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Greek emphatic pronouns

ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
in Kerygmania
The commentary I am reading on St Mark's Gospel has been noting various pronouns are emphatic. I took that to mean they were emphasised somehow.

After reaching the Garden and the "not what I will" where this was stated again I realised I don't know what it means for a pronoun to be emphasised. A quick search told me it is to do with contrast or focus, but how does that differ from an English pronoun? For example, the "I" above indicates it's Christ. Not someone else there. So I'm confused as to what the Greek one does. Is it just really emphasising? a literary device? something else?

Thanks for bearing with my ignorance or dimness...or both.

Comments

  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    The Greek is
    ἀλλ’ οὐ τί ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλὰ τί σύ.
    and it is the ἐγὼ θέλω (ego thelo) which translates as ‘I will’. But θέλω by itself means ‘I will’ so the ἐγὼ, ‘I’, is emphatic.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    It's the same in Portuguese and, I guess, in other languages where the verb ending indicates the speaking. A common mistake made by English-speaking learners is to keep inserting the pronoun when it isn't required.
  • MrsBeakyMrsBeaky Shipmate
    Baptist Trainfan wrote: »
    It's the same in Portuguese and, I guess, in other languages where the verb ending indicates the speaking. A common mistake made by English-speaking learners is to keep inserting the pronoun when it isn't required.

    Yes, it's the same in Kiswahili. As is the use of emphatic pronouns- too often and you sound almost self-obsessed!
    I was very grateful for my grounding in classical languages when we tackled language learning in Kenya.
  • TurquoiseTasticTurquoiseTastic Kerygmania Host
    I suppose that if you want to do this in English you have to explicitly emphasise the pronoun as in: "The group needs a secretary. I myself will be the secretary".
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    MrsBeaky wrote: »
    Baptist Trainfan wrote: »
    It's the same in Portuguese and, I guess, in other languages where the verb ending indicates the speaking. A common mistake made by English-speaking learners is to keep inserting the pronoun when it isn't required.

    Yes, it's the same in Kiswahili. As is the use of emphatic pronouns- too often and you sound almost self-obsessed!
    I was very grateful for my grounding in classical languages when we tackled language learning in Kenya.

    Kind of a tangent here. I had a very good friend from Kenya when I was in Seminary. In fact, he was my best man at my wedding. Sammi went on to teach psychology at the University of Nyrobi. Have lost contact with him many years ago.

    End of Tangent.
  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    TurquoiseTastic wrote: »
    I suppose that if you want to do this in English you have to explicitly emphasise the pronoun as in: "The group needs a secretary. I myself will be the secretary".

    Yes. Or “I , even I, alone escaped to tell you.” But Greek can do it just by adding the pronoun when the sentence already makes perfect sense without it.
  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    TurquoiseTastic wrote: »
    I suppose that if you want to do this in English you have to explicitly emphasise the pronoun as in: "The group needs a secretary. I myself will be the secretary".

    Interestingly myself was what was added to the text (shown in italics) in such instances.


    Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and informing me. I myself, even I, ;) appreciate it.
  • jay_emmjay_emm Kerygmania Host
    Shows that translating is a skill.
    I wonder what the English equivalent is.
    Possibly something with tenses, in fact there I think we've got more than Hebrew (or Greek?).
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