May 27, 2002
antiptosis

Antiptosis. sb. /,{ntip'tosIs/ [< Gk anti- 'against' + ptosis 'act of falling away; case'(< piptein 'to fall')] Substituting one case for another, as the accusative for the dative: a type of alleotheta.

Examples:

1a. "I give you this gift."
1b. "I give this gift to you."
2a. "He is condemned for murther."
2b. "He is condemned of murther."
[Warren Taylor. 1972. Tudor Figures of Rhetoric.]
3a. "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
3b. "I (am) Trazan, (and) you (are) Jane."
3c. "I am Tarzan of the Apes. I want you. I am yours. You are mine. We will live here together always in my house. I will bring you the best fruits, the tenderest deer, the finest meats that roam the jungle. I will hunt for you. I am the greatest of the jungle hunters. I will fight for you. I am the mightiest of the jungle fighters. When you see this you will know that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you."
[3a. Cyril Hume & Ivor Novello. 1932. Tarzan the Ape Man. 3c. Edgar Rice Burroughs. 1912. Tarzan of the Apes.]

Burrough's Tarzan was more articulate than Johnny Weismuller's character in the movie adaptations, but you get the idea. Anyway, antiptosis makes more sense in a language with cases.

Posted by jbisso at May 27, 2002 08:08 AM