Category Archive: Advanced

Identifying prototypes: What’s your gut say?

In an article titled, “Where does prototypicality come from?” Dirk Geeraerts(2007:176–77) provides a number of factors that beget this phenomenon; and when it comes to identifying the prototypical usage of a word he discusses how introspection can prove useful.

Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar 2.0: Q&A with Prof Christo van der Merwe

Eighteen years ago Christo van der Merwe et. al published a Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. At the time it introduced some important areas of study that had not yet been covered in BH grammars, such as word order variation. Now, van der Merwe and Naudé are back with a substantially augmented second edition. Read on to learn more about this edition from Christo and what he’s up to next.

First Impressions of Cognitive Linguistics (or, Hurdles for the Biblical Scholar-Linguist)

As one krɪs wraps up his PhD another begins his own. (More details about that later). All that to say, as I’ve been getting familiar with the linguistic literature around which my own dissertation will revolve I’m just struck by how much—again—there is to learn, and similarly, how much there is I want to share. Most recently I came across an interesting section of an article that’s likely relevant for many biblical scholars who find themselves interested in dabbling with linguistics, and with the program of Cognitive Linguistics in particular.So without further ado, I give you the words of Geeraerts (2006:40–42)—he who has ears let him hear…