Scenarios, Discourse, and Translation 2
came and fell before him and told him the whole truth.” Why was she afraid? What was the “whole truth”? Something is obviously going on here, but we are not told what it is.
And if we do know what it is, on what theoretical basis should we add it to the text when we translate?
Sometimes we are given clues to understand why characters act the way they do, but we do not spot them. Instead, we infer our own reasons, from our own viewpoint, e.g. in
Luke 10:25–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, why did the priest and the Levite pass by on the other side? Most English readers conclude they were uncaring people, who did
not love their neighbour, unlike the Samaritan, who cared. But the text does not say Is it important to know why characters act as they do? What clues are in the text? If we know
why they acted in this way, should we “add” it to the text in a translation? Is there an applicable theory?
I believe that the theory of scenarios gives a theoretical basis for understanding and resolving all these problems.
0.3. Outline of study
The first section of this study discusses scenario theory, and investigates the nature of scenarios and their significance for understanding discourse.
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Chapter 1
surveys the development of scenario theory.
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Chapter 2
describes the structure and content of scenarios.
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Chapter 3
relates scenarios to the classification of information status, arguing for a connection between scenarios and Hearer-old information, and shows how
scenarios are significant in affecting grammatical and lexical choice and guiding readers in their understanding of text.
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Chapter 4
shows how scenarios provide structure and cohesion at discourse level and assist comprehension and memory.
The second section of this study concerns New Testament Greek, and investigates how the author’s scenarios can be deduced by analysing grammatical and lexical patterns
in the original texts.
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Chapter 5
investigates the relationship between scenarios and Greek Verb Phrases and tests the hypothesis that Participles are used for Hearer-old information.
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Chapter 6
investigates the relationship between scenarios and Greek Noun Phrases and tests the hypothesis that Hearer-new items are always anarthrous, and
the Greek article marks Hearer-old information, with anarthrous exceptions indicating salience.
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Chapter 7
identifies various other grammatical forms which refer to Hearer-old information.
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Chapter 8
explores the link between scenarios and lexical cohesion.
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Chapter 9
shows how scenario theory can be used in discourse analysis of the New Testament.
The third section of this study concerns the Parkari language, and investigates how Parkari scenarios are reflected in the grammar and lexicon of Parkari texts. The chapters
directly correspond to those in the Greek section.
0. Introduction 3
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Chapter 10
investigates the relationship between scenarios and Parkari Verb Phrases and tests the hypothesis that Nonfinal Verb Forms are used for Hearer-old
information.
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Chapter 11
investigates the relationship between scenarios and Parkari Noun Phrases and tests the hypothesis that salient Hearer-new items are always
identified by a specific salience marker along with the noun, whereas nouns without that salience marker refer to Hearer-old items or nonsalient Hearer-new
items.
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Chapter 12
identifies various other grammatical forms which refer to Hearer-old information.
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Chapter 13
explores the link between scenarios and lexical cohesion.
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Chapter 14
shows how scenario theory can be used in discourse analysis of Parkari texts.
The final section of this study concerns translation, and shows how scenario theory can be used both to identify causes of miscommunication in translation and to provide
possible solutions.
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Chapter 15
shows how scenario theory helps provide a sound theoretical underpinning for widely accepted translation principles.
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Chapter 16
investigates the mismatch between scenarios in New Testament Greek and modern Parkari, and gives examples of how this results in
miscommunication.
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Chapter 17
uses scenario theory to provide a theoretical basis for certain trans- lation principles which can be used to counteract scenario mismatch, and gives
examples of the use of these principles in the Parkari translation of the New Testament.
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Chapter 18
provides a summary showing the significance of scenario theory for communication, discourse analysis, and translation.
0.4. Conventions used for terminology, transcriptions, and glosses
