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Question

I' m taking a course named ' Past , Present and Future of English' in university. Please comment the followings respectively. Thanks.

1. Discuss the claim that the tendency towards standardization
within English has usually been interrupted by tendencies
towards diversification.

2. Can English be considered as a truly global language?

3. Describe some of the ways people use English to achieve
certain goals.

4. What factors motivate an individual speaker to use different
varieties of English, or switch between English and another
language?

5. Is it possible to make a clear distinction between 'high' forms of
literary art such as poems and drama and 'popular' literary
forms such as advertisements and songs?

Answer 1

1

Diversification

A risk-management technique that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio. The rationale behind this technique contends that a portfolio of different kinds of investments will, on average, yield higher returns and pose a lower risk than any individual investment found within the portfolio.

Diversification strives to smooth out unsystematic risk events in a portfolio so that the positive performance of some investments will neutralize the negative performance of others. Therefore, the benefits of diversification will hold only if the securities in the portfolio are not perfectly correlated.




Studies and mathematical models have shown that maintaining a well-diversified portfolio of 25 to 30 stocks will yield the most cost-effective amount of risk reduction. Investing in more securities will still yield further diversification benefits, albeit at a drastically smaller rate.

Further diversification benefits can be gained by investing in foreign securities because they tend be less closely correlated to domestic investments. For example, an economic downturn in the U.S. economy may not affect Japan's economy in the same way. Therefore, having Japanese investments would allow an investor to have a small cushion of protection against losses due to an American economic downturn.

Most non-institutional investors have a limited investment budget, and may find it difficult to create an adequately diversified portfolio. This fact alone can explain why mutual funds have been increasing in popularity. Buying shares in a mutual fund can provide investors with an inexpensive source of diversification.


2

English as a Global Language
David Crystal
Cambridge University Press 1997
A book review by Danny Yee © 1997 http://dannyreviews.com/
Crystal begins English as a Global Language by asking what it means for a language to be global, and what the advantages and disadvantages of having a global language are. In three chapters he then traces the rise of English to that status. The first surveys the extent of its use around the world and briefly outlines the history of its spread. The second examines some nineteenth century ideas about the place of English in the world and the foundations for its success laid by the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution. The third describes the cultural legacy that underpins the present dominance of English — its use in diplomacy and international communications, in the media (Hollywood, popular music, books), in education, and on the Internet. The final chapter looks at the future of English as a global language, focusing on debates about its status within the United States and the possibility of its fragmentation into regional dialects (Crystal suggests these might end up coexisting with some form of "World Standard Spoken English").
With just 150 pages to cover such a broad topic, superficiality is hardly avoidable. (The maps could easily have been improved on, however: most are unexciting political maps with no information an ordinary atlas wouldn't have.) Those with a reasonable background in modern history and general politics will find nothing substantially new in English as a Global Language. Many of the details may be unfamiliar, however, and it is instructive to have them all pulled together. Crystal is, in any event, writing for the broadest possible popular audience — and he has succeeded in producing an accessible and enticing treatment of his subject.

http://dannyreviews.com/h/English_Global_Language.html

3

Yahoo Answers

4

Slang necessarily involves deviation from standard language, and tends to be very popular among adolescents. To one degree or another, however, it is used in all sectors of society. Although slang does not necessarily involve neologisms (some slang expressions, such as quid, are very old), it often involves the creation of new linguistic forms or the creative adaptation of old ones. It can even involve the creation of a secret language (perhaps the origins of the word: secret language) understood only by those within a particular group (an antilanguage). As such, slang frequently forms a kind of sociolect aimed at excluding certain people from the conversation. Slang words tend to function initially as a means of encryption, so that the non-initiate cannot understand the conversation. The use of slang is a means of recognizing members of the same group, and to differentiate that group from society at large. In addition to this, slang can be used and created purely for humorous or expressive effect.

Slang terms are frequently particular to a certain subculture, such as musicians, skateboarders, and members of a minority. All the same, slang expressions can spread outside their original arena and become commonly understood; recent examples include "wicked" and "cool". While some such words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers. In spite of this, the process tends to lead to their replacement by other, less well-recognised, expressions by their original users.

Slang is to be distinguished from jargon, the technical vocabulary of a particular profession, as the association of informality is not present. Moreover, jargon may not be intended to exclude non-group members from the conversation, but rather deals with technical peculiarities of a given field which require a specialized vocabulary.

According to Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter[1], slang shares at least two of the following traits:

It is markedly lower in prestige than Standard English.
It tends to appear first in the language of groups with low status, who may have little power or responsibility.
It is often taboo and unlikely to be used by people of high status.
It tends to displace conventional terms, either as a shorthand or as a defense against perceptions associated with the conventional term.

[edit] Functions and origins of slang
One use of slang is simply to shity and circumvent social taboos. Mainstream language tends to shy away from everything explicitly evoking certain realities, and slang can permit one to talk about these realities, whether euphemistically or not. For this reason, slang vocabularies are particularly rich in certain domains, such as sexuality, violence, crime, and drugs. They can be quite regional, and in the case of easily parodied examples, short-lived, such a 'val-speak'.

Alternatively, slang can grow out of mere familiarity with the things described. Among Californian wine connoisseurs, Cabernet Sauvignon might be known as "Cab", Chardonnay as "Chard" and so on [2]; this means that naming the different wines expends less superfluous effort. It also serves as a shared code among connoisseurs.

