Elena Zheltova | St.Petersburg state University (Russian Federation) (original) (raw)

Papers by Elena Zheltova

Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae

Summary:The paper deals with the ways of expressing evidential and mirative semantics in the lang... more Summary:The paper deals with the ways of expressing evidential and mirative semantics in the language of Roman comedy. The author claims that the phenomena under consideration belong to the grammar rather than to the lexicon of the Latin language, and shows that various evidential and mirative values can be expressed by the use of verbal tenses, voices, moods and syntactic construction. It is stressed that evidential and mirative functions in such units result only from the interaction of different linguistic parameters within a certain context and does not reside in the units taken in isolation. The main focus of the study is on the linguistic techniques which were preferred by Plautus and Terence. The comparative analysis of the linguistic strategies found in the author's present and the previous research demonstrates that the choice of a particular strategy depends on a given genre. Thus, some strategies (e.g., impersonal passive, inferential perfect and future, imperfect of ...

Philologia Classica

The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of... more The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of the type bellum inferre or insidias facere with prototypically trivalent verbs, which can either keep or lose the third valency in such constructions. After the brief synopsis of the issues regarding general aspects of the SVCs, the author focuses on the order of the Direct and Indirect objects within the nine constructions (304 occurrences in total) taken from the works of Classical Latin writers. The theoretical background of the analysis applied is the idea of interaction and competition between the three language dimensions, i. e. semantic, pragmatic and deictic-denotative ones, which can determine various orderings of the complements in their relation to each other. On the basis of a previous corpus study concerning the argument structure of Latin trivalent verbs, the author considers the order Direct-Indirect object (DI) as unmarked (neutral), while the opposite order ID as resulting from either special deictic-denotative properties of the arguments or pragmatic factors. As regards the deictic-denotative properties, they depend on the place occupied by the noun or the pronoun in the animacy hierarchy. The promotion of the Indirect object to the priority position is explained by the animacy of its denotatum or by the status of speech act participant, if it is expressed by a personal / reflexive / anaphoric pronoun. The author analyzes the order of the Direct and Indirect objects in the nine support verb constructions selected from the works by Caesar, Cicero and Sallust (304 occurrences in total). The analysis demonstrates that the order ID is attested three times as often as the opposite order DI, because the Indirect objects are usually animate or pronominal in the constructions of this type. In some cases, however, the pragmatic factors such as focus, contrast or emphasis may also influence the ordering. The findings are represented in the table and are followed by the examples.

Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Series 9. Philology. Asian Studies. Journalism, 2016

Graeco-Latina Brunensia 25 / 2020 / 1, 2020

The article deals with paradigms of the future simple (3rd and 4th conjugations only) and the fut... more The article deals with paradigms of the future simple (3rd and 4th conjugations only) and the future perfect active that can be treated as anomalous since they form the first person singular and other forms by adding different suffixes to the verbal stem. This entails, first, a certain heterogeneity within the paradigms and, second, a partial overlapping of these paradigms with two other verbal paradigms. Although attempts to unify the future simple and future perfect paradigms were made by archaic authors, Classical Latin has preserved this "inconvenient" distinction , presumably, to highlight the first person singular. The question arises as to why Latin sought to single out the first person singular in this particular way. I will explain this phenomenon as a manifestation of language egocentrism. I will argue that the forms under consideration may function as egocentric devices. Since Latin is a pro-drop language, it requires special means to highlight the speaker as the most significant speech act participant and to give him/ her a privileged status with respect to the other speech act participants. Thus, by using an-am form, the speaker received an additional opportunity to express some modal values better than the other participants did, while with the-ero form, the speaker, conversely, could express his/her thoughts more definitely or unambiguously. In both cases, the singling out of the first person locutor seems to be much more significant for the language as a communicative system than the unified character of the paradigms. The argument is based on an analysis of examples from the works of Latin authors as well as comparative material from other languages.

