of sins) becomes an event. BAPTISMA also becomes an
event. This has some interesting implications for translation. the TEV
follows this methodology, and translates Mark 1:4:

"So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. 'Turn away
from your sins and be baptized,' he told the people, 'and God will
forgive your sin.'"

Contrast this deep structural rendering with the RSV (which emphasizes
the surface structure of Greek).

One work that briefly touches on deep structure is psychologist's
Sydney Lamb's _Outline of Stratificational Grammar_. On. pp. 34-35,
40, the development of deep structure is discussed in detail (from
Harris, Chomsky, and Shaumyan).

Hope this helps,

Edgar Foster

Classics Major

Lenoir-Rhyne College

Hickory, NC

_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

---
B-Greek home page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/bgreek
You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu]
To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-329W@franklin.oit.unc.edu
To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:39:54 EDT