აგიოგრაფიის სინტაქსი: გრამატიკა თუ სტილი?
Syntax or Hagiography: Grammar or Style?

Summary/Abstract: Syntax – this is what creates a hagiographic text. Sentences are not written but emerge as a result of chain reactions. The functional-stylistic importance of the sentences is apparent. Expressive function alongside with the informative one eventually aids to its main function - the successful delivery of information. It is obvious that the author does not try to create the neutral style. On the contrary, by using prosodic elements he creates the lingual-poetic wholeness of a text; gives the phrase emotional-psychological coloring. This serves as a common characteristic feature of hagiography. Naturally, there are slight variations, though the stylistic feature remains the same, the tendency is preserved almost everywhere; it is especially true about meta-phrase stories. Giorgi Mtatsmindeli’s “The Vitae of Our Blessed Fathers John and Euthymius and an Account of their Worthy Achievements” is a standard work, revealing characteristic features of Hagiographic syntax. Syntax scheme and precise norms for its implementation are presented. Syntagmatic unit acquires the status of paradigmatic one. Collocation is implemented through the norms of harmony. Creation of the sound harmony is one of the main aims of the writer. Text is displayed as uninterrupted acoustic series, represented in the form of complex sentences. Two main types of complex sentences are singled: attributive and adverbial clauses. The story starts with a series of attributive clauses. The pronoun “which” opens like a fan and creates festive intonation. This is the affect of lines moving with centric energy; from one, one noun, as from centre, a series of ideas flow as waves, marching towards the reader. Adverbial clauses serve as means for holding syntax-conceptual balance. We have a three-stage figure, each stage equally contributing to the structure of logical substantiation: I stage reason; II stage comparison; III stage result. Adverbial clause, occupying an initial position, followed by main clauses – such structure is more convenient for Giorgi Mtatsmindeli. He defines the peculiarity of the language by the frequent use of the conjunction “and”. Under the influence of Greek they start the sentence with the conjunction “and”, after being used intensely, it became an organic part of Georgian syntax. “And” does not represent a conjunction here, but a syntactic element of inner renewal. Besides, each important episode of the text finishes with the conjunction “as”, followed by conclusion – phrase of any character. There are often constructions when sentence starts with “as” and finishes with conjunction “as”.Syntactic constructions open like waves from centre towards edges. As a stone dropped into the water and egitates it.

• Details
• Contents