The non-literary Latin letters. A study of their syntax and pragmatics

This dissertation studies the language of Latin letters that were written in Egypt and Vindolanda (in northern Britain) during the period 1st century BC 3rd century AD on papyri, ostraca, and wooden tablets. The majority of the texts is, in one way or another, connected with the Roman army. The focus of the study is on syntax and pragmatics. Besides traditional philological methods, modern syntactic theory is used as well, especially in the pragmatic analysis. The study begins with a critical survey of certain concepts that are current in the research on the Latin language, most importantly the concept of vulgar Latin , which, it is argued, seems to be used as an abstract noun for variation and change in Latin . Further, it is necessary to treat even the non-literary material primarily as written texts and not as straightforward reflections of spoken language. An examination of letter phraseology shows that there is considerable variation between the two major geographical areas of provenance. Latin letter writing in Egypt was influenced by Greek. The study highlights the importance of seeing the letters as a text type, with recurring phraseological elements appearing in the body text as well. It is argued that recognising these elements is essential for the correct analysis of the syntax. Three areas of syntax are discussed in detail: sentence connection (mainly parataxis), syntactically incoherent structures and word order (the order of the object and the verb). For certain types of sentence connection we may plausibly posit an origin in spoken Latin, but for many other linguistic phenomena attested in this material the issue of spoken Latin is anything but simple. Concerning the study of historical syntax, the letters offer information about the changing status of the accusative case. Incoherent structures may reflect contaminations in spoken language but usually the reason for them is the inability of the writer to put his thoughts into writing, especially when there is something more complicated to be expressed. Many incoherent expressions reflect the need to start the predication with a thematic constituent. Latin word order is seen as resulting from an interaction of syntactic and pragmatic factors. The preference for an order where the topic is placed sentence-initially can be seen in word order more generally as well. Furthermore, there appears a difference between Egypt and Vindolanda. The letters from Vindolanda show the order O(bject) V(erb) clearly more often than the letters from Egypt. Interestingly, this difference correlates with another, namely the use of the anaphoric pronoun is. This is an interesting observation in view of the fact that both of these are traditional Latin features, as opposed to those that foreshadow the Romance development (VO order and use of the anaphoric ille). However, it is difficult to say whether this is an indication of social or regional variation.

The Phraseology and Structure of Latin Building Inscriptions in Roman North Africa

This study analyses the diction of Latin building inscriptions. Despite its importance, this topic has rarely been discussed before: the most substantial contribution on the subject is a short dissertation by Klaus Gast (1965) that focuses on 100 inscriptions dating mostly from the Republican period. Marietta Horster (2001) also touched upon this theme in her thesis on imperial building inscriptions. I have collected my source material in North Africa because more Latin building inscriptions dating from the Imperial period have survived there than in any other area of the Roman Empire. By means of a thorough and independent survey, I have assembled all relevant African Latin building inscriptions datable to the Roman period (between 146 BC and AD 425), 1002 texts, into a corpus. These inscriptions are all fully edited in Appendix 1; Appendix 2 contains references to earlier editions. To facilitate search operations, both are also available in electronic form. They are downloadable from the address http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/kla/htm/jatkoopinnot.htm. Chapter one is an introduction dealing with the nature of building inscriptions as source material. Chapter two offers a statistical overview of the material. The following main section of the work falls into five chapters, each of which analyses one main part of a building inscription. An average building inscription can be divided into five parts: the starting phrase opens the inscription (a dedication to gods, for example), the subject part identifies the builder, the object part describes the constructed or repaired building, the predicate part records the building activity and the supplement part offers additional information on the project (it can specify the funding, for instance). These chapters are systematic and chronological and their purpose is to register and interpret the phrases used, to analyse reasons for their use and for their popularity among the different groups of builders. Chapter eight, which follows the main section of the work, creates a typology of building inscriptions based on their structure. It also presents the most frequently attested types of building inscriptions. The conclusion describes, on a general level, how the diction of building inscriptions developed during the period of study and how this striking development resulted from socio-economic changes that took place in Romano-African society during Antiquity. This study shows that the phraseology of building inscriptions had a clear correlation both with the type of builder and with the date of carving. Private builders tended to accentuate their participation (especially its financial side) in the project; honouring the emperor received more emphasis in the building inscriptions set up by communities; the texts produced by the army were concise. The chronological development is so clear that it enables stylistic dating. At the beginning of the imperial period the phrases were clear, concrete, formal and stereotyped but by Late Antiquity they have become vague, subjective, flexible, varied and even rhetorically or poetically coloured.

