DigitalResources SIL eBook 56 ® Topicality and Functional Voice in Hebrew and Moronene, with Application to Translation T. David Andersen Topicality and Functional Voice in Hebrew and Moronene, with Application to Translation T. David Andersen SIL International® 2013 SIL e-Books 56 2013 SIL International® ISBN: 978-1-55671-349-1 ISSN: 1934-2470 Fair-Use Policy: Books published in the SIL e-Books (SILEB) series are intended for scholarly research and educational use. You may make copies of these publications for research or instructional purposes free of charge (within fair-use guidelines) and without further permission. Republication or commercial use of SILEB or the documents contained therein is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the copyright holder(s). Editor-in-Chief Mike Cahill Managing Editor Bonnie Brown Compositor Margaret González TOPICALITY AND FUNCTIONAL VOICE IN HEBREW AND MORONENE, WITH APPLICATION TO TRANSLATION By T. David Andersen A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the School of Intercultural Studies FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Intercultural Studies December 2006 ii ABSTRACT Andersen, T. David 2006 “Topicality and Functional Voice in Hebrew and Moronene, with Application to Translation.” Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies. Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies. 346 pp. This dissertation aims to show that an analysis of Biblical Hebrew clause types in terms of topicality and functional voice will make a contribution to the task of translating Hebrew into other languages. Hebrew has only two syntactic voice categories. But many other languages, including Austronesian languages, have a richer system of voice distinctions, with perhaps four main voices. It will be helpful to translators to clarify whether the topicality patterns behind such voice distinctions are signaled by Hebrew syntax. The analysis is carried out on a Hebrew corpus of 1917 semantically transitive clauses, as well as 640 clauses from Moronene, an Austronesian language of Sulawesi, Indonesia. These are categorized into clause types based on features including verb conjugation, constituent order, and object marking. For each clause, the topicality of the actor and undergoer is quantified by the variables anaphoric continuity and topic persistence. After undergoing principal component analysis, common clause types are plotted, clustered, and classified in terms of functional voice categories. For Hebrew narrative and directive discourse, infrequent and common clause types are grouped to form amalgamated clause types based on (1) type of object marking, (2) constituent order, (3) verb conjugation. Their topicality patterns are described and classified. iii Subsequently, common Hebrew narrative clause types are matched with Moronene narrative clause types having similar functional voice categorization. Biblical portions translated into Moronene are examined to see to what extent particular Hebrew clause types have been translated by matching Moronene clause types. Non-matching and rare clause types found in the Moronene translation were evaluated for naturalness, and some of them were revised. Some conclusions are: Although Hebrew has only two syntactic voice categories, its clause types form a large set of functional voice categories, including antipassive, active, semi-active, inverse, passive, low topicality active, and low topicality passive. Moronene clause types form a similar set of functional voice categories. The topicality patterns of qatal match those of yiqtol, and those of wayyiqtol match those of weqatal. Comparison of source language functional voice categories with those of the target language can increase the naturalness of a translation. Mentor: R. Daniel Shaw 350 words iv DEDICATION To Francis I. Andersen v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my mentor, Dan Shaw, for his patience, encouragement, and concern. This dissertation has been a long journey, and at several points it required sharp changes of direction to reach the destination. Dan was an excellent navigator to turn to for advice at those crucial junctures. I want to thank the other members of my committee: Frederic Bush for his enthusiasm and encouragement, and Betty-Sue Brewster, whose LAMP method of language acquisition inspired me to keep walking around the village talking with lots of people when I was learning Moronene. I want to thank my other tutors: Ronald Langacker, Charles Grimes, Francis Andersen, Thomas Payne, and Cynthia Miller. All of them gave valuable feedback and suggestions. I want to thank my outside reader Christo van der Merwe for his input, advice, and encouragement. I want to thank the Director of Doctoral Studies of the