The Verbal Aspect Integral to the Perfect and Pluperfect Tense-Forms in the Pauline Corpus: A Semantic and Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

This study identifies the verbal aspect for the Greek synthetic Perfect tense-form found in the Pauline epistles. The specific morphological components in the reduplicant and in the lexical core of the Perfect tense-form are used to construct a complex aspect using Grammaticalisation. Diachronic considerations are maintained throughout the study. This study combines theoretical linguistics with a comparison of Indo-European parallels as it solves the nature of the verbal aspect of the Greek synthetic Perfect tenseform. First, the literature is reviewed showing where either the nature of verbal aspect or the identity of the aspect for the Perfect tense-form is unclear. Second, the uniformity among several arguments point to a complex aspect. Third, selected examples from the Pauline corpus are analysed to test the complex aspect. Fourth, the use of the Perfect tense-form within the Pauline corpus is compared against a diachronic epistolary and moral literature corpus that results in the placement of the Greek synthetic Perfect tenseform on the respective grammaticalisation clines of reduplicants and of perfectives. The comparison between Paul and Greek letter writers from 400 BCE to 400 CE showed that Paul uses the Perfect embedded within supplemental clauses more often than other writers. Paul also employs a greater variety of active lexemes in that role. This study concludes that the verbal aspect for the Greek synthetic Perfect tenseform is complex, involving two verbal aspects, each related to a different part of the verbal complex. The reduplicant of the Perfect tense-form is imperfective, and places that aspect upon a state. This state may be relevant to the grammatical subject or to an object. The lexical core is perfective, and places that aspect upon an event relevant to the lexeme. The complex aspect provides a relationship between the verbal aspect of the Perfect tense-form and its diachronic development history.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Dwight Swanson (Supervisor) & Svetlana Khobnya (Supervisor)