Tempus: The World of Discussion and the World of Narration

By Herald Weinrich and Harald Weinrich

Book Overview

WINNER, SCAGLIONE PRIZE FOR A TRANSLATION OF A SCHOLARLY STUDY OF LITERATURE, MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION

A foundational book by one of the most distinguished German humanists of the last half century, Tempus joins cultural linguistics and literary interpretation at the hip. Developing two controversial theses--that sentences are not truly meaningful in isolation from their contexts and that verb tenses are primarily indicators not of time but of the attitude of the speaker or writer--Tempus surveys a dazzling array of ancient and modern texts from famous authors as well as casual speakers of German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, and English, with a final chapter extending the observations to Greek, Russian, and world languages.

A classic in German and long available in many other languages, Tempus launched a new discipline, text linguistics, and established a unique career that was marked by precise observation, sensitive cultural outreach, and practical engagement with the situation of migrants. Weinrich's robust and lucid close readings of famous and little-known authors from all the major languages of western Europe expand our literary horizons and challenge our linguistic understanding.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1531503349
• ISBN13: 9781531503345
• Release Date: February 2024
• Publisher: Fordham University Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"