There is not just one slang, but very many varieties — or dialects — of it. Different social groups in different times have developed their own slang. The importance of encryption and identity, of having a secret code or language, varies between these instances. For slang to maintain its power as a means of encryption, it must constantly renew its process of expression, so that those not part of the group will remain unable to understand it. Many slang words are replaced, as speakers get bored of them, or they are co-opted by those outside the group. For this reason, the existence of slang dictionaries reduces the perceived usefulness of certain slang words to those who use them.

Numerous slang terms pass into informal mainstream speech, and thence sometimes into mainstream formal speech, perhaps changing somewhat in meaning to become more acceptable.


[edit] Examples of slang
Historical examples of slang are the thieves' cant used by beggars and the underworld generally in previous centuries: a number of cant dictionaries were published, many based on that published by Thomas Harman.

Another famous example, still in use, is Cockney rhyming slang in which, in the simplest case, a given word or phrase is replaced by another word or phrase that rhymes with it. Often the rhyming replacement is abbreviated further, making the expressions even more obscure. A new rhyme may then be introduced for the abbreviation and the process continues. Examples of rhyming slang are apples and pears for stairs and trouble (and strife) for wife. An example of truncation and replacement of rhyming slang is bottle and glass for **** (***). This was reduced to bottle, for which the new rhyme Aristotle was found; Aristotle was then reduced to Aris for which plaster of Paris became the rhyme. This was then reduced to plaster.

Backwards slang, or Backslang, is a form of slang where words are reversed. English backward slang tends to reverse words letter by letter while French backward slang tends to reverse words by syllables. Verlan is a French slang that uses backward words, similar in its methods to the back slang. Louchebem is French butcher's slang, similar to Pig Latin. Vesre is the Río de la Plata's region version of a backwards language which reverses syllables; it is closely associated with lunfardo.

The usage of slang very often involves the creation of novel meanings for existing words. It is very common for such novel meanings to diverge significantly from the standard meaning. In fact, one common process is for a slang word to take on exactly the opposite meaning of the standard definition. This process has given rise to the positive meaning of the word 'bad' such as in the Michael Jackson song of the same title.

Leet Speak (Leet or "1337") is a language that is popular in online video games.

Nadsat is a form of slang used in the book A Clockwork Orange, which borrows words from Russian and from various types of English slang.

Polari is an interesting example of slang that drew on various sources, including Cockney and Italian. Polari was used in London fish markets and the gay subculture in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming more widely known from its use by two camp characters, Julian and Sandy, in Round the Horne, a popular radio show.

5

Between Tradition and Literary Art*
The Miracle Tradition in the Fourth Gospel



This paper is about the reception of the miracle tradition from a literary and compositional point of view. I have argued for the use of different literary techniques in the taking up miracle traditions by the Fourth Evangelist1. In using these traditions, the narrator creates different literary situations that serve different aims in the narrative whole. Sometimes, these new scenes are based on the formal structure of his tradition, but in the act of preserving this structure the author integrates the material into another narrative world. This literary creativity is in the service of a consistent hermeneutical strategy. By hearing or reading the narrative the reader is brought into contact with the narrated Jesus and with the life that he will bring according to his Father’s will. In the light of this meeting the reader is asked to believe in Jesus in order to get eternal life.

In this essay, I take up earlier observations made on the topic of the narration of the miracle stories in this gospel and combine them with my own observations to create a picture of the creativity of the Fourth Evangelist in using his tradition.

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I. Macrostructural Observations

1. Miracle and conflict

The portrait of the revealer in conflict with the world and its leadership is an important aspect of the literary and theological strategy of the narrative of the Fourth Gospel2. This corresponds to the programmatic words of the Logos hymn: "This (sc. the light that shines in the darkness [cf. John 1,5] and that the Baptist reports of [cf. John 1,8]) was the true light, that illuminates each person by coming into the cosmos. He was in the cosmos, and the cosmos was created through him (sc. the Logos [cf. v. 3], which is the true light), but the cosmos did not recognise him. He came into his own domain, but his own people did not accept him" (John 1,9-11).

The performance of the miracles plays an important narrative role in this growing conflict in the narrated world of the gospel3. This conflict is a fundamental aspect of the literary formation of the miracle tradition in the Fourth Gospel. The Sabbath conflict stories (John 5,2-18 and 9,1-41) as well as the self-revelation of Jesus as God’s gift of life to the world (John 6) lead to refusal and conflict. In John 6, this conflict is finally heightened into conflict between the followers of Jesus (John 6,66-71). It is possible that John 6,60-71 mirrors earlier or present controversies about christology within the Johannine community or between the Johannine community and opponents from the outside4. On the narrative level there is more strikingly a pastoral perspective appealing to the reader of the Gospel to believe like Peter (John 6,68)5. Peter gives the correct and

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exemplary answer to the question of Jesus in 6,5 with which the implied reader should agree.

