Interrogative Nam in Early Latin
Abstract The article examines the use of nam in close association with a question word (e.g. quisnam, nam quis) in early Latin. As Kroon (1995, 165-5) observes, the use mirrors explicative nam, in that it is found when a speaker seeks supplementary information, while explicative nam is used to provide it. If interrogative nam arose from a sarcastic use of explicative nam to comment on a dialogue partner’s failure to supply information, this could account for several nuances that commentators have found in nam questions.
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1977 ◽
Vol 35
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pp. 438-439
1969 ◽
Vol 27
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pp. 358-359
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1992 ◽
Vol 50
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pp. 744-745
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2005 ◽
Vol 25
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pp. S214-S214
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1984 ◽
pp. 216-218
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