School of Intercultural Studies, Betsy Glanville, for her repeated help with the practicalities of distance learning over many years. I thank the SIS research librarian, Oksana Bevz, who read through the whole manuscript with great attention to detail, finding numerous errors. I thank the friendly and helpful librarians at McAlister Library at Fuller and the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics library in Dallas. With their help I was able to access the worlds of Hebrew and Austronesian scholarship from faraway Kendari. vi I want to thank those who have helped me with my study of Hebrew, especially my father, Francis I. Andersen, Barnesh Barnea at UC Berkeley, Mr. Hallam at the University of Melbourne, and Howard Peskett at the Discipleship Training Centre. I want to thank the many many Moronene people who have helped me learn their fascinating language. Thanks to those who welcomed me and my family to stay in their homes, which was the ideal environment to hear Moronene spoken: Sudin and Sese in Pusu‟ea; Amon Manguntu and Tinano Jee, as well as Saridi and Wa‟e in Taubonto; Arsalam and Tinano Deo in Toburi; Luther and Tinano Rose, Wenas, and Soro Manguntu in Kasipute; Gima and Tinano Lis in Rarowatu; Narson and Liana in Kendari. Thanks to those who told me Moronene stories and gave me texts: Wede, Ndasi, Simon Karel, Anton, Arsalam, Dengi, Estelita, Hasan, Heber, Heru, Jasman, Marii, Narson, Ndoke, Nursalim, Ramli, Rela, Rusman, Saenuddin, Sudin, Syarmin R., Taincodo, Tipu, and Yusuf Waate. Thanks to Sultan Wudhawie, Agus Poli, and Iwan, who gave a lot of input into the lexicon. Thanks to many others who taught me Moronene words and sentences: Silfen Periks, Nusa, Etu, Rekson, Aa, Ali, Andayana, Alex, Alwan, Anton, Arara, Aras, Aswad, Azis, Baharuddin, Bastiaan, Bendi, Dadi S. Tomy, Darson, Dasi, Dawondu, Deo, Dirhan, Dirman, Diro, Do‟a, Eka, Hada, Haidi, Hale, Halipu, Hati, Heles, Herices, Herman, Hudin, Huse, Ibrahim, Irawati, Jasman, Jemi, Jus, Kalibu (Mincu), Kamlin, Karya, Kasdin, Latief, Limo, Ludin, Lukman, Lutu, Mata, Mius, Mode (Ruth), Mustamin, Namang, Narati, Nasrun, Ndina, Nego, Nelson, Nepo, Oti, Rango, Roni, Ruben, Paima, Paua, Rahman, Ramang, Rango, Rina, Rode, Rudar, Rusdianto, Rustam, Rusu, Rusumaa, Sabo, Saharuddin, M. Sainuddin, Saleh Samrut, Samsuddin, Sardi, Sardin, Sarfin John, Sarif, Sarman, Sihi, Syahrun, Syarmin R., Sony, Suadi, Sudima, vii Sudirman, Suhadi, Suri, Syukur, Thayeb, Tungge, Uda, Udin, Umbalo, Wastin, Yaso, Yeti, Yoksan, Yudas, Yuliana, Yusuf. Thanks to Yustina Manukalo, Waris Pribadi, and Indah Pribadi, who helped type up the lexicon and texts. I want to thank the scholars who did important and high-quality research which provides the basis for my dissertation. Among those whose work I found especially helpful are: (1) On Hebrew: Francis Andersen, Dean Forbes, Randall Buth, Robert Longacre, John Cook, Sebastiaan Floor, Andrew Fox, Jean-Marc Heimerdinger, Cynthia Miller, Basil Rebera, and Christo van der Merwe. (2) On Austronesian languages: Suree Andersen, Ann Cooreman, Nikolaus Himmelmann, David Mead, Phil Quick, Malcolm Ross, and Fay Wouk. (3) On linguistic theory: Talmy Givón, Kathleen Callow, Joseph Grimes, Knud Lambrecht, and Mildred Larson. I want to thank Dean Forbes for introducing me to the R statistics program, and Marie South for unstinted assistance with statistics, above and beyond the call of duty. I want to thank the various branches of the government of Indonesia which enabled me to work and study in the Moronene region of Southeast Sulawesi: Hasanuddin University, the Department of Education and Culture, the Department of Social Affairs, the Department of Home Affairs, the government of Southeast Sulawesi, the governments of Buton district and Bombana district, the governments of Rumbia subdistrict, Rarowatu subdistrict, and Poleang Timur subdistrict. I want to thank my colleagues in the Summer Institute of Linguistics who provided encouragement, advice, and direction: Ron Snell, Wyn Laidig, Jim Swartzentruber, Larry Jones, Greg Gammon, Mark Taber, René van den Berg, Scott Youngman, David Mead, Phil Quick, Chip Sanders, and Joel Garrison. viii I want to thank those who gave financial support, especially Mickey Brussow, Rolando González, and others who adminstered the SIL International's Corporation Academic Scholarship Fund. I want to thank many friends in Australia, Thailand, the USA, and elsewhere who have given support, prayers, encouragement, communication, and many other types of help so that we could work and do research in Indonesia, as well as study in the USA. I thank my family, especially my father, Francis Andersen, whose example and encouragement has always inspired me by his application of linguistics to biblical languages, by