[B-Greek] Questions about NT verbal aspect
Jonathan Robie
jwrobie at mindspring.com
Thu Jan 18 11:58:13 EST 2007
CTCE wrote:
> I do not wish to belabor the issue, but I personally think that those "old
> guys" knew what they were writing about, and that what we now have is just
> an intellectual fad.
Hi John,
Let's separate the way we think New Testament Greek verbs work from the
way we choose to describe how it works. Aspect is simply a way of
describing the difference between sentences like this:
(1) I walked to the store.
(2) I was walking to the store.
The action feels different in those two sentences. In (2), we feel like
we're in the middle of the action, but not in (1). Both are past tense,
but the aspect differs. When A. T. Robertson talks about "linear",
"punctiliar", etc., he is talking about aspect, he just doesn't use the
term. But today, pretty much nobody uses the terms Robertson or Smyth
used to describe any language except for Greek, and the only reason we
use those terms for Greek is that we use good old books. But that makes
it really hard to compare Greek to other languages, because the terms
and models we use to describe New Testament Greek are different from the
terms and models we use to describe other languages.
You don't have to agree with Porter to believe in aspect, and if you
think the "old guys" knew what they were writing about, you actually do
believe in aspect, whether you know it or not. Take a look at Fanning
(Verbal *Aspect* in New Testament Greek) or Olsen (A Semantic and
Pragmatic Model of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect), and you will find
that their account of Greek largely agrees with A.T. Robertson or Smyth.
However, the words they use to explain things are quite different.
Fanning and Olsen talk about aspect, but they believe that aspect works
differently than what Porter describes.
Whether you prefer to say "kind of action", Aktionsart, or aspect, you
also have to figure out the relationship between time and aspect, and
how these relate to the forms a verb can take. You disagree with
Porter's account of time and aspect, and prefer a more traditional one.
You might find that in Fanning or Olsen. Incidentally, I agree with you.
Jonathan
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