The Graeco-Roman Legacy

1
The Graeco-Roman Legacy

• continued

2
Parts of Speech (Varro)
3

• hierarchical system
• based on heterogeneous criteria
• morphology (endings)
• syntax (prior vs posterior, modified vs modifier)
• semantics (object vs action, etc.)

4

• this is still a problem when divising systems of
  word classes
• formal criteria such as morphology or syntactic
  behavior appear more precise than semantic
  criteria, but often fail to carry over
  crosslinguistically

5
another system (Varro)
case -case
-tense homo, pulcher (N, A) docte, facete (Adv)
tense docens, doctus (participles) docere, facit (V)
6

• cross-classifying system
• similar systems still in use, e.g. the X-bar
  feature system of Chomsky 1970
• gives natural classes
• (e.g. -N is the class of case assigners,
  N the class of case marked elements in Latin,
  V the class of elements that agree)

N -N
V A V
-V N P
7
Morphology

• Romans were aware of all the basic morphological
  facts of the Latin language, such as

1. case
2. tense
3. mood
4. person
5. number
6. declension classes
7. compounding
8. irregularities

8
Priscian (6th century)

• Institutiones grammaticae
• Most elaborate work on grammar from Antiquity
• Includes a rare section on syntax
• Introduces the notion of transitivity

9
Transitivity

• transitio personarum
• in a transitive sentence, the verb gives a
  transition from one thing (the subject) to
  another (the object)
• hence transitive sentences do not contrast with
  intransitives only, but also with reflexive
  sentences (where subject and object corefer)

10

• in modern terms, transitive verbs form a covert
  class
• overt classes can be recognized on the basis of
  formal properties such as endings or function
  words
• covert classes require analysis of the context
• and are therefore harder to detect