Лингвофорум

From: grammenos dennis <ker...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.news.macedonia, soc.culture.greek
Subject: Re: To Dan, my Slav neighbor (was Re: Travel little bit harder)
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 10:32:09 -0600

On 22 Feb 1995, Jouko Lindstedt wrote:
> sa...@ccu.umanitoba.ca wrote:
...

I would like to thank Jouko Lindstedt for holding this impromptu
seminar on the topic of C&M's ethnicity.  Undoubtedly, it is very
educational for a great many readers of the list.
        If I may add my two cents:
Where the Vita mentions that "all Thessalonians speak PURE Slavic"
(Approximately: "... vy bo jesta Selunenina, da Selunene v'si
CHISTO slovyen'sky BESHEDUJUT') we have a couple of interesting points.

Point 1: Arguably, the word "chisto" might have been interchanged
        for the word "chesto."  As it stands now, "chisto" can be
        translated as "purely" or "clearly" (in Greek "eukrinws").
        "Chesto" carries the meaning of "often" and it allows a
        rather organic feeling to the clause, something which
        "chisto" might be lacking in. Perhaps a matter for further
        inquiry:-)  I recall seeing a dissertation on such a point
        in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). I'll try to find the
        reference and forward it:-)

Point 2: What is quite curious is the peculiar use of the verb
        for "speak".  The text uses the verb "besyedovati"  when
        it could have done well with either "glagolati" or
        "govoriti".  Both these latter verbs indicate speech
        as a biological function, i.e. the ability to articulate
        speech. As such it was used to convey the meaning of a
        "mother tongue" or of "household speech"
        We know that in the 9th century the Slavic tongue was
        pretty much atuned to utilizing specific verb forms to
        describing specific actions.  There had not yet occurred
        the phenomenon whereby a more generic verb would be
        substituted and the more specific verb would atrophy and
        fade.
        Now, to say "besyedovati" was to say "to stand outside the
        house" hence "to gather together", "to partake of a gathering".
        * Look up "beseda" in any good etymological dictionary of
        Slavic
        ** Also look up C.D. Buck, "Words of Speaking and Saying in
        the Indo-European Languages", American Journal of Philology,
        XXXVI, n. 141, pp. 1-18 and n.142, pp. 125-154.
       
        The question is why does the text skip over two perfect
        candidates to go to a third which has less of a fit?
        It is obvious that the selection was not accidental!
        The text meant to indicate that the brothers were adept
        at using Slavic in conversation in public places although
        that might not have been their "mother tongue" or
        "household speech".
        (Here, M. Petrov-Slodnjak, "Die Slavischen Verba Dicendi",
        in Die Slavischen Sprachen 7 (1984), pp. 21-26, might be
        quite helpful.)
       
        We may conclude that Slavic was a common enough "lingua
        della strada" for the residents of Thessaloniki, and that
        the Greeks of the city were often enough able to converse
        with their Slav neighbors in public places using their
        idiom.  This conclusion is supported by the work of many
        scholars and it is attested to by Johannes Caminiatae in
        "De expugnatione Thessalonicae".

        We may also conclude that the brothers were not Slavs
        because Slavic was not indicated as their "mother tongue"
        or "household speech".  We may draw upon our conclusion
        and arrive at a further conclusion that the brothers
        were Greek.  Certainly, there is absolutely nothing in
        the sources and evidence that would preclude that
        probability.
        Do see A.-E. Tachiaos, "L'origine de Cyrille et de
        Methode: Verite et legende dans les sources Slavs" in
        "Cyrillomethodianum II" (1972-73), pp. 98-140.

It is truly an interesting topic.  Unfortunately the interest in it has
risen out of modern-day ethnopolitical contentions and not out of
interest in the topic per se:-)

**************************** 
* Dennis Grammenos         *
* ker...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu *