Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 68:2 (NA 2017)
Article: Discourse Markers In The Septuagint And Early Koine Greek With Special Reference To The Twelve
Author: Christopher James Fresch

TynBull 68:2 (2017) p. 313

Discourse Markers In The Septuagint And Early Koine Greek With Special Reference To The Twelve1

Christopher James Fresch

([email protected])

Discourse markers (e.g. δέ, ἀλλά) comprise a functional category. They narrow or explicate discourse relations, instructing the reader on how to process the discourse and build a mental representation of it. In so doing, they aid the reader in the comprehension task, reducing cognitive effort and facilitating successful communication. Unfortunately, these considerations rarely feature in discussions on Greek discourse markers. Instead, their functions are often conflated with the semantics of their surrounding contexts of use and with the functions of their translational glosses. This often results in less precision in one’s comprehension of the flow and structure of the discourse.

The aim of this thesis is twofold. First, it examines a selection of discourse markers – δέ, εἰ/ἐὰν μή, ἀλλά, ἀλλ᾿ ἤ, μέν – in early Koine Greek from a cognitive–functional linguistic framework in order to determine their pragmatic functions. Each chapter begins with an investigation of a discourse marker in the Ptolemaic papyri, thus providing a basic map of the marker’s function(s) in early Koine. This is followed by a treatment of its occurrences in the Old Greek text of the Minor Prophets, or, if more data are required, its occurrences throughout the Greek Pentateuch or the entire Greek Old Testament. Thus, for each discourse marker, a profile is built of its pragmatic function(s) based on its uses in the Ptolemaic papyri and the Greek Old Testament. In addition to the Greek language data, insights and data from cognitive, functional, and typological linguistics are incorporated that inform and further confirm the findings. The resulting profile is

TynBull 68:2 (2017) p. 314

then compared to descriptions of the discourse marker in Classical Greek and Koine (typically New Testament) Greek studies. This has the benefit of illustrating the similarities between the cognitive–functional profiles and more traditional descriptions of the discourse markers whilst also demonstrating the usefulness of the cognitive–functional linguistic framework and the precision and clarity it provides.

To this end, for example, δέ is described as a marker that organises and structures the discourse by signalling the ...