Pronomen Abundans and Pronomen Coniunctum. A ... - DWC

78 PRONOMEN ABUNDANS AND PRONOMEN CONIUNCTUM
of Machairas the cases of relat. connection are just innumerable. '0 noioç,
apart from the Assizes and apart from the instances of the nominative
in the Ohronicle of Machairas, was used only in nonessential clauses.
This, combined with the fact that its use in the relat. connection is so
frequent, can mean only one thing: the sense of ó noioç was too strongly
anaphoric to be used in essential clauses. Sometimes, especially in cases
of relat. connection, one gets the impression that it resem bles more a
demonstrative than a relative pronoun! This feeling is only intensified,
when one considers the cases where ó noioç appears in combination with
a noun.
In the beginning there are only a few instances of ó noioç followed by
a resumpt. pronoun: one in the Ohron. Mor. and one in the Assizes.
This is not surprising : why should this declinable pronoun be followed
by a pronomen coniunctum 1 In the Ohronicle of Machairas the situation
has been changed entirely: 30 instances have been found! How can this
be explained 1 When we discover that 29 of these instances occur in
cases ofrelat. connection (4 cases of parenthesis among them) , our thoughts
fIy back to the period of the Koine (and before). We have seen that at
that time there appeared to exist a strong link between the phenomenon
of the pronomen abundans and that of relat. connection 254. And is not a
resumpt. pronoun preceded by a declinable relat. pronoun like ó noioç
also a pronomen abundans 1 Have we found here the link between the
pronomen abundans of Ancient Greek and Koine and the pronomen
coniunctum of Modern Greek 1
This supposition is incorrect, I think, and for the following reasons :
1. The previous history of the phenomenon is such that it is difficult
to believe that the occurrence of the resumpt. pronoun in the Ohronicle
of Machairas is the continuation of a use which was common so long ago :
why are there no more in stances in the Ohron. Mor. and the Assizes1
2. There are no instances of the nominative followed by a resumpt.
pronoun. Why not 1 In earl ier times one finds instances.
3. There are no instances of a prepositional phrase either. The texts
of the periods of Ancient Greek and the Koine do offer them.
Why then does the resumpt. pronoun occur primarily in cases of relat.
connection in the Ohronicle of Machairas (and in the two other texts) 1
This must have been caused by the strongly anaphoric, almost demonstrative
character of ó noioç itself. In early Modern Greek it is a very
common practica to repeat an object which for some reason or other has
been placed at the beginning of the sentence, by means of a pers. pronoun.
Some examples, taken at random from the text of Machairas, follow.
6,7-8 Tàv bi arav(Jàv TOV X(JlaTOV àrpij1Cev TOV elç Tà ayta nijv áytwv . ..
6,16-8 1CaL TO'Vç f3' aTav(Jovç... 1CaL Tà laT' aavtbla ... ëf3aA& Ta elç
\ ,
TO aeVTov1Ctv . ..
254 See I 1.4 and I 2.3.1.