The Verbal Aspect Integral to the Perfect and Pluperfect Tense-Forms in the Pauline Corpus (Studies in Biblical Greek, 22)

Description

This book argues that the verbal aspect of the Greek Perfect is complex, involving not one but two aspects, where the perfective applies to events and the imperfective applies to states. These two aspects are connected to specific morphemes in the Perfect tense-form. This study analyses Perfect tense-forms in discursive text by focusing on the Pauline Corpus. The method is grounded in grammaticalisation studies and informed by morphology, comparative linguistics, and historical linguistics. The argument is further supported by a corpus-based study showing both the Greek Perfect tense-form use in letters over an 800-year period and adverb collocations of the Perfect tense-form. The adverb collocations establish when a Perfect is used for an event or for a state. This study challenges other verbal aspect studies that find only one verbal aspect to explain the Greek Perfect. This study situates the Pauline Perfect tense-form usage within a spectrum of other letter writers, and finds that within the Pauline Corpus the Perfects within supplemental clauses are more likely to use active lexemes than other letter writers. This study also finds that most of the Perfects used in letters are supplemental to the mainline and are often backgrounded rather than foregrounded. Cover Contents List of Figures Series Editor Preface Author’s Preface Introduction 1. Introductory Remarks 2. Linguistic Investigations into the Greek Language 3. Application of Linguistic Investigations to Exegesis 4. Thesis Statement 5. Chapter Organisation Overview of Verbal Aspect Studies as Related to the Greek Perfect and Pluperfect Tense-Forms 1. Introductory Remarks 2. The Development of Verbal Aspect as a Term for Grammatical Analysis 3. Verbal Aspect as Related to the Greek Perfect and Pluperfect Tense-Forms 4. Conclusion A Way Forward 1. Introductory Remarks 2. Consideration of Methods 3. Complexity of the Verbal Aspect for the Perfect Tense-Form 4. Implications for Complex Aspect 5. Conclusion The Complex Aspect of the Perfect Tense-Form in the Pauline Corpus 1. The Verbal Data from the Pauline Corpus 2. Conclusion Comparing the Pauline Corpus to a Diachronic Corpus of Epistolary and Moral Literature 1. Corpus-Based Approach 2. Defining the Limits of Both Corpora for Analysis 3. Purposes of the Greek Diachronic Epistolary and Moral Literature Corpus 4. Issues in the Greek Diachronic Epistolary and Moral Literature Corpus 5. Contents of the Greek Diachronic Epistolary and Moral Literature Corpus 6. Necessity for Corpus Approaches to Answer Certain Linguistic Questions 7. A Review of the Corpus Data 8. Conclusion Conclusion 1. Summary and Restatement of the Thesis 2. Contribution to Knowledge 3. Limitations of the Research 4. Suggestions for Further Research Bibliography Appendix A: Rationale and Purpose of the Appendices Appendix B: Chart of Morphemes Appendix C: Chart of Stem Count Appendix D: Chart of Stems by Frequency Appendix E: Chart of Context Appendix F: Chart of Adverbial Modification of Stative Perfects Appendix G: Chart of Adverbial Modification of Eventive Perfects Appendix H: Adverb Frequency Data Appendix I: Key Adverbs Appendix J: Chart of Adverbial Modification of Perfects used in Citational or Referential ways Appendix K: Chart of Pauline Corpus Examples with Perfects Appendix L: Chart of Analysis Corpus Examples with Perfects Appendix M: Chart of Selected Verbs Found in the Perfect Tense-Form within the Pauline Corpus Fully Conjugated Author Index Text Reference Index Subject Index Series Index