In the opposition of Latin verbal moods "indicative – subjunctive," the latter is a marked elemen... more In the opposition of Latin verbal moods "indicative – subjunctive," the latter is a marked
element, and its use in dependent predication must be semantically motivated. Since each language sign
has a certain grammatical meaning, the choice of verbal mood in each case requires an explanation.
Typically, the choice of an indicative or subjunctive is explained with the help of the categories "real –
imaginary, objective – subjective, epistemically reliable – doubtful, direct – indirect speech" etc. If these
categories do not work, the subjunctive is treated as a formal marker of subordination. However, there
remains a group of clauses under the common title explicativum, for which such explanations are not
suitable. These are the subordinates introduced by the conjunctions ut/ quod/ cum explicativum, of which
quod and cum explicativum are always combined with the verb predicate in the indicative while ut
explicativum, on the contrary, requires the subjunctive.
Within the traditional semantical approach, this problem has not been explained, so the author proposes to
consider it from a pragmatic point of view. As was shown by a pragmatic analysis, the communicative
status of subordinate clauses with ut and quod/ cum is not the same: propositions with ut explicativum
introduce a piece of new information, and thus perform the pragmatic function of rheme (focus), while
propositions with quod/ cum explicativum contain information already known to the addressee from the
preceding context, and its communicative status is theme (topic). By applying the extended concept of
irrealis proposed by T. Givon and by involving in the analysis of the language situation not only the
speaker, but also the addressee, the author shows that the subjunctive in the subordinates with ut
explicativum marks less epistemic certainty of information and draws the addressee’s attention to the
content of the clause, thereby helping the speaker to achieve the main goal of language communication.
Keywords: the Latin language, the semantics of subjunctive, subordinate clauses with ut/ quod/ cum
explicativum, pragmatics, communicative status of information in the subordinate clauses, irrealis.

PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA, 2007

This article offers an original interpretation of the phenomena which can be treated as the eleme... more This article offers an original interpretation of the phenomena which can
be treated as the elements of non-accusativity in Latin. Case marking can
be influenced by not only semantic role but also by the so-called «animacy
hierarchy» or deictic dimension. Some non-standard case markings in Latin
can be explained via the cumulative character of interrelations between role and
deictic dimensions. The influence of «animacy hierarchy» in Latin is demonstrated
by the analysis of Ablativus auctoris / instrumenti and Ablativus
separationis consructions, distribution of Dative case functions, interrelations
between declension, gender and animacy, and control of agreement in associative
constructions.

Philologia Classica, 1997

В статье исследуется история проникновения и бытования на античной почве легенды о смехе персидск... more В статье исследуется история проникновения и бытования на античной почве легенды о смехе персидского пророка Заратуштры.

Philologia Classia, 2015

Автор исследует периферийные проявления категории одушевлен-ности в латинском языке, находя парал... more Автор исследует периферийные проявления категории одушевлен-ности в латинском языке, находя параллели в русском и других языках. Периферийными считаются лексемы, у которых отсутствует строгая кор-реляция между фактической и грамматической одушевленностью либо между одушевленностью и биологическим родом. Исследование прово-дится с использованием электронной базы PHI-5 и может классифици-роваться как корпусное. Полученные данные сведены в 5 таблиц в соот-ветствии с семантикой отобранных существительных. Их анализ пока-зывает, что категория одушевленности является динамической и граду-альной, что ее периферия в латыни шире, чем в русском, и что она явля-ется результатом конкуренции разных параметров, формирующих язык, а именно грамматики, семантики и логики. Ключевые слова: нестандартные проявления категории одушевлен-ности, латинский язык, конкуренция языковых параметров.

PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA

Статья посвящена влиянию дейктико-денотативной иерархии (или иерархии одушевленности) на порядок ... more Статья посвящена влиянию дейктико-денотативной иерархии (или
иерархии одушевленности) на порядок актантов трехвалентных глаго-
лов. Опираясь на анализ более 500 случаев употребления глагола misit
и других трехвалентных глаголов с актантами, выраженными сущест-
вительными и личными местоимениями, автор выявляет зависимость
порядка актантов «пациенс — реципиент» или «реципиент — пациенс»
от места денотата соответствующего актанта в указанной иерархии.

Pallas , 2016

The article deals with some functions of Latin reflexive pronouns (se and suus) which cannot be ... more The article deals with some functions of Latin reflexive pronouns (se and suus) which cannot be explained in syntactic terms. According to the syntactic rules, the reflexive pronoun can refer to the subject of the clause in which it occurs (the direct reflexive) or to the subject of the matrix clause in reported speech (the indirect reflexive), but in fact, the antecedent of a Latin reflexive can be a direct object, an indirect object or a prepositional phrase. These uses of Latin reflexives can be explained if they are analyzed from a pragmatic, rather than a syntactic point of view: the reflexive pronouns can refer to the topic of the clause in which they occur, or to the topic of discourse in cases of subordination, independently of their syntactic functioning. The second problem to be explained is the confusion of anaphoric and reflexive pronouns in syntactically similar conditions. The matter is that in some cases, the anaphoric pronoun is used instead of the reflexive even when the reference is made to a term with a topic function. These uses are supposed to depend on the pragmatic function of empathy. I suggest that if the focus of empathy is on the referent with a topic function, the reflexive is used, on the contrary, if the focus of empathy is on the non-topic referent, the anaphoric pronoun is used.
Keywords: Latin reflexive pronouns, topic, focus of empathy.

