[Fwd: 11.1774, Qs: Nabokov Word Play, Performativity/Slavic Langs]

[Loren Billings]

Dear colleagues,

Here's another posting, from a different list, that pertains to
Slavic languages. Again, please respond to the original posters,
<jthom at post.olivant.fo> or <igor.zagar at guest.arnes.si>, not to me.
 --LAB


The LINGUIST Network wrote:
>
> LINGUIST List:  Vol-11-1774. Thu Aug 17 2000. ISSN: 1068-4875.
>
> Subject: 11.1774, Qs: Nabokov Word Play, Performativity/Slavic Langs
>
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> =================================Directory=================================
>
> 1)
> Date:  Wed, 16 Aug 2000 17:47:17 +0100
> From:  "Johnny Thomsen" <jthom at post.olivant.fo>
> Subject:  Nabokov word play
>
> 2)
> Date:  Thu, 17 Aug 2000 11:18:03 +0200
> From:  "Igor ®. ®agar" <igor.zagar at guest.arnes.si>
> Subject:  Performativity in Slavic Languages
>
> -------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------
>
> Date:  Wed, 16 Aug 2000 17:47:17 +0100
> From:  "Johnny Thomsen" <jthom at post.olivant.fo>
> Subject:  Nabokov word play
>
> In Vladimir Nabokov's short story "Oblako, ozero, bashnya", F.
> Tyutchev's famous line "Mysl' izrechennaya est' lozh'" ('"A spoken
> thought is a lie") is quoted as "My sliz. Rechennaya est' lozh'" ("We
> are slime." The latter part of the line does not seem to make any
> sense), i.e. exactly the same sequence, but divided so it gives quite
> different words with a very different meaning.
> What is the technical term for this kind of word play?
>
> J. Thomsen
> jthom at post.olivant.fo
>
> -------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------
>
> Date:  Thu, 17 Aug 2000 11:18:03 +0200
> From:  "Igor ®. ®agar" <igor.zagar at guest.arnes.si>
> Subject:  Performativity in Slavic Languages
>
> PERFORMATIVITY IN SLAVIC LANGUAGES
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I'm writing a paper on the relation between time, tense and
> aspect, and I was wondering about the following (problem).
>
> In Slovenian, almost all verbs have two forms, the
> perfective one (PF) and the imperfective one (IF), within
> every tense. Hence one can, for example, promise in two
> ways, either by saying:
>
> "Obljubljam ..."
>  (I promise (IF) ... /I am promising ...)
> or
> "Obljubim ..."
>  (I promise (PF) ...).
>
> Curiously, in institutional settings (swearing in in the
> parliament, swearing in of the judges ...) only the
> imperfective form is used as performative (i.e. understood
> as performative), while in everyday life both forms may be
> used (so it seems).
> Neverthless, some verbs (mostly verbs that at least IMPLY
> institutional or hierarchical settings) can only be used as
> performatives in their imperfective form. Thus one can say:
>
> "Ukazujem vam, da zaprete vrata!"
>  (I order (IF)/I am ordering you to close the door)
> while
> "Ukazem vam, da zaprete vrata"
>  (I order (PF) you to close the door)
>
> would be understood by a native speaker not only as
> non-performative, but even as non-gramatical.
>
> I was wondering whether this phenomenon occurs in other
> Slavic languages as well. I'm particulary interested in
> Check, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian.
> I'm also interested in performativity as related to aspect
> in two non-Slavic languages that are (heavily) surrounded
> by Slavic languages, namely Hungarian and Romanian. I'll
> appreciate any answer (and, of course, I'll post a summary
> if there is enough interest).
>
> Yours,
>
> Igor Z. Zagar
>
> Igor Z. Zagar
> Associate Professor
> Educational Research Institute
> Gerbiceva 62
> SI-1000 Ljubljana
> Slovenia
> Phone: (+386 1) 4201- 265
> Fax: (+386 61) 4201- 266
> E-mail: igor.zagar at guest.arnes.si
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> LINGUIST List: Vol-11-1774

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