This conflict connects the first part of the gospel with the passion and the resurrection narrative. ‘The Jews’, some of them or their religious leaders who are identified with the unbelieving world and who are stigmatized as the opponents of God’s will, seek to kill Jesus (in connection with the miracles cf. 5,18; 11,47-53). Therefore, this conflict belongs for the Fourth Evangelist so deeply to the nature of the revelation of the Son of God that finally the last miracle, the raising of Lazarus, leads to the formal decision to kill the revealer (11,47-53). The legal decision to kill Jesus underlines the connection between the miracles and the passion and resurrection of Jesus6. On one hand, this decision is based on all the miracles of Jesus: sunh/gagon ou]n oi( a)rxierei=j kai_ oi( Farisai=oi sune/drion kai_ e!legon, Ti/ poiou=men o#ti ou|toj o( a!nqrwpoj polla_ poiei= shmei=a (11,47). So this decision binds up all seven miracle stories as the revelation from which emerges a thorough conflict between the revealer and the world. On the other hand, the narrative flow connects this decision directly with the raising of Lazarus: the report of ‘some of the Jews’ (11,46) to the Pharisees gives reason for the gathering of the Sanhedrin (11,47). In the light of John 12,9–11, the significance of the last miracle for the decision to kill Jesus is evident. Although all the miracles (except John 2,1-117; 4,46-54) performed by Jesus lead to conflict between the revealer and the world, the last miracle, the raising of Lazarus by Jesus, is the most important reason for killing Jesus and therefore is the immediate cause of the passion and resurrection of Jesus. On the other hand, the raising of Lazarus is an anticipation of the resurrection of Jesus (cf. the parallels between both accounts: the pictures of both tombs, that of Lazarus and that of Jesus, are significantly similar)8. With

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the mention of Thomas in 11,16 and in the resurrection chapter, John 209, we find another signal for this line of connection that leads from chapter 11 to 20,24-2910. Therefore, the last miracle does not only initiate the trial and death of Jesus, but also indicates that the encounter with Jewish and Roman power will fail in the presence of the mighty revealer who is the true life (cf. John 1,4; 5,26; 11,25).

Although it should not be disputed that historical reminiscences of his communities form the background of the stories used by the Fourth Evangelist in John 5 and 911, the miracle stories are interpreted in the light of a more fundamental and theological principle by the evangelist. The miracle stories in chapters 5–11 recognise that the work and the message of the revealer are scandalous; they cause offence to the world and even to the circle of the disciples (John 6,61). The reader is asked for a decision in the light of the Johannine characters taking part in these conflict stories (cf. e.g. John 6,67-69; 9,35-41; 11,25-27; see also 5,12-14: the cured man missed the christological point of the sign and did not confess Jesus as his saviour). The reader should believe in the revealer sent by God and in him as the giver of life as it is shown by his mighty deeds.

2. The relationship of the miracle tradition to different genres of text

Once we accept that the Fourth Evangelist uses traditions for narrating his miracles, the question arises as to the relationship

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between his sources, their christology and the theological conception of the gospel author. Although a broad stream of New Testament scholars reads the miracle stories as an integral part of the Fourth Gospel there is still some discussion as to whether they are a positive part of the theological construction of the Fourth Evangelist or a foreign element in the gospel.

Rudolf Bultmann plays down the theological significance of the Johannine miracles, regarding the resurrection narratives together with the miracles as a concession to human weakness12. Jürgen Becker in his famous article "Wunder und Christologie" maintains that the Fourth Evangelist has worked the miracle stories of his source into his narrative in such a way as to undercut their original intention. Not only does Becker suggest that the Fourth Evangelist meant to belittle the importance of the miracles he reports, but he fails to see the positive importance the Fourth Evangelist attaches to the signs13. He argues that the christology of the evangelist is opposed to the christological aims of his miracle source:

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"In unübersehbarer Korrektur an der Semeiaquelle hat der Evangelist weiter das Thema urchristlicher Verkündigung schlechthin zu Gehör gebracht, nämlich die Verkündigung von Kreuz und Auferstehung. ... War die Epiphanienchristologie des qei=oj a)nh/r schon nahezu austauschbar mit anderen Gestalten dieser Provenienz und war dadurch aus der Geschichte beinahe schon Mythos geworden, so lenkt der Evangelist energisch ins Zentrum christlicher Verkündigung und damit zugleich zur Geschichte zurück"14.

Becker assumes that the Fourth Evangelist accomplishes this christological and theological critique by a literary technique. The stress is not laid on the miracle stories but on the revelatory discourses that often follow the narration of the miracle:

"Dazu gesellt sich eine weitere Beobachtung: Es ist bekannt, daß die Wunder für den Evangelisten häufig nur noch den szenischen Rahmen für die Reden abgeben, die ihrerseits sich dann auch oft von der Situation der Wundererzählungen lösen. Vor allem Joh. v und vi machen deutlich, wie dadurch der Schwerpunkt der Aussage vom Wunder auf die Offenbarungsrede verlagert wird. Das Selbstzeugnis des Gesandten Gottes als Krisis der Welt kritisiert die ‘naive’ Epiphanie"15.

Therefore, we have to ask where the Johannine miracle stories stand in literary connection with different text genres. Do they receive an interpretation and perhaps a restriction on their theological importance through their contexts?



A. The relationship between the Miracle Stories and the Discourses

The miracle stories in John 5, 6, 9 and 11 as well as in 2116,

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are followed by dialogue texts and sporadically also by revelatory monologues17. Therefore, it was assumed that the miracle stories provided the basis for the speeches of the revealer.

R. Alan Culpepper directs our attention to the different relationship between narrative and discourse. He speaks of a "progressive conjunction between sign and discourse material"18.

