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Lexical variation in the Slavonic Thekara Texts: semantic and pragmatic factors in medieval translation praxis

Ivanova-Sullivan, Tania Dontcheva
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1124287659

Abstract Details

2005, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures.
The current research focuses on semantic and pragmatic factors involved in the lexcial variation in medieval translations. It is the first cross-linguistic and cross-cultural study of the different paths of semantic signification taken by the medieval Slavic translators of a Byzantine text. Therefore, it fills a gap in the field of Slavonic translation studies, where semantic and pragmatic analysis of the factors of lexical variation have not previously been primary objects of study. The data for the investigation were drawn from a Slavonic translation, probably dating to the 14th century, of an 11th-century Greek text entitled 'Triadic Hymn with Midnight Prayer from the Dogmatics of the Holy Dionysius the Areopagite. Compilation and Composition of the Monk Thekara.' This text, which has not been studied previously, comprises Lenten hymns and prayers for daily monastic use, based on the theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. I examine two Slavonic versions-one attested in ten manuscripts held in Hilandar Monastery on Mt. Athos, the Czech National Museum in Prague, and the Serbian Orthodox Church Museum in Belgrade; and the other in a single codex from the Holy Trinity Monastery near Pljevlja, Montenegro. In the dissertation I approach the lexical variation in the Slavonic translation of the Thekara inductively, as a manifestation of the hetereogenous nature of the semantic organization of the lexicon. Thus, I use approaches from different theoretical frameworks to interpret the data-componential analysis, lexical fields, frame-semantics, Gricean inferential analysis, and the cognitive linguistic approach to imagery. This integrative methodology is partly based on the non-unified model of lexical semantics proposed by P. Violi. The analysis of the data in these terms provides a model of best practices for approaching lexical semantics in medieval translation. The study suggests that the lexical variation in the Slavonic translation of the Thekara in its greater part is based on foregrounding mechanisms, i.e., the bringing into focus of specific semantic features, metaphorical associations and socio-cultural concepts. The study proposes that such foregrounding cannot be analyzed solely on the referential level of semantics but must include reference to the perceptual and axiological (evaluative) dimensions of meaning.
Daniel Collins (Advisor)
266 p.
SLAVONIC; LEXICAL VARIATION; THEKARA; SEMANTIC; Greek

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Citations

  • Ivanova-Sullivan, T. D. (2005). Lexical variation in the Slavonic Thekara Texts: semantic and pragmatic factors in medieval translation praxis [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1124287659

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ivanova-Sullivan, Tania. Lexical variation in the Slavonic Thekara Texts: semantic and pragmatic factors in medieval translation praxis. 2005. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1124287659.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ivanova-Sullivan, Tania. "Lexical variation in the Slavonic Thekara Texts: semantic and pragmatic factors in medieval translation praxis." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1124287659

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.