Grace: a Contrastive Analysis of a Biblical Semantic Field
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln 8-17-2005 Grace: a Contrastive Analysis of a Biblical Semantic Field Mary K. Bolin University of Nebraska--Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Bolin, Mary K., "Grace: a Contrastive Analysis of a Biblical Semantic Field" (2005). Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries. 6. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, UNL Libraries by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. GRACE: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF A BIBLICAL SEMANTIC FIELD A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts with a Major in English in the College of Graduate Studies University of Idaho by Mary K. Bolin May 1999 Major Professor: Douglas Q. Adams, Ph.D. ii Authorization to submit thesis This thesis of Mary K. Bolin, submitted for the degree of Master of Arts with a major in English and titled “Grace: a Contrastive Analysis of a Biblical Semantic Field,” has been reviewed in final form, as indicated by the signatures and dates given below. Permission is now granted to submit final copies to the College of Graduate Studies for approval. Major Professor ____________________________________ Date ___________ Douglas Q. Adams Committee Members ____________________________________ Date ___________ Steven R. Chandler ____________________________________ Date ___________ James R. Reece Department ____________________________________ Date ___________ Administrator Douglas Q. Adams Discipline’s College Dean ____________________________________ Date ___________ Kurt O. Olsson Final Approval and Acceptance by the College of Graduate Studies ______________________________________________________ Date ___________ Jean’ne M. Shreeve iii Abstract This thesis is a contrastive analysis of a semantic field, a group of words with related but not identical meanings that all describe or pertain to one domain or semantic area. The semantic field grace is compared in English, German, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The source of the data is selected books from the Bible, both the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). The English words include grace, mercy, kindness, favor, compassion, and pity, as well as lovingkindness, goodness, and thanks. Data was compiled by beginning with the words grace and mercy in the King James version (KJV) of the Bible, and then finding correspondences in the original Greek and Hebrew, Martin Luther’s German Bible, and the Latin Vulgate. This study begins with a discussion of semantic analysis, semantic fields, translation theory, and a survey of some other semantic field studies. Etymologies of the major words in all the languages except Hebrew follow, along with a componential analysis of the field in each language, and a pairwise comparison of the field grace in each language. The thesis ends with further conclusions from the data, including major correspondences, problem areas, and areas for further study. iv Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all the advice and support kindly given by Doug Adams during the completion of this thesis, which made a significant difference in how the project was shaped and carried out. I would also like to acknowledge committee members Steve Chandler and Jim Reece for their very helpful suggestions, questions, and advice. Thanks also to Kurt Queller for the opportunity to have wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussions about many topics in linguistics, which helped lead up to the formulation of the idea for this thesis. v Table of Contents Authorization to submit thesis .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iv Tables of Figures:.................................................................................................................................. viii Pairwise Comparisons ....................................................................................................................... viii Correspondence Tables...................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Semantic Analysis ................................................................................................................... 7 Semantic Fields .................................................................................................................................... 9 Componential Analysis....................................................................................................................... 11 Primitives........................................................................................................................................... 12 Semantic Relations............................................................................................................................. 14 Frames ............................................................................................................................................... 16 Frames vs. Fields................................................................................................................................ 18 European Structuralism ...................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 3: Translation Theory ................................................................................................................ 24 Chapter 4: Other Semantic Field Studies................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 5: Grace: Etymology of a Semantic Field................................................................................... 40 Chapter 6: Data Sets............................................................................................................................... 52 Forms Combined in Analysis of Data.................................................................................................. 54 Key to Correspondence Sets ............................................................................................................... 55 Word Maps ............................................................................................................................................ 64 Chapter 7: Semantic Relations in the Field Grace ................................................................................... 74 The Field in English ........................................................................................................................... 79 The Field in Greek.............................................................................................................................. 82 The Field in Hebrew ........................................................................................................................... 83 vi The Field in Latin............................................................................................................................... 84 The Field in German........................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 8: Pairwise Correspondences ..................................................................................................... 88 OT Hebrew and English ..................................................................................................................... 91 OT English and Hebrew...................................................................................................................... 97 OT German and English ....................................................................................................................110 OT Hebrew and German....................................................................................................................118 OT German and Hebrew....................................................................................................................123 OT Hebrew and Latin........................................................................................................................129 OT Latin and Hebrew ........................................................................................................................135 OT English and Latin ........................................................................................................................141 OT Latin and English ........................................................................................................................148