John Benjamins Publishing Company
Continuity and change: The history of two Greek tenses
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Abstract
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate two cases of continuity in the Greek tense system from Antiquity till today, viz. the Imperfect and the Future, both of which, in spite of partly changing morphology and other variation on a surface level, remain remarkably constant semantically and conceptually. The constant meaning of the Imperfect may be defined quite cogently, depending on the choice of theoretical framework, either as developing, intraterminal or inclusive. Also the Future, in spite of more radical surface variation diachronically, displays a remarkably high degree of continuity on a conceptual level. Already Ancient Greek had the possibility of expressing different aspects also in the future tense by means of modal expressions or by periphrasis.
Abstract
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate two cases of continuity in the Greek tense system from Antiquity till today, viz. the Imperfect and the Future, both of which, in spite of partly changing morphology and other variation on a surface level, remain remarkably constant semantically and conceptually. The constant meaning of the Imperfect may be defined quite cogently, depending on the choice of theoretical framework, either as developing, intraterminal or inclusive. Also the Future, in spite of more radical surface variation diachronically, displays a remarkably high degree of continuity on a conceptual level. Already Ancient Greek had the possibility of expressing different aspects also in the future tense by means of modal expressions or by periphrasis.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Introduction 1
- Synchronic and diachronic evidence for parallels between noun phrases and sentences 13
- The development of tense, mood, and aspect in the creole languages, and the typology of affix order 43
- Aspectual oppositions from Proto-Indo-European to Latin 61
- On the development of actionality, tense, and viewpoint from Early to Late Latin 73
- Continuity and change: The history of two Greek tenses 105
- Actionality and aspect in Hittite 131
- Imperfectivity and complete events 149
- Predicative verbs of transition in Portuguese and Spanish: A cognitive approach to aspect, aktionsart, and tense 167
- The Old Nordic Middle Voice in the pre-literary period: Questions of grammaticalisation and cliticisation 185
- The relevance of tense and aspect in Semitic Languages: The case of Hebrew and Arabic 221
- The verb phrase in the Kerebe language 249
- Comparative TAM morphology in Niger-Congo: The case of persistive, and some other markers in Bantu 283
- Indexicals as sources of case markers in Australian languages 299
- Differential object marking in Sahidic Coptic 323
- Index 345
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Introduction 1
- Synchronic and diachronic evidence for parallels between noun phrases and sentences 13
- The development of tense, mood, and aspect in the creole languages, and the typology of affix order 43
- Aspectual oppositions from Proto-Indo-European to Latin 61
- On the development of actionality, tense, and viewpoint from Early to Late Latin 73
- Continuity and change: The history of two Greek tenses 105
- Actionality and aspect in Hittite 131
- Imperfectivity and complete events 149
- Predicative verbs of transition in Portuguese and Spanish: A cognitive approach to aspect, aktionsart, and tense 167
- The Old Nordic Middle Voice in the pre-literary period: Questions of grammaticalisation and cliticisation 185
- The relevance of tense and aspect in Semitic Languages: The case of Hebrew and Arabic 221
- The verb phrase in the Kerebe language 249
- Comparative TAM morphology in Niger-Congo: The case of persistive, and some other markers in Bantu 283
- Indexicals as sources of case markers in Australian languages 299
- Differential object marking in Sahidic Coptic 323
- Index 345
