The survival of the optative in New Testament Greek-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The survival of the optative in New Testament Greek

Published:2022-11-29 Issue: Volume: Page:1-43
ISSN:1566-5844
Container-title:Journal of Greek Linguistics
language:
Short-container-title:J. Greek Linguist.

Author:

Bianconi Michele¹^ORCID,Magni Elisabetta²^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. University of Oxford UK Oxford

2. University of Bologna Italy Bologna

Abstract

Abstract This article offers new insights on the status of the optative in New Testament Greek, mapping it against the diachronic encoding of modality in Ancient Greek in light of typology and pragmatics. Virtually all available scholarship on the subject focusses on the ‘decline’ of the optative; in this article, we choose to focus on its survival in fixed expressions and specific types of speech acts. Through a comprehensive reanalysis of the New Testament data, we argue that the optative is ‘pushed out’ of the strict domain of modality and syntax and into that of illocution and pragmatics. Evidence from ancient grammatical thought, sociolinguistics, and language contact corroborates this view.

Publisher

Brill

Subject

Linguistics and Language,Language and Linguistics

Link

https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/jgl/aop/article-10.1163-15699846-tat00001/article-10.1163-15699846-tat00001.xml

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