Ditransitive Constructions in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, 2018

The relative position of theme (T) and recipient (R) in Latin ditransitive constructions varies: ... more The relative position of theme (T) and recipient (R) in Latin ditransitive constructions
varies: theme can precede recipient or vice versa (TR/RT). From this follow two questions
to be answered: what is the neutral (“unmarked”) argument order in ditransitive
constructions, and what properties of the arguments cause the deviations.
In this study, the main focus will be on the idea that the ordering of the arguments in Latin
ditransitive constructions results from the interaction of semantic, pragmatic and deictic
dimensions. To prove this hypothesis, the constructions with ditransitive verbs mitto ‘to
send’, ostendo ‘to show’ and some others were examined. The analysis was conducted with
the help of the electronic database PHI-5 and can be considered as a corpus study. After
examining all the occurrences provided by the database, I suggest that the neutral order of
theme and recipient in Latin ditransitive constructions is TR, and that the alternation of
TR/RT order is determined by the competition of the three language dimensions. The
findings are summarised in five tables.
Keywords:
Latin ditransitive constructions, argument structure, animacy hierarchy, the competition of
paradigmatic dimensions.

Philologia Classica, 2016

The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of... more The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of
the type bellum inferre or insidias facere with prototypically trivalent verbs, which can either keep or lose
the third valency in such constructions. After the brief synopsis of the issues regarding general aspects of
the SVCs, the author focuses on the order of the Direct and Indirect objects within the nine constructions
(304 occurrences in total) taken from the works of Classical Latin writers. The theoretical background of the
analysis applied is the idea of interaction and competition between the three language dimensions, i. e. semantic,
pragmatic and deictic-denotative ones, which can determine various orderings of the complements
in their relation to each other. On the basis of a previous corpus study concerning the argument structure
of Latin trivalent verbs, the author considers the order Direct-Indirect object (DI) as unmarked (neutral),
while the opposite order ID as resulting from either special deictic-denotative properties of the arguments
or pragmatic factors. As regards the deictic-denotative properties, they depend on the place occupied by the
noun or the pronoun in the animacy hierarchy. The promotion of the Indirect object to the priority position
is explained by the animacy of its denotatum or by the status of speech act participant, if it is expressed by a
personal / reflexive / anaphoric pronoun.
The author analyzes the order of the Direct and Indirect objects in the nine support verb constructions
selected from the works by Caesar, Cicero and Sallust (304 occurrences in total). The analysis demonstrates
that the order ID is attested three times as often as the opposite order DI, because the Indirect objects are
usually animate or pronominal in the constructions of this type. In some cases, however, the pragmatic factors
such as focus, contrast or emphasis may also influence the ordering. The findings are represented in the
table and are followed by examples.
Keywords: Latin support verb constructions, constituent order, syntax, pragmatics, deictic-denotative
properties of the constituents, valency center.

Hyperboreus, 2017

The paper aims at drawing attention to certain phenomena in Latin which can be treated as evident... more The paper aims at drawing attention to certain phenomena in Latin which can be
treated as evidential strategies. In Introduction, a brief overview of the existing
viewpoints concerning the grammatical category of evidentiality is provided, then
a question of the interrelation between evidentiality and epistemic modality is
touched upon and the author’s methodological approach to the issue is outlined.
In the main part of the paper, the author provides an overview of the linguistic
strategies used to mark the main types of access to information, i.e. direct
(perceptual) evidence, indirect inferential (or presumptive) evidence, and indirect
reported evidence. The author singles out thirteen morphological and syntactic
means to express different kinds of evidential values (e.g. Infinitive or Participle
constructions, historic present, modal use of the subjunctive mood with inferential
or reportative overtones, logophoric use of the reflexive pronouns, etc.). The
author’s claim is that these strategies belong to the grammar rather than to the
lexicon of the Latin language and, therefore, can be treated as evidential strategies.
Considering these grammatical phenomena as evidential strategies may enrich
one’s understanding of the Latin language and help to realize that the traditional
inventory of grammatical forms and constructions can express many more values
then one might have expected.

HYPERBOREUS, 2019

The article attempts to trace how the difference in approaches to the question of language origin... more The article attempts to trace how the difference in approaches to the question of
language origin in the Democritus’ and Epicurus’ traditions is reflected in modern
linguistics. According to the monograph by Alexander Verlinsky (2006), Democritus
insisted on the arbitrary connection between objects and words, while
Epicurus insisted on a necessary correlation between them. At first glance,
Democritus’ tradition has ultimately won, being reflected in the ideas of Ferdinand
de Saussure that remain of crucial importance for modern linguistics. If looking
further, however, the research on motivation or iconicity of language sign is still
quite alive, with a number of relevant studies. This paper argues that the majority
of studies on the motivation of language signs still follow the Democritus’ tradition
rather than Epicurus’ one. They tend to find the motivation based on purely
intralingual data rather than in the “world of denotata”, the works by Roman
Jakobson being of especial importance in this sense. Jacobson offered the idea of
paradigmatically motivated signs that are segmentally smaller than morphemes,
and this idea was further developed by Konstantin Pozdniakov and other linguists
into the theory of submorphemic signs and submorphemic neutralizations. In
support of this theory, this paper illustrates how the submorphemic level of the
language can be used for the description of Latin personal pronouns.