Non-finite constructions in Old English : with special reference to syntactic borrowing from Latin

My dissertation is a corpus-based study of non-finite constructions in Old English (OE). It revisits the question of Latin influence on the OE syntax, offering a new evaluation of syntactic interference between Latin and OE, and, more generally, of the contact situation in the OE period, drawing on methods used in studying grammaticalization and language contact. I address three non-finite constructions: absolute participial construction, accusative-and-infinitive construction, and nominative-and-infinitive construction, exemplified respectively in present-day English as - She looked like a pixie sometimes, her eyes darting here and there, forever watchful (BNC CCM 98); - My first acquaintance with her was when I heard her sing (BNC CFY 2215); - Charles the Bald was said to resemble his grandfather physically (BNC HPT 175). This study compares data from translated texts against the background of original OE writings, establishing dependencies and differences between the two. Although the contrastive analysis of source and target texts is one of the major methods employed in the study, translation and translation strategies as such are only my secondary foci. The emphasis is rather on what source/target comparison can tell us about the OE non-finite syntax and the typological differences between Latin and OE in this domain, and on whether contact-induced change can originate in translation. In terms of theoretical framework, I have adopted functional-typological approach, which rests on the principles of iconicity and event integration, and to the best of my knowledge, has not been applied systematically to OE non-finite constructions. Therefore one more aim of the dissertation is to test this framework and to see how OE fits into the cross-linguistic picture of non-finites. My research corpus consists of two samples: 1) written OE closely dependent on the Latin originals, based on editions of two gloss texts, five translations, and Latin originals of these texts, representing four text types: hymns, religious regulations, homily/life narrative, and biblical narrative (180,622 words); and 2) written OE as far independent from Latin as possible, based on a selection from the York-Toronto-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English Prose (YCOE) and representing five text types: laws, charters, correspondence, chronicle narrative, and homily/life narrative (274,757 words).

Effects of seed origin latitude on the timing of height growth cessation and field performance of silver birch

The aim of this thesis was to increase our knowledge about the effects of seed origin on the timing of height growth cessation and field performance of silver birch from different latitudes, with special attention paid to the browsing damage by moose in young birch plantations. The effect of seed origin latitude and sowing time on timing of height growth cessation of first-year seedlings was studied in a greenhouse experiment with seven seed origins (lat. 58º - 67ºN). Variation in critical night length (CNL) for 50 % bud set within two latitudinally distant stands (60º and 67ºN) was studied in three phytotron experiments. Browsing by moose on 5-11 -year-old silver birch saplings from latitudinally different seed origins (53º - 67ºN) was studied in a field experiment in southern Finland. Yield and stem quality of 22-year-old silver birch trees of Baltic, Finnish and Russian origin (54º - 63ºN) and the effect of latitudinal seed transfers were studied in two provenance trials at Tuusula, southern and Viitasaari, central Finland. The timing of height growth cessation depended systematically on latitude of seed origin and sowing date. The more northern the seed origin, the earlier the growth cessation and the shorter the growth period. Later sowing dates delayed growth cessation but also shortened the growth period. The mean CNL of the southern ecotype was longer, 6.3 ± 0.2 h (95 % confidence interval), than that of the northern ecotype, 3.1 ± 0.3 h. Within-ecotype variance of the CNL was higher in the northern ecotype (0.484 h2) than in the southern ecotype (0.150 h2). Browsing by moose decreased with increasing latitude of seed origin and sapling height. Origins transferred from more southern latitudes were more heavily browsed than the more northern native ones. Southern Finnish seed origins produced the highest volume per unit area in central Finland (lat. 63º11'N). Estonian and north Latvian stand seed origins, and the southern Finnish plus tree origins, were the most productive ones in southern Finland (lat. 60º21'N). Latitudinal seed transfer distance had a significant effect on survival, stem volume/ha and proportion of trees with a stem defect. The relationship of both survival and stem volume/ha to the latitudinal seed transfer distance was curvilinear. Volume was increased by transferring seed from ca. 2 degrees of latitude from the south. A longer transfer from the south, and transfer from the north, decreased the yield. The proportion of trees with a stem defect increased linearly in relation to the latitudinal seed transfer distance from the south.

