Scott,

For almost 20 years, Carl Bosma at Calvin Theological Seminary in
Grand Rapids, MI has used system similar to this to interpret
classical Hebrew texts; he learned the process in The Netherlands.
"Clausal delimitation" is the backbone of the approach. In Hebrew,
every word string containing a verbal of any sort (e.g., an
infinitive) is considered a clause. Rules govern how far a Hebrew
clause is to be indented. Of course, in Hebrew that means selecting
"flush right" in your word processor. However, I've used the same
method with a "literal" English Bible translation (the American
Standard Version works best) as a quick and dirty, yet useful, means
to the same end. The resulting "shape of the text," especially in
narratives, will invariably point to the central point of the textual
unit.

Kevin Dwyer

On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 4:22 PM, Scott Woods <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Listmates,
> I came across a way of displaying text graphically to show the reader the
> chunks of language.  The original, from a Latin teaching website,
> http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/accrdrs.html
> , has one version with extensive grammar mark ups and another with just the
> chunks, separated vertically on the page. A middle type in English follows:
>
> The boy,
>         crouched
>              on his nail keg
>                   at the back
>                      of the crowded room,
> knew
>         he smelled cheese,
>         and more:
> from where he sat
>      he
>      could see
>           the ranked shelves
>                 close-packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes
>
> of tin cans
>                       whose labels his stomach read,
>                             not from the lettering
>                                     which meant nothing to his mind
>                            but from the scarlet devils and the silver curve
> of fish--
>    this,
>         the cheese which he knew he smelled
>         and the hermetic meat
>                   which his intestines believed he smelled
>         coming in intermittent gusts
>                    momentary and brief
>          between the other constant one,
>                     the smell and sense
>                               just a little of fear
>                                      because mostly of despair and grief,
>         the old fierce pull of blood.
>
> The purpose of such a presentation is to make syntax clearer to the reader
> to improve comprehension.  Has anyone on the list used such a presentation
> method?  Is anyone aware of any research on it?  Any thoughts?
>
> Scott Woods
>
>
>
>
>
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