"The first and the second signs (2:1-11 and 4:46-54) are about the length of synoptic miracle stories and not greatly dissimilar from them. The next three miracle stories (5:2-9; 6:2-21; 9:1-7) each have extended discourses attached to them (5:10-16, 17-47; 6:22-65; and 9:8-41). ... With the last sign, the raising of Lazarus, the progressive conjunction of sign and discourse reaches its zenith: the two cannot be separated successfully"19.

One could well agree with the literary observations. Nevertheless, the observations of Culpepper show that the formal sequence of miracle stories and discourse texts does not follow a rigid scheme. Both Sabbath conflict stories (chaps. 5 and 9) stand close to each other; however, the maintenance of a strict formal sequence requires that the shepherd discourse (10,1-18) be a monologue concluding the healing of the man born blind (John 9)20; this monologue then forms a formal parallel to both monological

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discourses in 5,19-4721. John 6 already shows another structure, for the chapter begins with a double miracle and is closed by conflict scenes in 6,60-6622. The speech itself is interrupted by questions and objections from its hearers23. Michael Theobald characterizes John 6,60-71 as a dialogue passage that is closed by an important confession. For formal parallels he points to John 9 (9,38) and John 4 (4,42)24. This observation is striking in some ways. Nevertheless, there are formal differences between these texts. John 4,1-42 is not built on a narrative text; there is only a very small narrative framework on which the dialogues between Jesus and the other protagonists are based. John 11,1-44 again diverges from a strict scheme by putting longer dialogues into the narrative framework of the miracle story. The changing of water into wine in Cana (John 2,1-11) and the healing of the son of the royal official (4,46-54) completely fall out of the scheme in which the signs are followed by dialogue texts.

The formal differences observed by Culpepper might be connected with different compositional aims of the author of the gospel. The Fourth Evangelist uses different forms to integrate traditions into his gospel and to reread them25. In John 2–4 we can find some shadows of the conflict, which is already mentioned in John 1,1-14. However, it is more important that this section of the Gospel presents characters who meet Jesus and believe in him (see below I.3). The logos is in his world and there are people who

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believe in Jesus; the reader is invited also to believe. In most cases, the Evangelist adds discourse passages to the narrative units he found in his tradition. In composing discourse texts he probably also used traditional material26. This technique enables him to build colourful scenes that are sometimes more impressive than the formal synoptic parallels. The different structure of these scenes, the changing narrative strategies, and the diverging sequence of narrative, dialogical, and monological texts form individual units expressing different intentions. Therefore we have to read every miracle narrative in its own right. Only John 5 and 9 may be read together because of the structural paralells. Both stories are about a man cured by Jesus. But both persons act differently. Only the man born blind believes in Jesus. There are two different possibilities for the reader to read the signs; one can believe or one may refuse the high christological belief of the author of the Fourth Gospel. John 2–4 shows that the main aim in the Gospel is to awaken belief or perhaps to strengthen belief (cf. also 20,30-31).

These different strategies might have their reason in the different forms of tradition used by the writer of the gospel. For example, in John 5 and John 9 the dialogical structure of the whole narrative is prepared by the form of the tradition. In both chapters the narrator uses Sabbath conflict stories which were expanded by discourses27.

What about the literary or theological hierarchy between miracle story and discourse genre? Formally, the compositional role of the Johannine miracle stories cannot be considered to be marginal. John 2,1-11 forms an accentuated prelude not only for the ‘ring composition’ 2,1–4,54 but also for all further signs: John 2,1-11 as the a)rxh/ tw=n shmei/wn is the first of all the signs and it functions as

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an introduction that provides an interpretation to all of them28. In the light of the interpretation given in 2,11 the signs serve to promote faith in Jesus, the Son of God, that leads to true life (cf. 20,30-31). The echo of 1,14 (o( lo/goj ... e)skh/nwsen e)n h(mi=n, kai_ e)qeasa/meqa th_n do/can au)tou=) determines the force of 2,11. Reading 2,11 in the light of 1,14 means that the doxa inherent in the earthly Jesus becomes visible in all his miracles. And the last sign reaches back to it (John 11,4.40). So the macro-structure of the gospel shows that the narrative importance of the miracle stories is not meant to be corrected in favour of other text genres. The doxa of the Son of God that is visible in the signs helps to promote belief, which corresponds to the stated overall plan of the gospel. Both the discourses and monologues as well as the actions of the revealer divide people into believers or non-believers. Both lead up to the conflict and both genres are to be read together and they interpret one another.



B. Semantic Lines and their importance for the Narration of the Signs

The Fourth Gospel is in some ways a masterpiece in its use of internal references that lead the reader to the meaning of its narrated world. The Fourth Evangelist also makes great play with semantic fields and semantic lines. By the term ‘semantic lines’ I mean intratextual references that function as hermeneutical links. Semantic lines work by taking up slightly revised wordings or by taking up pictures and situations already mentioned by the use of analogous words or word families.

The use of this technique in binding together different parts of the gospel is an indication that the Fourth Gospel is not only composed so that some parts of it were read in the Christian worship, but also so that it could be read as a written document, as a book29.

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Of course, it is not possible in what follows to analyse the whole semantic network of connections between the miracle stories and their immediate context. However, it can be shown that the miracle stories are narrated as a part of their new context and that both things happen: they interpret their context and they are interpreted by their context. There is no theological or hermeneutical hierarchy that disavows the signs. The miracle tradition has been connected by semantic lines with the context, so that co-ordinated pictures emerge. This is the helpful part of Jan A. du Rand’s search for the cotexts of the miracles. He assumes that the miracles may be understood in close connection with dialogical or monological discourse texts as ‘intratextual cotexts’30 that provide important information for the reader of the signs.

