This study integrates three independent subjects--translation theory, Mandarin aspect, and Greek aspect--for the purpose of formulating a working theory applicable to translating the Bible. The primary objectives are defined in terms of grammatical translation of Greek aspect into Mandarin aspect at the discourse level. A historical overview of the Chinese Bible is provided as a way of introducing major translation issues related to linguistic, conceptual, and logistical challenges. The proposed theory provides the translator with a powerful tool, which is tested in two sample passages from...

Using linguistic discourse analysis, this book offers a fresh approach to Paul's gospel in Romans 1-8 and provides a comprehensive understanding of his argumentative structure and subject matter including the central points of Paul's gospel.

Drawing on frame theory from cogntive science, this book shows that as a product of oral-aural cultures the Gospel of Mark is basically an 'background knowledge'-based story; and hence it can be only properly understood by the help of frames which the speaker and audience shared.

Drawing on recent research into verbal aspect in New Testament Greek by Stanley E. Porter, Buist M. Fanning and others, this work addresses the issue of verb tenses in the book of Revelation and how they function within its visions and discourse.

In The Multilingual Jesus and the Sociolinguistic World of the New Testament, Hughson Ong provides a study of the multifarious social and linguistic dynamics that compose the speech community of ancient Palestine, which include its historical linguistic shifts under different military regimes, its geographical linguistic landscape, the social functions of the languages in its linguistic repertoire, and the specific types of social contexts where those languages were used. Using a sociolinguistic model, his study attempts to paint a portrait of the sociolinguistic situation of ancient...

In Mapping Metaphorical Discourse in the Fourth Gospel, Beth M. Stovell examines the metaphor of Jesus as king throughout the Fourth Gospel using an interdisciplinary metaphor theory incorporating cognitive and systemic functional linguistic approaches with literary approaches. Stovell argues that the theme of Jesus as king provides one of the unifying themes of John's overall message. Examining the place of the Old Testament metaphors of Messiah, "eternal life/life of the age," shepherd, and exaltation in the conceptual metaphorical network of John's Gospel, Stovell asserts that...

In The Language of the New Testament, Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on the Greek language of the earliest Christians. Each essay moves forward the current understanding of the context, history or development of the language of the New Testament. The first section of the volume focuses on the social contexts and registers that provide the environment for language use and selection. The second section deals with issues surrounding the history of the Greek language and how its development has impacted the Greek...

In Verbal Aspect in Synoptic Parallels Wally Cirafesi answers the question of why the Synoptic Gospels at times employ different tense-forms to communicate the same action. The problem has typically been explained from the perspective of redaction criticism and temporal Aktionsart approaches to the Greek verb. Cirafesi challenges these approaches by reframing the discussion in terms of recent advances in verbal aspect theory and discourse analysis. He convincingly demonstrates that such differences in tense-form usage have to do with how each Gospel writer wishes to construct...

In The Greek Article, Ronald D. Peters presents a grammar of the Greek article and relative pronoun, categorized as ὁ-items, which was formulated using the principles of Systemic-Functional Linguistics. This categorization stands in contrast to previous grammars, which have categorically associated the article with the demonstrative pronoun. Thus, the present work represents a significant paradigm shift in the study of the Greek article. Unlike previous approaches that have too often yielded internally inconsistent and contradictory rules of usage, this approach results in a...

In The Representation of Speech Events in Chariton's Callirhoe and the Acts of the Apostles, Adrian T. Smith summarizes cross-linguistic research on how and why narrators vary the formulae that introduce direct speech. This research is applied to Chariton and to Acts. The findings demonstrate that narrators vary quotation formulae for numerous pragmatic purposes, including the tracking of conversational dynamics via a set of 'marked' and 'unmarked' quotation devices.