The present article aims at exploring the problem of praise and reproof in the biblical text via the pragmatic framework of the speaker's intentions, that is, it examines the speaker,s illocutive function in the above mentioned speech genres. These speech genres, antonymous in content and form or expression, refer, as a rule, to the factual genres, aiming at generalizing things rather than informing. These factual genres are based, first and foremost, on the evaluative semantics conditioned, in the first place, by three extralinguistic factors or components: the behavior component or the situation on the whole, the author's component and the addressee's component. Very many praise-statements in the Bible belong to the appreciator who has a lower status than the addressee appreciated. These statements consist of a dictum part and a modus part which are expressed in an explicit way. Thus, dictum is explicitly communicated (via the affirmative, the negative or the interrogative form of the verb or via a paradox, resulting from the situation when the author of the statement denies the well-established system of values, approving of the prejudiced acts and condemning the most positive ones) and modus is implicitly expressed (very often via the imperative), and only the modus part. Praise statements that are common to the appreciator with a higher status than the addressee (e.g. Lord (God)) are scarcely met in the Holy Book. Reproof statements, typical of the appreciator of a higher or an equal status with the addressee, are found in the Bible as well. Thus, the reproof-statements include a dictum part and a modus part expressed in an explicit way, where dictum is explicitly communicated (very often via imperatives), and only the modus part. The reproof statements, typical of the appreciator with a lower status, than the addressee, are rarely encountered, though it might sometimes be possible to come across them in the Holy Book, especially in Gospels. There are statements in the Bible which can be interpreted both as praise statements and as reproof statements because they don't strictly conform to the norm.

Keywords:

praise, reproof, text, Bible, intention, speech genre

References in Roman Script according to APA Style 7^th Edition

in PDF

Pages:

102-106

Full text

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Type:

Research Paper

Field:

Linguistics, Semiotics

Topic:

Types of Sign, Speech and Interactional Mechanisms in Communication

UDC:

81`42:22

DOI:

10.5281/zenodo.817357

Research Paper

Citations

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