A Brief Introduction to Latin Conjunctions

This blog entry constitutes an all too brief introduction to Latin conjunctions. As I work my way through this post, you will likely see a connection between Latin and Greek conjunctions.

Definition of conjunction: "In grammar, a connective or connecting word; an indeclinable word which serves to unite sentences or the clauses of a sentence and words, joining two or more simple sentences into one compound one, and continuing it at the pleasure of the writer or speaker" (American Dictionary of the English Language by Webster, 1828).

Conjunctions may function coordinately or subordinately. What follows below represents only a portion of what there is to be known about Latin conjunctions.

I. Types of Conjunctions and Their Functions:

1. Copulative-particles that join words or sentences together. According to A Grammar of the Latin Language (Karl G. Zumpt):

Conjunctions may be divided, in reference to their signification, into the following classes :

1. These are copulative : et, ac, atque, que enclitic, neque or nec containing a negation which belongs to the verb, and (the two negatives destroying each other) nec or neque non equivalent to et. Both the words for “also’ belong to this class, etiam and quoque, with the adverbial item and itidem. As these particles connect things which are to be considered jointly, so the disjunctives those which are to be considered singly.  

See Section LXIII of Zumpt.

δέ in Greek is copulative and adversative: but the two uses are not always clearly to be distinguished (Smyth, sec. 2834).

"καί is both a copulative conjunction (and) connecting words, clauses, or sentences; and an adverb meaning also, even" (Smyth, sec. 2868). See also sec. 2903 of Smyth.

2. Disjunctive-As noted above, disjunctive conjunctions/particles connect things which are meant to be considered singly. Bennett's New Latin Grammar provides this information:

Disjunctive Conjunctions indicate an alternative.

1.

a) aut must be used when the alternatives are mutually exclusive; as,—

cita mors venit aut victōria laeta, (either) swift death or glad victory comes.

b) vel, -ve (enclitic) imply a choice between the alternatives; as,—

quī aethēr vel caelum nōminātur, which is called aether or heaven.

See sec. 342 of Bennett. Disjunctive particles may be used correlatively as well (e.g., vel . . . vel, aut . . . aut, and sive . . . sive)

Smyth (sec. 2856): "Disjunctive ἤ (Epic ἠέ) or (uel, aut); and repeated: ἢ . . . ἤ either . . . or (uel . . . uel, aut . . . aut) to connect the two members more closely."

Another example of correlatives used disjunctively is "neve . . . neve" (neither . . . nor)

3. Inferential-Conjunctions that express a deductive relationship between words (e.g., therefore). Latin expresses this idea by the use of such words as ergo, itaque, igitur, ideo, idcirco, proinde, proptera, and more. See Grammar of the Latin Language by Leonhard Schmitz (page 157).

Greek has inferential particles; for example, ἄρα, οὖν

4. Adversative-"implying a connection of words, but a contrast in thought: as, sed, but" (Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, 223a).

Other Latin adversatives are autem, verum, at, tamen, and enim (inter alia).

II. Clarification of Terms Commonly Used in Latin Grammar:

A. Asyndeton-The Greek word ἀσύνδετον can signify a construction "not bound together." The Roman historian Tacitus employs asyndeton (zero conjunction) in order to move a story along quickly and to aid the memory of his audience. As David A. Black likewise points out, a noted example of this rhetorical device reportedly comes from Julius Caesar: Veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered").

The Apostle Paul uses asyndeton in Romans 1:29-32, but I find 1 Corinthians 13:7 particularly easy to remember because of the stylistic device used there. For more information on asyndeton and its opposing device, polysyndeton, see D.A. Black's Linguistics for Students of NT Greek, p. 134.

B. Enclitic-The way that "enclitic" is being used here, it means "an enclitic word, as Latin que 'and' in arma virumque, “arms and the man.”

The enclitic -que may remind you of the famed controversy between the western and eastern church over the filioque clause. This example illustrates how Latin enclitics function.

Used adjectivally, the word can be defined thus:

(used of a word) "closely connected in pronunciation with the preceding word and not having an independent accent or phonological status."

See https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/enclitic