Original scientific paper
Interjections in the Croatian Glagolitic texts
Ana Kovačević
Abstract
The article deals with the form, content, meaning and the stylistic role of interjections in the sources used for the Dictionary of the Church Slavic Language of the Croatian Redaction. The Croatian Glagolitic texts have been compared with the Old Church Slavic cannon as well as with the interjections of the modern Croatian language. The interjections are classified in groups according to the semantic and functional criteria. The first group consists of interjections with the liturgical purpose, adoration and greeting function: allelue, amenь, osanьna, ave.
The first three may change into a noun and become an essential part of the sentence structure. In the second group there are interjections of joyful greeting: ove and vita. The last one is especially interesting as an expressional
dominant of the Deacon Juri’s notice by which he announced and greeted the first Croatian incunabulum. It has never been attested anywhere except in the Juri’s notation. The interjection of affirmation ei and the interjection of self affirmation, self awareness and tense expectation ava belong to a separate group. The interjections of calling, addressing and directing the
message recipient to someone, or to something, are the following: o, the interjection with the most numerous appearances in the Croatian Glagolitic texts, and then ole/ole and de. Interjections vaha and uva had a mocking
role. They are taken from the donor languages, Latin and Greek, exclusively in the secondary meaning characterized by an ironical motion. The interjections of lamenting constitute the most numerous group consisting of eight interjections: a, gore, ĵo, oime, oh’, uvi, eo, ju. Most frequently they anteceded the noun-word in Dative. Among them the interjection oh’ is especially interesting as it is written with the semivowel which shows that the Glagolitic scribes regarded interjections in the same way as all other
words. It is not so in the contemporary linguistics. The interjection analysis shows also that the Glagolitic translators were often translating interjections from the Greek or Latin source giving them a different meaning and usage, and in some cases they inserted interjections in the places where they do not belong in the source from which they were translating. The interjections appear not only in the direct speech but also in the impersonal texts deprived
of context where one would hardly expect them, for example in the historical reports, the juridical sources and the liturgical rubrics. In such positions they are the precious indicators of involvement, creativity and personality of our
Glagoljaši.
Keywords
interjections; Croatian Glagolitic texts; Croatian Church Slavic language
Hrčak ID:
31564
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2008.
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