THE PRAGMATICS of DIRECT ADDRESS in the ILIAD: a STUDY in LINGUISTIC POLITENESS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of
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THE PRAGMATICS OF DIRECT ADDRESS IN THE ILIAD: A STUDY IN LINGUISTIC POLITENESS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By H. Paul Brown The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Stephen V. Tracy, Advisor Victoria Wohl ________________________ Advisor Brian Joseph Department of Greek and Latin Daniel Collins Copyright by H. Paul Brown 2003 ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper will be to examine, in the text of Homer’s Iliad, some of the pragmatic and sociolinguistic factors in the choice of form of address (epithet). Specifically I will look at these in light of the Parry-Lord theory of oral composition and its claims of ‘economy of form.’ The results of this limited examination have important implications for the viability of such methods and for our understanding of oral, traditional literature. Milman Parry, as is well known, demonstrated that the choice of appellation for any character, between the given-name (e.g., ÉAgam°mnvn) and the patronymic (e.g., ÉAtre˝dhw) was a decision based on metrical considerations alone, and importantly, not on semantic ones. The two terms cannot simply be substituted for the other without changing the meter of the whole line. The choice between the two is, according to Parry, driven by metrical necessity alone and hence any possible distinction of meaning is automatically bleached. The two names mean the same thing (i.e., Agamemnon). In this study I will look specifically at the use types of address within the narrative frame of the Iliad, in light of two potentially contributing factors. From a sociolinguistic standpoint, I will show that the distribution of these forms of address across the whole set of speakers is constrained by the relative social standing of the speaker in respect to the addressee. I will then give evidence for how pragmatic factors as well condition the appearance of one form of address over another. ii The evidence in this paper, then, will show that both sociolinguistic factors such as degree of social distance and relative position within the social hierarchy combine with specific situationally defined pragmatic factors to place constraints on the appropriateness of competing forms of address, forms whose distribution was earlier ascribable to metrical constraints alone. In other words, forms of address are effected by important matters of social hierarchy and the practical movement of the plot. Thus in line A.7 of the Iliad: ÉAtre˝dhw te ênaj éndr«n ka‹ d›ow ÉAxilleÊw, Homer offers us a contest between Agamemnon, the holder of title and its concomitant privileged position, a man whose titles alone define him and the untitled but divinely defined and, importantly, named Akhilleus. It will be as much a contest between office and d›ow as it will be between individuals. iii For Al iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge my deep debt and sincere thanks to my advisor, Steve Tracy for his unflagging support in all facets of this project, and for his insightful, challenging, and unflinching criticism without which the project would simply have been impossible. I also would be amiss if I did not also acknowledge my great debt to the following people: my advisory committee, Professors Brian Joseph, and Dan Collins, and especially Victoria Wohl, without whose continuous help this project would have floundered long ago; to the unofficial ABD mutual dissertation advisory and support committee (ABDMDASC) of Amber Lunsford and Gillian McIntosh, uerba mihi desunt; to all of the members of the Department of Greek and Latin graduate reaearch seminars for insightful and inciteful questions and critique; to professor Will Batstone for help well above and beyond the call of duty and especially for his support; to Betsy Tannehill and Mary Cole, for putting up with me; to the members of the San Francisco State University Department of Classics, Barbara McLauchlin, Pam Vaughn, Edith Croft, Jon Leifer and Fran Spaltro for getting me here; to my brother, Michael for beers and cheers; to my father, Howard Brown for his support and interest right from the very get-go; and lastly to my mother, Nancy E. Brown for her expert editing, criticism, and most of all, her support. v VITA April 3rd, 1963 ………………………………. Born — San Francisco, California 1991 ………………………………………… B.A. Art, San Francisco State University 1995 ………………………………………… M.A. Classics, San Francisco State University 2002 ………………………………………… M.A. Linguistics, Ohio State University 1997-Present ……………………………….. Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant, Ohio State University, Department of Greek and Latin FIELDS OF STUDY Major Fields: Greek and Latin Literature Linguistics vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................... x Chapters 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 2. A Methodological Introduction .................................................................................... 31 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 31 2.2. Pragmatics 2.2.1. Introduction .................................................................................... 35 2.2.2. Context ........................................................................................... 37 2.2.3. Speech Acts .................................................................................... 43 2.2.4. Grice’s Cooperation-Principle and Conversational-Implicature ... 45 2.3. Politeness 2.3.1. Introduction …………..………………………………………… 49 2.3.2. Face ………………….……………………………………….… 51 2.3.3. Face-Threatening Activities and Face Work ………….…..….… 54 2.3.4. Off-Record, Positive and Negative Politeness Strategies …….… 57 2.3.5. Impoliteness Strategies ………………………………………...... 60 3. Pragmatics of Direct Speech in the Iliad: Generic Forms of Address ………...…….. 65 vii Part I: The Function of Address 3.1. Introduction ………………………………………………...…….... 66 3.2. The Use of Generic Epithets, a Pragmatics-Based Account …....…. 72 3.2.1. Structuring the Discourse…..……….…….….………..…. 74 3.2.1.1. Change of Speaker …………………..………… 76 3.2.1.2. Emphasis ………………..…………...………… 80 3.2.2. Structuring the Social Space ……….…….……………… 83 Part II: Uses of ‘Generic’ Epithets in Address 3.3. Generic Addresses ………………………………..…….…………. 84 3.3.1. T°knon/t°kow ……………………………..………….….. 85 3.3.2. Pãter/m∞ter ……..……………...………………….….. 92 3.3.2.1. Pãter …………………………………………. 92 3.3.2.2. M∞ter …………………………………………. 96 3.3.3. F¤le …….……………………………………………….. 97 3.3.4. DaimÒnie ………………………………………………... 103 3.3.5. Hapax Legomena ………….…………………………… 113 3.4. The Sociolinguistics of Address ……………………...……….…. 117 4. Patronymics and Given Names in Direct Address …………………………………. 121 4.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………….…..….. 121 4.1.1. The System of Greek Patronymics …….…………………..…... 127 4.1.1.1 Stems in -¤dhw, -ãdhw, -iãdhw, -¤vn and -i≈na ………... 128 4.1.2. Parry-Lord Thesis Revisited ………….…………………….….. 130 4.2. Address by Name, Address by Title ……………………………….…….. 132 4.2.1. Akhilleus ………………………………….……………….…… 138 4.2.2. Agamemnon and Menalaos …………….………….……..…..… 157 4.2.3. Diomedes ………………………...…………………………….. 167 4.3. Conclusion …………………………………………………………..…… 176 5. Conclusions ………………………………………………………..…….…………. 178 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………..…….….….. 192 viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.1 Formulae for Agamemnon in Line Final Position Following the Penthemimeral Caesura ……………………………………..….. 9 2.1 A Schematization of Context ………………………………………………….. 39 2.2 Speech Acts ……………………………………………………………….…… 44 2.3 Conversational Maxims ……………………………………………………….. 48 2.4 Sample Face-Threatening Activities ……………………………………….…. 54 4.1 Characters Addressed as Genitive of Father + ufl° …………………………… 128 4.2 Frequency of Forms of Address for Akhilleus …………………………...…... 139 4.3 Distribution of Bacchiac Vocative, ÉAxilleË, by Speaker …………….…..… 146 4.4 Frequency of Forms of Address for Agamemnon ………………………….… 158 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Cost/Benefit of Politeness Strategies Against Efficiency (Clarity) Based on Brown and Levinson ………………………………………………… 58 2. A Schematized Social Space ………………………………………………….. 102 3. Schematized Social Space with Names …………………………………...….. 144 4. Shift in Status within a Schematized Social Space ……….……………….…. 156 5. Schematized Social Space with Shift Along the Distance/Solidarity Axis .…. 175 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Scholars who consider Homeric epic as orally derived are sometimes accused of diminishing its (literary) artistry. This accusation stems from the early emphasis placed upon formulae and themes … . Several recent studies have demonstrated that some formulae … communicate far more than simply their semantic meaning and have close relationships with their narrative contexts.1 The topic of this present work is speech,