Congruitas als Kriterium einer bewussten Sprachform. Ein excursus durch die Latinität

Terms such as latinitas and hellenismós accompanied the development of language reflection and marked out the areas of the foundations of the grammatical components used to formulate terms such as logos, lexis, oratio, partes orationis and their composition (syntaxis/constructio). If we consider Priscian’s definition of the sentence (oratio or constructio) as "congrua dictionum ordinatio, sententiam perfectam demonstrans" 10 (II. 15), we note that the three passiones or virtutes (orationis) are implicitly sketched, the scalar sequence of which has been first depicted by the Modistae. The modistic theory of language had two important characteristics: the syntactic model based on vox, dictio, pars orationis and constructio and the use of a terminology from which the map of their theory based on the Aristotelian model could be read. While during the early Middle Ages up to the XII century neither Petrus Helias nor Magister Jordanus could group construc15 tio, congruitas and perfectio into a series of components of sentence construction, the Modistae took the view that the syntactic structure of a statement consists of three components (passiones): constructio, congruitas, and perfectio. Consequently, the criteria used to define the concepts of latinitas and hellenismós, the scope of which has been broadened in the course of language studies, seem to be returning. Congruitas refers to the indi20 vidual constructions, while perfectio refers to the whole sentence. Together they form the two poles of grammaticality, expressed by the Modistae through the modi significandi, and in a way reflect the concept of the functions of language, i.e. of language awareness. In this article I will explain the concept of congruitas in Latin grammar up to the Modistae in more detail and discuss them in a brief presentation].