The meaning of the connection of the context by semantic lines can be shown for example in John 2. The catchword shmei=on is the crucial keyword that is repeated immediately in the cleansing of the temple (2,13-22) and the critical notice of the faith of the people in Jerusalem in 2,23-25. Both texts have their own function but that function cannot be determined without paying attention to the entire narrative of the Fourth Gospel. Jesus’ temple word refers the cleansing of the temple to the passion and the resurrection31. The notice in 2,23-25, on the other hand, precedes the Nicodemus

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dialogue (3,1-21). The relation between the sign, the revelation of the doxa, and the resulting faith in John 2,1-11 gets an important supplement from the other two pericopes. Pointing to the final aim of Jesus’ mission, to death and resurrection, the cleansing of the temple draws the reader’s attention to the overall theme of the sending of the Son. The Son sent into the world by his Father finally returns back to him with a soteriological aim (cf., e.g., 12,24; 14,2-3). The critique in 2,23-25 clearly indicates that not everyone seeing the signs will become a true believer. The miracle as a shmei=on stands for the visibility of the doxa (2,11) that may lead to belief in so far as the person who sees the doxa is led to knowledge about the origin of Jesus, his having been sent from the Father, and the aim to be achieved by his descent into the world. This view is developed by the prologue in John 1 that the implied reader is referred to32. With this interpretation a further semantic line was developed which leads back to the prologue; this line shows that the narrator ties up different texts, insinuating connections by carefully planted clues in order to waken a commensurate understanding. However, the sign can also lead to a misunderstanding and a defective or an unreal belief. The semantic line that the word shmei=on in John 2 opens up shows how belief and signs belong together: only the reader who recognizes that in the signs the doxa becomes apparent is led to belief. The one who understands the miracle only as a miraculous deed does not grasp the theological and christological depth of the semeion.



C. The semantic inventory and the possible growth of the text (John 6)33

There is a change in the meaning of the catchwords in John 6, and we find in recent literature a thorough discussion of whether

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John 6 is to be read as a coherent literary unit34 or whether there is a sacramental shift in the meaning of these words in this section that cannot be understood as the work of one author35 Agreed there is a change in meaning between the feeding of the five thousand and the speech. In the feeding of the five thousand ‘bread’ (6,5.7.9.11.13; see also 6,23.26) and ‘eating’ are employed in their concrete meaning (6,5; see also 6,23.26); later there is a change to a metaphorical meaning: ‘To eat’ (6,31.50-51) stands for getting eternal life by believing that Jesus is God’s bread of life (6,31-35.41.47-48.50-51). By being the bread of life given by God, Jesus is the mediator of life to everybody who believes in him.

Nevertheless, there is also a third meaning of ‘to eat’ (trw/gw: 6,54.56-58; fagei=n: 6,52-53.58). In John 6,51c-58, the narrator refers to a concrete eating of the eucharistic bread (6,51c.58)36. It seems to be easier to understand this change as a relecture37 of the miracle

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story and its earlier interpretation38. The participation in Jesus by believing is actualized in the sacramental practice of the early church and probably that is also equally the case in the Johannine church. Adding a sacramental interpretation to the bread of life discourse actualizes the older layer of the text with reference to the practice of the Johannine community. The relecture uses the semantic resources of the text. Therefore, the first readers in the Johannine school who transmit the gospel text to their community take up the literary techniques of the gospel in actualizing it for the next generation of readers of the gospel.

The author of the gospel who composes the sequence of the miracle stories and the revelatory discourse may have given a deeper meaning also to the feeding and to the walking on water. These miracles are narrated as acts of Jesus in which the life-giving power of the revealer becomes visible to the people and to the disciples of Jesus39. In the first act Jesus gives bread to the people. Giving food to the people provides a basic requirement of life. Having enough food to eat is neither in ancient nor in modern times a universal fact for human beings. Therefore, a lot of folktales from different ages are dealing with the theme of supernatural reception of food or with people being satisfied even by a small amount of food. The Johannine story has some kind of utopian hope in common with these folktales. But the Johannine reader may learn that this existential hope is fulfilled by the eschatological event of the coming of the sent Son. The sign illustrates Jesus as the one who is the bread of life because he makes human life possible by giving bread to the people. In the second act, John 6,16-21, Jesus is portrayed as saving life in danger. The nearness of Jesus who reaches his disciples in the stormy and dangerous night (John 6,17-18) eliminates the danger (John 6,19-21). The fact that the author does not tell us

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anything more about the danger of the disciples after the arrival of Jesus at the ship is an indication that there is no place for life-destroying danger when Jesus comes into community with his believers. By establishing life by providing food and by being near to people as a saviour of life in the face of life-destroying danger, Jesus is depicted as God’s powerful bread of life. Therein, Jesus is the answer of God to the fundamental hopes of humanity.

