عنوان

"The Concept of "Religion" in Mesoamerican Languages"

شماره

LA122564

زبان متن نوشتاري يا گفتاري و مانند آن

انگلیسی

عنوان اصلي

"The Concept of "Religion" in Mesoamerican Languages"

نام عام مواد

[Article]

نام نخستين پديدآور

Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo

محل نشرو پخش و غیره

Leiden

نام ناشر، پخش کننده و غيره

Brill

متن يادداشت

"The article examines whether the indigenous languages in the cultural region called Mesoamerica comprise words corresponding to the European concept of "religion." In spite of the fact that the highly advanced phonetic (i.e. logosyllabic) writing systems are capable of expressing and recognising abstract representations in the languages, extant pre-Columbian Mesoamerican inscriptions do not contain words which can be rendered as "religion." Attention has therefore been directed to the descriptions of indigenous languages made by Spanish ethnographer-missionaries in the 16th and 18th centuries. Six indigenous lexemes translated as "religion" in colonial dictionaries, are analysed. It is, however, argued that the native terms for "religion" were in reality constructed by the Spanish ethnographer-missionaries in order to promote evangelisation and the conversion of the indigenous people. Nevertheless, it is not ineffective to operate with "religion" as an etic notion when analysing Mesoamerican cultures. A theory is put forward suggesting that a linguistic/philological examination of a given language offers a strategy for defining "religion" as a cultural analytical category according to Max Weber's notion of "ideal type." The article examines whether the indigenous languages in the cultural region called Mesoamerica comprise words corresponding to the European concept of "religion." In spite of the fact that the highly advanced phonetic (i.e. logosyllabic) writing systems are capable of expressing and recognising abstract representations in the languages, extant pre-Columbian Mesoamerican inscriptions do not contain words which can be rendered as "religion." Attention has therefore been directed to the descriptions of indigenous languages made by Spanish ethnographer-missionaries in the 16th and 18th centuries. Six indigenous lexemes translated as "religion" in colonial dictionaries, are analysed. It is, however, argued that the native terms for "religion" were in reality constructed by the Spanish ethnographer-missionaries in order to promote evangelisation and the conversion of the indigenous people. Nevertheless, it is not ineffective to operate with "religion" as an etic notion when analysing Mesoamerican cultures. A theory is put forward suggesting that a linguistic/philological examination of a given language offers a strategy for defining "religion" as a cultural analytical category according to Max Weber's notion of "ideal type.""

تاريخ نشر

2007

توصيف ظاهري

28-70

عنوان

Numen

شماره جلد

54/1

شماره استاندارد بين المللي پياييندها

1568-5276

اصطلاح موضوعی

LEXICOGRAPHY

اصطلاح موضوعی

LINGUISTICS

اصطلاح موضوعی

MESOAMERICA

اصطلاح موضوعی

MISSION

اصطلاح موضوعی

PHILOLOGY

اصطلاح موضوعی

RELIGION

مستند نام اشخاص تاييد نشده

Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo

شماره بازیابی

10.1163/156852707X171370

نام الکترونيکي

فرمت انتشار

p

نوع ماده

[Article]

کد کاربرگه

275578

سطح دسترسي

a

تكميل شده

Y