Drus Griutinge (main text)

[llama_nom]

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "ualarauans" <ualarauans at ...> wrote:
>
> ni witum ... ak gataujam "We know not ... but that is what we shall 
> do". It would seem as if there's an opposition "ni – ak" in the 
> sense of Germ. "nicht - sondern". That would be a strange phrase, 
> where knowing and doing are something that substitute for each 
> other. German would have aber or trotzdem and Gothic probably iþ or 
> sweþauh. Correct me if I misunderstand here something.


Streitberg cites the following examples of 'ak' "ohne vorausgehende
Neg.: aber".  How do these sound to you?

iþ þo waurstwa ni gatawidedjau in im þoei anþar ainshun ni gatawida,
frawaurht ni habaidedeina; iþ nu jah gasehvun mik jah fijaidedun jah
mik jah attan meinana. ak (ALLA) ei usfullnodedi waurd þata gamelido
in witoda ize: ei fijaidedun mik arwjo (J 15:24-25).

jah þahtedun du sis misso qiþandans, jabai qiþam: us himina, qiþiþ:
aþþan duhve ni galaubideduþ imma? ak (ALLA) qiþam: us mannam, uhtedun
þo managein. (Mk 11:31-32)

daga hvammeh was at izwis in alh laisjands jah ni gripuþ mik: ak
(ALLA) ei usfullnodedeina bokos. (Mk 14:49).

In each instance, there is however a negative sentence directly or
indirectly preceding the 'ak' clause.  In J 15:25 the 'ak' clause does
indeed offer an alternative that might be inferred to exclude the
negatives (even though another clause intervenes); but I take it
'sondern' would sound odd there?  In Mk 14:49, presumably to have
seized him would exclude the possibility of the scriptures being
fulfilled.  But this, again, is only an inference.  Mk 11:32 is
curious, since although 'ak' follows a negative clause, the 'ak'
clause contrasts with something other than what is negated there! 
Anyway, in the example from John, 'iþ' follows negatives with no
direct exclusion, and presumably just the same degree in inferred
exclusion (I'm probably talking nonsense by now...) so maybe it is
safest for me to use 'iþ' in that verse.

Incidentally, I see that Streitberg also notes that 'ak' sometimes
translates Greek GAR, e.g.:

ni us waurstwam, ei hvas ni hvopai, ak is (AUTOU GAR) sium taui, (Eph
2:9-10).

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