3. Tradition and compositional formation of the Gospel

The title of this paper is meant to focus attention on the reception of tradition by the Fourth Evangelist. More than fifty years ago the question of the origin of the Johannine miracle tradition was answered on the asumption that the Fourth Evangelist used a miracle source, called the semeia- or signs-source. The most important contribution to this theory was made by Rudolf Bultmann40. The theory of one written source containing the whole miracle tradition and other texts is rightly criticized and rejected in much of the more recent investigations of the Fourth Gospel41. However, I agree with those who posit a two-miracle source, which includes the changing of water into wine in 2,1-11 and the healing from a distance in 4,46-5442. The source-critical hint can be found in 2,12a (journey to

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Capernaum). This itinerary fits well with 4,46b (the royal official in Capernaum) but disturbs the present context where the real target of the journey of Jesus is Jerusalem with the cleansing of the temple43. Jesus, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples reached Capernaum without staying there for a long time (cf. 2,12).

Probably, there was a source, but a source which the evangelist has woven into his larger cloth. Without depending fully on his tradition, the narrator dissolves the connection between the wine miracle and the healing in order to form an introductory ‘ring composition’44. A ring composition is a narrative form that leads the reader, after an introduction through a narrative digression or excursus consisting of an intermediary section, back to the point of departure. This is indicated by repeating words or motifs from the initial passage45. The narrative form of the ‘ring composition’ in John 2,1 to 4,54 is clearly indicated by the reference back from 4,46a.54 to the introductory passage in 2,1-11:

4,46a }Hlqen ou]n pa/lin ei)j th_n Kana_ th=j Galilai/aj, o!pou e)poi/hsen to_ u!dwr oi]non.
4,54 Tou=to [de_] pa/lin deu/teron shmei=on e)poi/hsen o( 'Ihsou=j e/lqw_n e)k th=j 'Ioudai/aj ei)j th_n Galilai/an.
2,1 Kai/ ... ga/moj e)ge/neto e)n Kana_ th=j Galilai/aj, ...
2,9 ... to_ u#dwr oi]non gegenhme/non ...
2,11 Tau/thn e)poi/hsen a)rxh_n tw=n shmei/wn o( 'Ihsou=j e)n Kana_ th=j Galilai/aj kai_ e)fane/rwsen th_n do/can au)tou= kai_ e)pi/steusan (cf. 4,53) ei)j au)to_n oi( maqhtai_ au)tou=.




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In the passages that frame the second narrated sign in John, words are found that were already used in narrating the first miracle (cf. especially the geographical setting; see also the explicit reference back to the first sign with nearly identical wording and the counting of only these two signs).

Two literary forms of ring compositions’ can be distinguished46. First, there is the anaphoric form of the ‘ring composition’: the later passage refers back to the introductory passage after a narrative excursus or digression. Second, there is an inclusive form of the compositional technique: the introductory passage, the middle part, and the final passage should be read as one unit of thought. John 2,1–4,54 should be interpreted in terms of the latter form. In a literary work without the possibility of using headlines the Fourth Evangelist adopts this literary technique for indicating a narrative unit.

In searching for the narrative aim of this ‘ring composition’ we observe a succession of people confronted with the revealer, his words and his doings. These persons were led to belief. The fact that the positive reaction leads from the disciples to the Samaritans to a basiliko/j could have a special significance, if this man is, as is frequently assumed, a Gentile47. In the light of the whole gospel narrative one may add Nicodemus to the list of believers in Jesus48. The conclusion of the ‘ring composition’ demonstrates the deeper truth in the confession of the revealer as o( swth_r tou= ko/smou by the Samaritans (4,42); this confession is not only the climax of John 4,4ff49, but it is also the climax of the ‘ring composition’ in John 2,1–4,54. The last miracle story of this composition testifies that by healing the Gentile’s son Jesus truly is the swth_r tou= ko/smou. Like the disciples of Jesus (2,11) and the Samaritans (4,42), the Gentile member of the royal court and the members of the Gentile’s house

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also believe in the sent Son (4,54) and they all serve as paradigms for the implied readers.

As well as the introductory ring composition the other sign stories adopted by the Evangelist show the productive relation between the use of tradition and the composition of the Gospel. The two Sabbath conflict stories which are adopted by the Evangelist — John 5 and John 9 — were used by the Fourth Evangelist in the account of the growing conflict with the unbelieving world that forms the unifying frame for chapters 5–1050. The miracle sequence of the feeding of the five thousand and the crossing of the sea was inserted in chapter 6 and got its own geographical and conflict-oriented scenario: the people who stand close to the revealer also take offence at him and the krisis is carried out in them. This leads also to John 11. In the narration of the raising of Lazarus the Evangelist connects the first part of his book with the passion narrative by pointing out that the last miracle together with the other signs is the reason for putting Jesus to death (11,47; see above I.1).



II. Observations on the Microstructure

In pursuit of his literary aim the Fourth Evangelist adapts the miracle traditions to his literary concerns in the structure of the gospel. Therefore, we can assume that he also changes the words and structure of the tradition, an assumption that is supported by modern analysis of oral tradition51. According to these theories the written text erases the form of the oral tradition. Although there may be more continuity between the oral and the written unit than is often allowed in these theories52, the question should be raised as to the ways in which the author has changed his traditions. The following steps do not attempt to give a complete analysis of the

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wording of the tradition and of the rewording in the gospel53. They present only some exemplary observations on the technique by which the writer modifies his traditions in order to change the point of view of his readers.

1. Context-oriented interpretation of the tradition

In different ways the miracle tradition runs into the narrative context. First of all, the already mentioned ‘semantic lines’ have to be considered. The connection of tradition with a larger text by insertion into the chronological and geographical structure of the narrative whole is an important and well-known feature. Important are also the itineraries by which the narrator leads his protagonist to Jerusalem: e.g. 5,1; 7,1ff.

