[B-Greek] Rewrite of Mounce 2nd ed ch. 20 by Decker
bgreek at ntresources.com
bgreek at ntresources.com
Thu Jan 22 05:55:49 EST 2004
> as less absolutistic than your statement that "In Greek a
> verb form carries only the grammatical meaning of aspect; it
> does not express time. Greek uses deictic indicators in the
> context, which, along with other pragmatic factors, help us
> determine the writer's intended time reference."
> ...
> Your statement seems to imply that verb tense is NOT a factor
> in establishing the temporal context, i.e., it is totally
> irrelevant. Do you mean that?
Yes and no. The first statement is a *semantic* statement regarding what
information is grammaticalized by the verb. Tense *is* part of the complex
of contextual factors at the level of *pragmatics* that is involved with
temporal reference. (Note the ref. to deictic/pragmatic in the statement you
quoted above.) Confusing or ignoring the difference between semantics and
pragmatics is one of the biggest problems in discussing this issue. Those
who get "perturbed" when some of us challenge the "prevailing wisdom" on the
subject rarely seem to make this distinction and some who mention it don't
seem to understand the significance of it.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Rodney J. Decker, Th.D., Assoc. Professor/NT
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA, USA
URL: www.NTResources.com
PURL: purl.oclc.org/NT_Resources/
Email: <rdecker> at <NTResources.com>
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A. Philip Brown II
> [mailto:pbrown.at.GBS.EDU at bgreek.at.ntresources.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 9:36 PM
> To: BGreek
> Subject: [B-Greek] Rewrite of Mounce 2nd ed ch. 20 by Decker
>
>
> Rod,
>
> Thanks for sharing your rewrite of Mounce ch. 20. I found it
> very helpful to see how you translated your dissertation
> level material into the 1st year Greek setting. Also
> appreciate your honesty in presentationspecifically
> acknowledging dissenting views at key points.
>
> The following statement by Porter in Idioms, 29, strikes me
> as less absolutistic than your statement that "In Greek a
> verb form carries only the grammatical meaning of aspect; it
> does not express time. Greek uses deictic indicators in the
> context, which, along with other pragmatic factors, help us
> determine the writer's intended time reference."
>
> Porter states: "Greeks were still able to make reference to
> various times of the day or night and to distinguish kinds of
> action, but they did so by using a variety of indicators,
> with verb tenses as only one factor in establishing the
> temporal context."
>
> Your statement seems to imply that verb tense is NOT a factor
> in establishing the temporal context, i.e., it is totally
> irrelevant. Do you mean that?
>
> Philip Brown
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> A. Philip Brown II, Ph.D.
> Asst. Prof. of Bible & Theology
>
> God's Bible School & College
> 1810 Young Street
> Cincinnati, OH 45202
> www.gbs.edu
> (513) 721-7944 ext 163
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> ---
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