[B-Greek] SBL: Oral Koine Initiative
R Yochanan Bitan Buth
ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il
Thu Apr 1 17:30:08 EST 2004
XAIREIN
Are there are list members or friends who are SBL members and would be interested in supporting/promoting the following Consultation proposal within SBL? The acceptance of proposals benefits from a demonstration of interest by persons interested in backing, steering, or participation in the consultation's sessions. The earliest session would be Nov 2005, or Nov 2006. Those SBL members who are interested should contact me at my email address below.
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Subject: Oral Language Initiative Consultation, Part One: Η ΚΟΙΝΗ ΓΛΩΣΣΑ
Here is a draft description of a possible SBL Consultation Proposal for the Annual Meeting
Oral Language Initiative (Consultation), Part One: H KOINH ΓΛΩΣΣΑ (H KOINH GLWSSA)
Summary Statement:
The consultation explores the possibilities of oral control ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΗΣ (THS KOINHS GLWSSHS) in Greek teaching and biblical scholarship. Papers on Greek teaching, oral fluency for reading ancient texts, pronunciation, interpretation in an oral presentation, and historical precedents.
Objectives:
The consultation explores possibilities of restoring an oral control ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΗΣ (THS KOINHS GLWSSHS) to Greek teaching and biblical scholarship. Papers may cover aspects of live Greek teaching with oral interaction; the advantages of oral fluency for developing reading skills with ancient texts; practical and theoretical issues of pronunciation for Roman period Koine; interpretation in an oral presentation (especially relating to marked Focal items, marked non-Focal items, and default/unmarked items); exegetical questions relating to oral presentation, cadence, rhetoric, density, homonymic ambiguities (e.g. ΚΕΝΟ’Σ/ΚΑΙΝΟ’Σ kenós/kainós), and grammatical choices or avoidances revolving around ambiguity and disambiguity (e.g., -ΟΜΑΙ/-ΩΜΑΙ omai/-wmai); standard and non-standard language in antiquity; issues of artificiality and authenticity; the advantages of oral fluency for interpretation and the next generation of interpreters; the history of Greek use within academic circles; comparisons with oral control of medieval Hebrew and medieval Latin; and monolingual and bilingual Greek teaching methodologies.
The Consultation may include aspects of a workshop through recorded or live demonstrations of proposed material or arguments. Papers may be in English or ancient Greek, and at least one paper per session would be solicited in Greek, with an English abstract. Any pronunciation is acceptable for papers, Greek should attempt to fit the educated Koine of the Roman period.
The initial phase of the consultation would be a three-year period focusing on Greek, with a projected extension of a three-year consultation, part two, focusing on Hebrew. Within SBL, the consultation would be expected to lead to more tightly defined workshops dealing with oral language and Greek, though it is possible that a section separate from “Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics” would be established. For example, the American Philological Society has an associate/daughter organization “the Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin Literature.” The longterm goals on the Hebrew side would be discussed with both “Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew” section and the NAPH with the possibility of not needing a separate section.
Randall Buth, PhD
Director, Biblical Language Center
www.biblicalulpan.org
and Director, Biblical Studies in Israel
Rothberg International School
Hebrew University
ybitan at mscc.huji.ac.il
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