http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198272 Sun, 26 May 2013 05:25:35 GMT 2013-05-26T05:25:35Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/retrieve/496587/FacofClassicslogo.jpg http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198272 http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/243634 Title: The nature and purpose of relative terms in Plato Authors: Duncombe, Matthew Abstract: Relative terms are those such as ‘larger’, ‘smaller’, ‘parent’ and ‘offspring’. Questions concerning the nature of this type of term in Plato fall under three themes. First, logic: what is the syntax and semantics of relative terms? Second, metaphysics: what structures in the world constitute relative properties? Third, taxonomy: do relative terms form a distinguishable class? Questions concerning purpose ask what role these terms have in the wider economy of Plato’s thought. Only one existing approach addresses all of these themes and questions: it was put forward by G.E.L. Owen in 1957, although it was subsequently developed by others. The Owenian view holds that relatives are syntactically or semantically incomplete, that they are identical to metaphysically dyadic relations and that they do form a taxonomic class. According to Owen, Plato introduces relative terms to bolster a certain argument for the separation of forms and participants. Therefore, they have an ontological purpose. This thesis aims to offer a plausible, non–anachronistic alternative to the Owenian view. To give such an account I have to argue for a radically different logic, metaphysics and purpose for relatives in Plato. I call the view that I defend ‘conjunctivism’. I begin by characterising the logic of conjunctivism. Plato holds that relative terms have formal objects. These are exceptionlessly correct objects of the relative in question. A parent is always and only parent of offspring, so ‘offspring’ is the formal object of ‘parent’. I then demonstrate that the metaphysical problems for relatives which are not dyadic relations are avoided by Plato’s version of conjunctivism. Looking at Sophist 255c–d and Parmenides 133c–134e, I discuss the taxonomy of relative terms. I show that, under the conjunctive reading, they form a distinguishable class and, in contrast to Owenian relatives, each reciprocates with its correlative. So, just as a parent is relative to offspring, so offspring are relative to a parent. With the nature of relative terms established, I proceed to refute Owen’s account of their purpose, and give my own explanation. By looking at passages from the Euthydemus and Charmides, I argue that Plato introduced relative terms to articulate why some arguments are fallacies and others not. That is, relative terms have a dialectical purpose. Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/243634 2012-07-02T23:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/223842 Title: Beyond Definition: Organising Semantic Information in Bilingual Dictionaries Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: This paper considers the process of organising semantic information in bilingual dictionaries with diachronic coverage, from selecting the textual source-material to designing the entries. The discussion centres on practical aspects of ancient Greek lexicography. First, the traditional semantic frameworks are described. Then, more recent approaches are noted, notably those of Adrados and of Chadwick, both of which aim to integrate contextual data within a semantic framework. Since the relevance of contextual information varies with lemma part of speech, different configurations are required for entries describing nouns, adjectives, and verbs. These are illustrated by three entries from a Greek-English dictionary currently being written at Cambridge. In order to organise data to this level of specificity, stylistic templates are indispensable, and digital software provides a means of providing them. However, systems designed for writing new dictionaries require different features from those designed for encoding pre-existing texts. A description is given of how the lexicographic requirements of the Cambridge dictionary were met by a user-designed system. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/223842 2008-02-29T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/219499 Title: Word Order, Focus, and Clause Linking in Greek Tragic Poetry Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: The thesis comprises an investigation of three aspects of sentence structure in Classical Greek (henceforth CG) dramatic poetry: order of the main sentence elements (subject, verb, and object) within the clause, the emphatic position at the start of the clause, and the structure of inter-clausal linking. It is argued that these three features, usually considered separately, are interdependent, and that intra-clausal word order is directly related to the structure of compound and complex sentences. The discussion undertakes a systematic survey of subject, verb, and object order in a corpus of texts, proposes an explanation for the observed order, and develops a model which explains how prominence within the clause is exploited in clause linking to produce the complement structures observed in Homeric and tragic complementation. Tue, 16 Nov 1999 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/219499 1999-11-16T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/218323 Title: Lexicographic Slips: Gathering and Organising Contextual Data for Dictionary Entries Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: The paper discusses the process of incorporating contextual information in bilingual dictionaries, with especial focus on the task of organising the textual source-material for a Greek-English dictionary. A description is given of the two functions of textual material: as citations in dictionaries to illustrate meanings, and also as the source-material for identifying meanings and writing the definitions. As almost all extant ancient Greek texts have been archived in digital libraries, they can now be searched systematically. In order to use the results as sources for writing entries, the material must also be organised semantically into lexicographic ‘slips.’ An account is given of how lemmatising software has been used to identify and store the original textual passages cited in the Liddell-Scott-Jones dictionary, creating a digital archive of slips. This has also been combined with a collection of other attestations identified in the texts, to create a comprehensive library of source-material for a Greek-English dictionary now being written at Cambridge. A description is also given of how the new contextual information gathered in this way is being incorporated in the dictionary. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/218323 2008-03-31T23:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198313 Title: Author-Tagging: A Dictionary DTD as Part of the Writing Environment Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: Because markup languages are capable of mapping every detail of a text, they are especially useful for tagging dictionaries, which are among the most densely-structured of all texts. However, DTDs which have been developed for encoding a range of dictionaries must have a wide scope, with a consequent loss of descriptive power. Even a DTD which has been tailored for a specific dictionary must still allow a great level of flexibility to capture the variations in its structure. This paper describes how greater precision can be attained if the dictionary editors themselves tag as they compose. Author-tagging not only enables the markup to be designed according to a specific lexicographic approach, but also has a number of significant advantages for the editors: by applying constraints to the writing process, it facilitates the development of a consistent style, and it constitutes a lexicographic tool, by allowing the editors to search the XML documents during composition, and to include annotations and other revision material. The discussion is illustrated with examples taken from a DTD and its associated XSL stylesheets which have been developed for a Greek-English lexicon currently being written at Cambridge University. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198313 2007-11-01T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198312 Title: A Poetry Map for LSJ Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: When using the Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ), readers face the problem that many citations of the early Greek poets are to editions which are out of print and have been superseded by works which give different numbers to the fragments. Although their comparationes numerorum provide helpful 'back bearings' to the earlier editions, they do not constitute a convenient method of linking from citations in LSJ. In addition, users of the Thesaurus linguae Graecae (TLG) CD-ROM may have no access to them. Yet LSJ remains the most widely-consulted Ancient Greek dictionary. It would therefore be useful to have a unified way of linking its citations of the poets to the modern editions. This listing undertakes the task. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198312 2007-11-01T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198284 Title: Word Order in Greek Stichic Verse: Subject, Verb, and Object Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: The paper comprises an investigation of the order of the main sentence elements (subject, verb, and object) in Greek stichic verse, and includes the first study of regular word order in Greek tragedy. It is shown that there is no consistent difference between poetic and prose texts in the order of subject, verb and object, so metre appears to have no visible effect on order. It is further shown that regularities in order do not have a purely syntactic explanation, but have a correlation with word size and with prosodic prominence, which may reflect cognitive constraints. It is proposed that the same holds generally in ancient Greek. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198284 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198283 Title: The Clause Start in Ancient Greek: Focus and the Second Position Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: The paper undertakes an examination of the start of the Greek clause, adopting a prosodic approach with two inter-related stages. Firstly, the functions of initial elements are analyzed in terms of their prosodic prominence, rather than of any 'pre-set' communicational role. Secondly, clitic words following the initial group are analyzed as placed, not in a single 'second position', but on either side of an intonation break, depending on their function: while pronouns are intonationally and syntactically part of the basic clause, particles emphasize the initial group. Even their connective functions are interpreted as dependent on this emphatic role. Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198283 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198282 Title: Consider the Lilies: Prolepsis and the Development of Complementation Authors: Fraser, Bruce L Abstract: In the paper, an examination is made of prolepsis in ancient Greek, concentrating on its grammatical and prosodic structure. The feature is analyzed not as a stylistic curiosity, but as a syntactically anacoluthic construction, which demonstrates a transitional phase in the development of finite subordination, when an expansion in the transitivity of reporting verbs was taking place. The proleptic element is interpreted as a 'building block' in the inter-clausal link, functioning syntactically in both clauses. The study is structural rather than historical, but a developmental sequence is inferred from the features of proleptic and other accusative constructions observed in Homeric and classical texts. Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk:80/handle/1810/198282 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z