The literary penetration of the tradition becomes recognisable in the explicit references forward and backward in the narrative according to the technique of "anachrony"54: cf., e.g., John 4,46.56 (pa/lin) 2,1-12; 10,31-39 9,3-4 and 5,17; 11,47; 12,10-11.17 11,1-44; 11,7 10,31-33 (see also 8,59)55; 11,37 chap. 9; 11,4 is probably a proleptic hint to the reader that Jesus will do a sign56. The enumeration of the first two signs signals that these two miracle stories form the beginning and ending of a text unit in the narrative (see above I.3). Simultaneously, the keyword a)rxh/ functions as a reference to the further tale in a double sense: first, it suggests that the wine miracle is a model for the interpretation of the further signs. Secondly, it calls this miracle the beginning of the signs, the first one, which will be followed by another sign labelled as the second sign and other non-enumerated signs. As an expressed reference backward, the remark in 6,2: e)qew/roun ta_ shmei=a a$ e)poi/ei e)pi_ tw=n a)sqenou/ntwn is valid, although it is not completely clear

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whether it primarily refers back to 4,46-54 and 5,1-957, or whether it refers to a knowledge of healing stories beyond the text level58.

A further example of a more elaborated form of the context-oriented interpretation of the tradition is the Lazarus narrative which is made part of the reference system of the gospel as a whole; this shows that the text has a crucial meaning as a watershed in the narrated saga of the revealer.

2. Reader-directed comments

Wolfgang Iser stresses the importance of reader-directed remarks in a narrative:

"The comments may provoke a variety of reactions They can disconcert, arouse opposition, charm with contradiction, and frequently uncover many unexpected features of the narrative process, which without these clues one might not have noticed. And so such comments do not provide any definite assessment of the events; rather, they offer an assessment that contains different possibilities open to the reader’s choice"59.

The investigation of the tradition does not only show that the Fourth Evangelist frequently composes dialogue forms and misunderstandings but also that he instructs his readers through comments and commentaries and that he enriches his stories by the use of irony (cf., e.g., John 9)60. For theological reasons the reaction of the reader provoked by the comments in the narrative is not arbitrary; the reader’s reaction is the choice between belief and unbelief, and therefore, the choice between life and death. Prominent examples are the interpretation signals in 2,11 and 11,4. The importance of these signals for the theology of the Johannine signs should not be underestimated. These signals are "implicit reception

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instructions" ("implizite Rezeptionsanweisungen") which are meant to establish "communication with the intended readers" ("die Kommunikation mit den intendierten Lesern")61. Sporadic direct addresses in the second person plural that cannot be explained in terms of the narrative alone can be explained as direct instructions to the reader (e.g. 4,4862; 20,30-31)63. Some of these signals are part of the narrative framework by which the different traditions of the gospel are brought together (cf., e.g., 2,11; 4,54; 6,25b-29; 9,39-41): "they often commend the passage into belief and life through the authority of Jesus or the narrator"64.

3. The narrative depiction of the sovereignty of the revealer in connection with his role as the one who is sent

An essential stylistic method that the Fourth Evangelist uses for adapting single miracle stories drawn from the tradition has been noticed especially by Charles H. Giblin. He has drawn our attention to that special form in his essay of 198065. Elements of this method are common to miracle stories but it seems that the pattern was consciously used by the Fourth Evangelist. Giblin characterises this scheme in the following manner: "... he (sc. Jesus) proceeds to act positively after giving a negative response to a suggestion that has been presented to him in view of something considered to be an urgent need"66. He has shown that these elements return in different Johannine texts (John 2,1-11; 4,46-54; 7,2-14 and 11,1-44). This

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scheme can be developed on the basis of the miracle stories in John 2 and 4. John 11 is a variation of this scheme. A further step in this literary scheme is the continuing confidence in the miracle worker (2,5; 4,49; see also 11,21.31) which is important for the ongoing narrative. Therefore I want to propose a fourfold structure:

Request objection continuing confidence positive act

2,3b 2,4 2,5 2,7-8
4,47 4,48 4,49 4,50
11,3 (indirect request) 11,6 (11,21.32 expression
of confidence not
expecting actual help) 11,43-44
see also: 7,3–4 7,[5.]6-8 — 7,10; cf.
7,14.28; 8,2067



The pattern serves the theological interpretation of the miracle stories and their integration into the narrative unit of the gospel. It puts the miraculous action of Jesus into intimate connection with his sending by his Father68. The one who is in a close relation with the Father (cf., e.g., 1,18; 10,15.30.38; 14,9) decides what to do. It is not the request of any person or any situation that forces the action of the revealer. He rather works according to his own and his father’s will. It is also hardly by chance that this scheme was used with both the first two miracles as well as with the last miracle. The miracles are a legitimate part of the depiction of the eschatological revelation of the incarnate logos in history. They show the doxa of the revealer as a doxa that stems from the Father. They are, however, only understood in the right way when they are not misinterpreted in an earthly way. So John 2,1-11 and 4,46-54 also carry a polemical and pastoral component by rejecting a misunderstanding of the signs that could have been provided by the massive miracle tradition of the Johannine circle. Jesus’ signs can be understood correctly only in overall connection with his sending by his Father.



