R: [SEELANGS] "Lenin lives" (was Mr. Mayakovsky too died in the gulag)

[Luciano Di Cocco]

As far as I know (I don't know Hebrew too), the main distinction in ancient Hebrew was aspect, different but similar to modern Slavic languages. Anyway Semitic languages have other ways to express very subtle distinction in verbal forms, so they can be very vague or very accurate in tense distinctions, as the author desires.

Luciano Di Cocco

> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] Per conto di Helen Halva
> Inviato: mercoledì 3 marzo 2010 14.07
> A: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Oggetto: Re: [SEELANGS] "Lenin lives" (was Mr. Mayakovsky too died in
> the gulag)
> 
> I don't know Hebrew, but I've been told that ancient (biblical) Hebrew
> lacks tenses as written; hence the name of God (YHWH) can be
> interpreted
> "I was what I was" or "I am what I am" or "I will be what I will be" --
> -
> or, more significantly, all three at once.  If this is the case, it
> could provide a clue to this past-present-future formula.
> HH
> 

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