Open AccessThe Prayer. Structure and Universe of Discourse
Author(s) -
Nadia Obrocea
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
analele universităţii de vest din timişoara. seria ştiinţe filologice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1224-967X
DOI - 10.35923/autfil.59.04
Subject(s) - prayer , meaning (existential) , linguistics , articulation (sociology) , epistemology , philosophy , theology , politics , political science , law
The prayer is a particular type of text, with a particular structure and a specific purpose. This paper aims to address the prayer from the perspective of text linguistics developed by Eugeniu Coșeriu, analyzing the textual structure of the prayer and, in particular, one of the specific mechanisms that contribute to the articulation of its meaning, i.e. the relative clause. The starting point of our approach – and its fundamental theoretical landmark – is the study of Eugeniu Coșeriu Orationis fundamenta. The Prayer as a Text, in which Eugeniu Coșeriu analyzes the prayer Our Father from the viewpoint of text linguistics as hermeneutics of the meaning (Coșeriu 2010). This paper indicates that relative clauses have a special status within the textual structure of the prayer. In terms of semantics, it can be emphasized that relative clauses have a significant role in articulating textual meaning, therefore in the intrinsic functionality of the text. The concept of the “universe of discourse”, which represents a system of meaning that grants validity and meaning (Coșeriu 2013, 69), also becomes a relevant landmark to our research.