Elena V.Zheltova. How to Express Surprise without Saying “I’m Surprised” in Latin. Philologia Classica 2018, 13(2), 228–240, 2018

The paper focuses on the ways of expressing mirative semantics in the Latin language. Mirativity ... more The paper focuses on the ways of expressing mirative semantics in the Latin language. Mirativity is a grammatical category which expresses the speaker’s unprepared mind, a deferred realization of a situation and concomitant surprise. These values can be conveyed by both lexical and grammatical means. The paper analyses only grammatical phenomena, without taking into consideration any lexical devices (such as the verb (ad)mirari), and shows that in addition to the basic meanings of time, mood etc. these grammatical phenomena, in certain contexts, express the semantics of abruptness and surprise. Since their primary meaning is not mirative and appears as a “side effect”, they should be called mirative strategies rather than miratives stricto sensu. Such strategies may be reflected through morphological categories of time and mood (e.g. Praesens coniunctivi, Futurum indicativi, Imperfectum indicativi), auxiliaries (particles, conjunctions) or syntactic constructions (Accusativus exclamationis, Infinitivus indignantis). Their mirative meaning is contextually conditioned and in some cases is only possible in interaction with other grammatical categories (verbal person, number, etc.). The study investigates pragmatic and stylistic functions of these phenomena and shows that the choice of a strategy in some cases is directly related to the genre of work and the style of speech. The genre distribution of mirative strategies we suggested allows us to consider them not only as linguistic entities to express modal meanings, but also as a stylistic device.

Books by Elena Zheltova

by Marcela Andoková, Dragana Dimitrijević, Dušan Popović, Dejan Dželebdžić, Elena Zheltova, Bianca Schroeder, Violeta Gerjikova, Nevena Buđevac, Dimitar Iliev, Georgios Chatzelis, and Duško Prelević

Paideia: The Language and Philosophy of Education, 2019

Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae

Philologia Classica

Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Series 9. Philology. Asian Studies. Journalism, 2016

Graeco-Latina Brunensia 25 / 2020 / 1, 2020

PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA, 2007

Philologia Classica, 1997

Philologia Classia, 2015

PHILOLOGIA CLASSICA

Pallas , 2016

Ditransitive Constructions in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, 2018

Philologia Classica, 2016

The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of... more The article investigates the ordering of complements in Latin support verb constructions (SVC) of
the type bellum inferre or insidias facere with prototypically trivalent verbs, which can either keep or lose
the third valency in such constructions. After the brief synopsis of the issues regarding general aspects of
the SVCs, the author focuses on the order of the Direct and Indirect objects within the nine constructions
(304 occurrences in total) taken from the works of Classical Latin writers. The theoretical background of the
analysis applied is the idea of interaction and competition between the three language dimensions, i. e. semantic,
pragmatic and deictic-denotative ones, which can determine various orderings of the complements
in their relation to each other. On the basis of a previous corpus study concerning the argument structure
of Latin trivalent verbs, the author considers the order Direct-Indirect object (DI) as unmarked (neutral),
while the opposite order ID as resulting from either special deictic-denotative properties of the arguments
or pragmatic factors. As regards the deictic-denotative properties, they depend on the place occupied by the
noun or the pronoun in the animacy hierarchy. The promotion of the Indirect object to the priority position
is explained by the animacy of its denotatum or by the status of speech act participant, if it is expressed by a
personal / reflexive / anaphoric pronoun.
The author analyzes the order of the Direct and Indirect objects in the nine support verb constructions
selected from the works by Caesar, Cicero and Sallust (304 occurrences in total). The analysis demonstrates
that the order ID is attested three times as often as the opposite order DI, because the Indirect objects are
usually animate or pronominal in the constructions of this type. In some cases, however, the pragmatic factors
such as focus, contrast or emphasis may also influence the ordering. The findings are represented in the
table and are followed by examples.
Keywords: Latin support verb constructions, constituent order, syntax, pragmatics, deictic-denotative
properties of the constituents, valency center.

Hyperboreus, 2017

HYPERBOREUS, 2019

Elena V.Zheltova. How to Express Surprise without Saying “I’m Surprised” in Latin. Philologia Classica 2018, 13(2), 228–240, 2018