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III. Theological and Hermeneutical Conclusion

1. The Evangelist as a narrator

The author of the Fourth Gospel uses traditions for narrating his miracle stories. Sometimes he followed the form of his tradition. Often, however, he changed it fundamentally, so that the reconstruction of the tradition becomes difficult (especially in John 9 and 11)69. He arranges the traditions anew and joins them together in many different manners in his literary context. For that reason we are justified in speaking of the Fourth Evangelist as a narrator of the miracle stories; a narrator who creatively accepts the basic claim of his tradition although he also narrates the signs according to the manner of his own theological way of thinking. This method of narration is clearly a theological or christological one. By narrating the miracle stories the author makes christological, theological, and anthropological claims. The miracles are told to portray Jesus as God’s giver of life (see below III.2); in so far as people are seeing the signs or are hearing the narrated stories of these signs and are understanding them as signs of the sent revealer, they receive the true life. Receiving this life is anticipated in the signs that Jesus had done during his ministry on earth70. Therefore, the narration of the signs repeats the krisis (the separation) into believers and unbelievers. But the aim of the writer of the Fourth Gospel in narrating the miracle stories is to awaken and to strengthen faith in Jesus (see below III.3).

2. The johannine Jesus as the Life-Giver

One of the main concerns in narrating the miracle stories is to portray Jesus as the mediator of true life. My thesis is this: always implicitly, but frequently explicitly the Fourth Evangelist portrays the Jesus who works signs as the giver of life71.

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In Jesus God himself comes near to human beings to mediate life. This function of Jesus is especially developed in the bread of life discourse (John 6,25bff.). The earthly signs mirror the heavenly doxa, in so far as they are a sign of the life-mediating potential of the Son of God. Whoever, by seeing the signs, comes to belief as a God-given gift (6,44), to him or her is promised eternal life. There is also the need to remain (me/nein) in this life, which is especially testified by the true vine discourse: 15,4 (see also e.g., John 8,31-32; 5,37-38). This motif of abiding is however implicitly also connected with the telling of the miracle stories (cf. John 5,14).

3. The Gospel as representation of the krisis of the One who has come to bring either life or judgement

As is shown by Jean Zumstein, the rhetorical and argumentative strategy of the whole Gospel serves the aim of awaking belief in the reader72. This idea is explicitly stressed by the final remark of the gospel, John 20,30-31. Referring to the shmei=a gegramme/na the narrator calls the reader to belief. He points to the narrated signs of the literarily presented pre-easter Jesus and he asks the post-easter reader to believe because he or she has heard or read of the works of the Son of God written down in this narration. In the light of this final remark the aim of the whole gospel is to confront the reader with the eschatological word of God in order to evoke belief and participation in the life of God mediated by the Son he has sent73.

The aim of the gospel in leading the reader to belief or in strengthening belief is also carried out by the way the miracle stories are narrated (cf. 2,11 is not only related to John 11, but also to 20,30-31)74. In these stories, the Fourth Evangelist represents the

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earthly Jesus in the colours of the exalted Christ for his present time, and he points out the actual meaning of Jesus Christ for the faith of the Johannine Christians. The miracle stories represent Jesus as the one who gives new life to the people. A twofold reaction of the reader is possible in the light of the narrated sign. There are some people who believe in Jesus or increase in christological insight and others who refuse the Johannine, christologically-qualified faith. Confronted with God’s sent Son, the people have to believe in Jesus, otherwise they will not receive the gift of eternal life and will continue to belong to the unbelieving world (cf., e.g., 5,14; 9,39-41). With the help of the compositional order of the miracle stories and the various signals to guide the reader, the Fourth Evangelist tries to lead the implied reader into making a decision for the Son of God (cf., e.g., 4,48; 6,6). Therefore, the aim of the narrative remarks inserted into text by the Fourth Evangelist is to evoke a decision in the reader. The reader may come to faith and accept Jesus for the preservation of life according to the promise. Or the reader may refuse belief and so come under judgement. The commentaries of the Fourth Evangelist update the separation that is caused by the krisis of the earthly Jesus in an existential manner for the readers of the gospel.

So the miracle stories are a further example that the Fourth Evangelist narrates his christology in more or less carefully structured scenes to evoke life-giving faith in Jesus the Son of God75. In the encounter with the Johannine narrative the reader faces Jesus and his claim that the reader should believe in him. Through the medium of the written word, Jesus and his claims are brought near to the readers at the time of the narrator and for all time. The reader is challenged to accept faith and life by believing in the narrated Jesus who is still alive in his community and has inspired the literary work76. By writing a gospel dealing with

http://www.bsw.org/project/biblica/bibl80/Comm06.htm

Answer 2

You probably shouldn't post your question more than once, because you will get a violation notice. I've had several, even if they were spaced out over a few hours.

I don't really understand the first question. and can't be bothered with the others.

I think the English language can be considered a global language, because even if its not the number one language spoke by a specific group of people, it seems like most people learn it as a second language. Apparantly Spanish is the fastest growning language, and in about ten years it will be the most learnt language.

By the way, none of this is backed up by evidence, so it would be best to look it up yourself!

Answer 3

You are asking way to much. After reading your question I feel like I'm the one taking the course and I have just been given a huge amount of homework. Good Luck though.

Answer 4

I suggest you withdraw from the course before you embarrass yourself any further. Has the add/drop period passed? If so, perhaps seppuku is in order.

Answer 5

You have posted this six times now, no one is going to do your home for you already!

Answer 6

wow. you take a course and don't want to do the work.

Answer 7

I know your professor and I'm telling..