Syntactic Factors in the Greek Genitive- Dative Syncretism: The Contribution of New Testament Greek
Abstract
The Greek of the New Testament very clearly shows an innovative syntax for adnominal genitives, which become almost exclusively postnominal. In this context, the conditions emerge for the reanalysis of residual prenominal genitive forms as non-core arguments of the verb at the clausal level, i.e. for the rise of a new External Possession Construction. This syntactic reanalysis can, in turn, be argued to be a trigger for the syncretism between genitive and dative case characterizing later stages of Greek. In this contribution I compare the situation found in the New Testament with documents of Classical andPostclassical Greek, aiming to assess to what extent similar conditions held already at previous stages and in sociolinguistically comparable witnesses. I conclude that the External Possession Construction as such was already current at earlier stages of the language, but that the general syntactic conditions conspiring to favor its reanalysis first appear in Biblical Greek.
Abstract
The Greek of the New Testament very clearly shows an innovative syntax for adnominal genitives, which become almost exclusively postnominal. In this context, the conditions emerge for the reanalysis of residual prenominal genitive forms as non-core arguments of the verb at the clausal level, i.e. for the rise of a new External Possession Construction. This syntactic reanalysis can, in turn, be argued to be a trigger for the syncretism between genitive and dative case characterizing later stages of Greek. In this contribution I compare the situation found in the New Testament with documents of Classical andPostclassical Greek, aiming to assess to what extent similar conditions held already at previous stages and in sociolinguistically comparable witnesses. I conclude that the External Possession Construction as such was already current at earlier stages of the language, but that the general syntactic conditions conspiring to favor its reanalysis first appear in Biblical Greek.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Postclassical Greek. An Overview 1
-
Section I: Grammatical Categories
- Purpose and Result Clauses: ἵνα-hína and ὥστε-hōʹste in the Greek Documentary Papyri of the Roman Period 19
- Syntactic Factors in the Greek Genitive- Dative Syncretism: The Contribution of New Testament Greek 39
- Future Periphrases in John Malalas 71
- Combining Linguistics, Paleography and Papyrology: The Use of the Prepositions eis, prós and epí in Greek Papyri 97
- Future Forms inPostclassical Greek. Some Remarks on the Septuagint and the New Testament 111
- Greek Infinitive-Retreat versus Grammaticalization: An Assessment 145
- Postclassical Greek and Treebanks for a Diachronic Analysis 163
-
Section II: Sociolinguistic Aspects and Variation
- The Perfect Paradigm in Theodosius’ Κανόνες: Diathetically Indifferent and Diathetically Non-Indifferent Forms 205
- Forms of the Directive Speech Act: Evidence from Early Ptolemaic Papyri 221
- What’s in a (personal) Name? Morphology and Identity in Jewish Greek Literature in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods 245
- Confusion of Mood or Phoneme? The Impact of L1 Phonology on Verb Semantics 283
- Change in Grammatical and Lexical Structures inPostclassical Greek: Local Dialects and Supradialectal Tendencies 303
- Index 337
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Postclassical Greek. An Overview 1
-
Section I: Grammatical Categories
- Purpose and Result Clauses: ἵνα-hína and ὥστε-hōʹste in the Greek Documentary Papyri of the Roman Period 19
- Syntactic Factors in the Greek Genitive- Dative Syncretism: The Contribution of New Testament Greek 39
- Future Periphrases in John Malalas 71
- Combining Linguistics, Paleography and Papyrology: The Use of the Prepositions eis, prós and epí in Greek Papyri 97
- Future Forms inPostclassical Greek. Some Remarks on the Septuagint and the New Testament 111
- Greek Infinitive-Retreat versus Grammaticalization: An Assessment 145
- Postclassical Greek and Treebanks for a Diachronic Analysis 163
-
Section II: Sociolinguistic Aspects and Variation
- The Perfect Paradigm in Theodosius’ Κανόνες: Diathetically Indifferent and Diathetically Non-Indifferent Forms 205
- Forms of the Directive Speech Act: Evidence from Early Ptolemaic Papyri 221
- What’s in a (personal) Name? Morphology and Identity in Jewish Greek Literature in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods 245
- Confusion of Mood or Phoneme? The Impact of L1 Phonology on Verb Semantics 283
- Change in Grammatical and Lexical Structures inPostclassical Greek: Local Dialects and Supradialectal Tendencies 303
- Index 337
