1

While studying literary terms I've stumbled upon a sentence like below. It seems like a relative clause, now I wonder if there is a usage like that in German. It's German equivalent is also relative clause or apposition?

Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions.

Die Litotes, abgeleitet von dem griechischen Wort »einfach«, ist eine Stilfigur, welche durch doppelte Verneinung eine Untertreibung ausdrückt, oder, anders gesagt, eine positive Aussage durch die Verneinung des Gegenteils zum Ausdruck bringt.

8
  • 2
    You had lots of errors in your German version, so I edited it to correct them. The German sentence is now a correct translation of the English. But there are still syntactic errors in both sentences. I did not correct them, because I'm not sure, if you are citing a given text, or if you created it. First error: The greek word λιτότης (litótēs) is a noun, not an adjective. It does not mean simple/einfach. It means thrift, restraint (Sparsamkeit, Zurückhaltung). Commented Feb 6, 2016 at 9:05
  • 1
    Second error: The phrase »in other words« (»anders gesagt«) means, that you repeat the same meaning with other words. But »positive statement« does not mean the same as »understatement«. This is something different. Commented Feb 6, 2016 at 9:08
  • 1
    No, I mean that a noun can not be an adjective. The greek word λιτότης (litótēs) is a noun, but simple is an adjective. Commented Feb 6, 2016 at 19:32
  • 1
    Yes, a derivation is possible. But you are wrong when you say its an adjective in the borrowed language. The word Litotes, that we use to describe a figure of speech in an English or German text is a noun. And its origin, the ancient greek word λιτότης (litótēs), wich has exactly the same pronunciation, but is just written with letters from greek alphabet, also is a noun. This is what I wanted to tell you: Both, the origin, and the loanword are nouns. And non of them has the meaning »simple«. Commented Feb 7, 2016 at 9:06
  • 1
    So, the word »litotes« does not come from a greek word that means »simple«. It comes from a greek word, that means »thrift« or »restraint«, which are two nouns, and non of them is even close to »simple«. »Simplicity« would be a noun, that is derived from the adjective »simple«. The greek word for »simple« is the adjective απλός (aplós), and the greek word for simplicity is the noun απλότητα (aplótita). This has nothing to do with λιτότης (litótēs). Commented Feb 7, 2016 at 9:13

1 Answer 1

2

Both in English and German, this is a Partizipialsatz/participle clause. You can use it both with the present active and the past passive participle.

It's not a relative clause, because there's no relative pronoun.

I wouldn't call it an aposition, even though it describes or explains a word in more detail, because one distinguishing feature of an aposition is that the nouns in it are in the same case as the noun it is attached to.

0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.