The Mediated Immediacy : João Batista Libanio and the Question of Latin American Liberation Theology

This study is a systematic analysis of mediated immediacy in the production of the Brazilian professor of theology João Batista Libanio. He stresses both ethical mediation and the immediate character of the faith. Libanio has sought an answer to the problem of science and faith. He makes use of the neo-scholastic distinction between matter and form. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God cannot be known as a scientific object, but it is possible to predicate a formal theological content of other subject matter with the help of revelation. This viewpoint was emphasized in neo-Thomism and supported by the liberation theologians. For them, the material starting point was social science. It becomes a theologizable or revealable (revelabile) reality. This social science has its roots in Latin American Marxism which was influenced by the school of Louis Althusser and considered Marxism a science of history . The synthesis of Thomism and Marxism is a challenge Libanio faced, especially in his Teologia da libertação from 1987. He emphasized the need for a genuinely spiritual and ethical discernment, and was particularly critical of the ethical implications of class struggle. Libanio s thinking has a strong hermeneutic flavor. It is more important to understand than to explain. He does not deny the need for social scientific data, but that they cannot be the exclusive starting point of theology. There are different readings of the world, both scientific and theological. A holistic understanding of the nature of religious experience is needed. Libanio follows the interpretation given by H. C. de Lima Vaz, according to whom the Hegelian dialectic is a rational circulation between the totality and its parts. He also recalls Oscar Cullmann s idea of God s Kingdom that is already and not yet . In other words, there is a continuous mediation of grace into the natural world. This dialectic is reflected in ethics. Faith must be verified in good works. Libanio uses the Thomist fides caritate formata principle and the modern orthopraxis thinking represented by Edward Schillebeeckx. One needs both the ortho of good faith and the praxis of the right action. The mediation of praxis is the mediation of human and divine love. Libanio s theology has strong roots in the Jesuit spirituality that places the emphasis on contemplation in action.

Peroxidases in lignifying xylem of Norway spruce, Scots pine and silver birch

Lignin is a complex plant polymer synthesized through co-operation of multiple intracellular and extracellular enzymes. It is deposited to plant cell walls in cells where additional strength or stiffness are needed, such as in tracheary elements (TEs) in xylem, supporting sclerenchymal tissues and at the sites of wounding. Class III peroxidases (POXs) are secreted plant oxidoreductases with implications in many physiological processes such as the polymerization of lignin and suberin and auxin catabolism. POXs are able to oxidize various substrates in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, including lignin monomers, monolignols, thus enabling the monolignol polymerization to lignin by radical coupling. Trees produce large amounts of lignin in secondary xylem of stems, branches and roots. In this study, POXs of gymnosperm and angiosperm trees were studied in order to find POXs which are able to participate in lignin polymerization in developing secondary xylem i.e. are located at the site of lignin synthesis in tree stems and have the ability to oxidize monolignol substrates. Both in the gymnosperm species, Norway spruce and Scots pine, and in the angiosperm species silver birch the monolignol oxidizing POX activities originating from multiple POX isoforms were present in lignifying secondary xylem in stems during the period of annual growth. Most of the partially purified POXs from Norway spruce and silver birch xylem had highest oxidation rate with coniferyl alcohol, the main monomer in guaiacyl-lignin in conifers. The only exception was the most anionic POX fraction from silver birch, which clearly preferred sinapyl alcohol, the lignin monomer needed in the synthesis of syringyl-guaiacyl lignin in angiosperm trees. Three full-length pox cDNAs px1, px2 and px3 were cloned from the developing xylem of Norway spruce. It was shown that px1 and px2 are expressed in developing tracheids in spruce seedlings, whereas px3 transcripts were not detected suggesting low transcription level in young trees. The amino acid sequences of PX1, PX2 and PX3 were less than 60% identical to each other but showed up to 84% identity to other known POXs. They all begin with predicted N-terminal secretion signal (SS) peptides. PX2 and PX3 contained additional putative vacuolar localization determinants (VSDs) at C-terminus. Transient expression of EGFP-fusions of the SS- and VSD-peptides in tobacco protoplasts showed SS-peptides directed EGFP to secretion in tobacco cells, whereas only the PX2 C-terminal peptide seems to be a functional VSD. According to heterologous expression of px1 in Catharanthus roseus hairy roots, PX1 is a guaicol-oxidizing POX with isoelectric point (pI) approximately 10, similar to monolignol oxidizing POXs in protein extracts from Norway spruce lignifying xylem. Hence, PX1 has characteristics for participation to monolignol dehydrogenation in lignin synthesis, whereas the other two spruce POXs seem to have some other functions. Interesting topics in future include functional characterization of syringyl compound oxidizing POXs and components of POX activity regulation in trees.

