On Tue, 21 May 1996, Ronald Tuch wrote:
 
> In the King James Version of the Bible, we find the following grammatical
problem:And God created man in his own image; in his own image created
He him."  What is the function of the "He him" together on the page? Why are
subject and direct object next to each other? What meaning is created through
this choice? These are some of the many issues that permit studets to
understand the Grammar is a tool for analysis not merely a list of rules
and regulations whose purpose it is to write a functional business
letter.
 
 
Hey Ron,
 
This is my first post to the ATEG list, even though I may be known among
some of the regulars.  I have been lurking for a few weeks since
subscribing when I found  out about the sub address in the recent Syntax
in the Schools newsletter.  <<Side Bar:  You all do subscribe, don't
you>> .  So my reply is not only to Ron but also to the whole gang.
 
So here goes.  The answer to Ron's query is that syntax is not the only
indicator of meaning.  Form, or morphology is the other means used by
people to express meaning.  His example from the Bible is a clear case
where semantic roles are expressed by form, not order:  "In his own image
created He him."  The agent and patient roles are indicated by the form
of the lexical items, not the serial order in the expression.
 
But here we see the expression of a coherent meaning by use of what might be
labelled a VSO order.  It works for communicative purposes in the English
language.  What happens if we drop the morphology cues and say,  "in his
own image created Bob Terry"  What roles do we assign to Bob and Terry?
Intuition suggests a VSO order, but...what does the grammar of English
tell me is the correct reading?  If the sentence were,  "In some image
created the doorway Terry" we might look for a VOS reading because of our
real world understanding of "doorway" and "Terry" as candidates for the
subject of the verb "created."
 
 
This choice says volumes about the efforts of formal linguists to explain
descriptively what people know about grammar and language.  And what they
need to account for.  They is a lot yet to be explained!
 
Terry Irons
 
 
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Terry Lynn Irons        [log in to unmask]
Voice Mail:             (606) 783-5164
Snail Mail:             UPO 604 Morehead, KY 40351
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