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Document Details :

Title: An Application of the Dionysian Ars in Armenian Medieval Scholiography
Author(s): VARDAZARYAN, Olga
Journal: Revue des Études Arméniennes
Volume: 39    Date: 2020   
Pages: 73-90
DOI: 10.2143/REA.39.0.3288966

Abstract :
Among the duties of the grammarian in the ancient sense of the word, according to Dionysius Thrax, was the 'easily understandable explanation of glosses'. Our study is based on the extensive collection of scholia to the Armenian translations of works of Philo of Alexandria. They are from the 13th-14th centuries; most of them are paraphrases designed for facilitating perception of the 'hellenizing' text. It is a kind of a new word for word translation, although not always complete and not always accurate. It is noteworthy, however, that the scholiast does not pay attention to the unusual 'hellenizing' constructions and lexems; in other words, this kind of Armenian language is not perceived by him as something alien. Conversely, the scholiast has fixed vulgar or dialectal forms of his own language. Particularly valuable are comments on the dialectal provenance of certain words, for they possibly show the location of the given translation. It is also noteworthy that the scholiast comments on some unusual words, rooted in modern Armenian.

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