Discursive (de)legitimation of a contested Finnish greenfield investment project in Latin America

Despite the central role of legitimacy in corporate social responsibility debate, little is known of subtle meaning-making processes through which social actors attempt to establish or de-establish legitimacy for socially contested corporate undertakings, and through which they, at the same time, struggle to define the proper social role and responsibility of corporations. We investigated these processes in the context of the intense socio-political conflict around the Finnish forest industry company Metsa¨-Botnia’s world-scale pulp mill in Uruguay. A critical discursive analysis of Finnish media texts highlights three types of struggle that characterized the media coverage: legalistic argumentation, truth fights, and political battles. Interestingly, this case illustrates how the corporate representatives — with the help of the national media — tend to frame the issue in legalistic terms, emphasize their expert knowledge in technical and environmental evaluations, and distance themselves from political disputes. We argue that similar tendencies are likely to characterize corporate social responsibility debates more generally.

Root system traits of Norway spruce, Scots pine, and silver birch in mixed boreal forests: an analysis of root architecture, morphology, and anatomy

The aim of this thesis was to unravel the functional-structural characteristics of root systems of Betula pendula Roth., Picea abies (L.) Karst., and Pinus sylvestris L. in mixed boreal forest stands differing in their developmental stage and site fertility. The root systems of these species had similar structural regularities: horizontally-oriented shallow roots defined the horizontal area of influence, and within this area, each species placed fine roots in the uppermost soil layers, while sinker roots defined the maximum rooting depth. Large radial spread and high ramification of coarse roots, and the high specific root length (SRL) and root length density (RLD) of fine roots indicated the high belowground competitiveness and root plasticity of B. pendula. Smaller radial root spread and sparser branching of coarse roots, and low SRL and RLD of fine roots of the conifers could indicate their more conservative resource use and high association with and dependence on ectomycorrhiza-forming fungi. The vertical fine root distributions of the species were mostly overlapping, implying the possibility for intense belowground competition for nutrients. In each species, conduits tapered and their frequency increased from distal roots to the stem, from the stem to the branches, and to leaf petioles in B. pendula. Conduit tapering was organ-specific in each species violating the assumptions of the general vascular scaling model (WBE). This reflects the hierarchical organization of a tree and differences between organs in the relative importance of transport, safety, and mechanical demands. The applied root model was capable of depicting the mass, length and spread of coarse roots of B. pendula and P. abies, and to the lesser extent in P. sylvestris. The roots did not follow self-similar fractal branching, because the parameter values varied within the root systems. Model parameters indicate differences in rooting behavior, and therefore different ecophysiological adaptations between species.

Differences in the climatic adaptation of silver birch (Betula pendula) and downy birch (B. pubescens) in Finland based on male flowering phenology.

Male flowering was studied at the canopy level in 10 silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) stands from 8 localities and in 14 downy birch (B. pubescens Ehrh.) stands from 10 localities in Finland from 1963 to 1973. Distributions of cumulative pollen catches were compared to the normal Gaussian distribution. The basis for the timing of flowering was the 50 per cent point of the anthesis-fitted normal distribution. To eliminate effects of background pollen, only the central, normally distributed part of the cumulative distribution was used. Development up to the median point of the distribution was measured and tested in calendar days, in degree days (> 5 °C) and in period units. The count of each parameter began on and included March 19. Male flowering in silver birch occurred from late April to late June depending on latitude, and flowering in downy birch took place from early May to early July. The heat sums needed for male flowering varied in downy birch stands latitudinally but there was practically no latitudinal variation in heat sums needed for silver birch flowering. The amount of male flowering in stands of both birch species were found to have a large annual variation but without any clear periodicity. The between years pollen catch variation in stands of either birch species did not show any significant latitudinal correlation in contrast to Norway spruce stands. The period unit heat sum gave the most accurate forecast of the timing of flowering for 60 per cent of the silver birch stands and for 78.6 per cent of the for downy birch stands. Calendar days, however, gave the best forecast for silver birch in 25 per cent of the cases, while degree days gave the best forecast for downy birch in 21.4 per cent of the cases. Silver birch seems to have a local inclination for a more fixed flowering date compared to downy birch, which could mean a considerable photoperiodic influence on flowering time of silver birch. Silver birch and downy birch had different geographical correlations. Frequent hybridization of birch species occurs more often in northern Finland in than in more southern latitudes. The different timing in flowering caused increasing scatter in flowering times in the north, especially in the case of downy birch. The chance of simultaneous flowering of silver birch and downy birch so increased northwards due to a more variable climate and also higher altitudinal variations. Compared with conifers, the reproduction cycles of both birch species were found to be well protected from damage by frost.