Discusses discourse features of Koine Greek from the perspective of descriptive linguistics.

Covers topics of constituent order, sentence conjunctions, patterns of reference, backgrounding and highlighting, and reporting conversations. Was written for classroom lectures, discussion groups, and self-instruction. Draws on personal in-depth research and experience in seminars, teach-ins, and courses to describe discourse features. Benefits students who have basic familiarity with discourse analysis and some knowledge of Koiné Greek. Requires the ability to identify the case of a noun and the tense-aspect of a verb and to distinguish participial, relative, and main clauses. Illustrates discourse features from New Testament passages. Includes review questions to assist students in applying the principles.

Stephen Levinsohn has a doctorate in Linguistic Science from the University of Reading, England. He is an International Linguistics Consultant with SIL International, did fieldwork in Colombia from 1968 to 1998 with the Inga (Quechuan) people, and directs linguistic and "Discourse for Translation" workshops in different parts of West Africa and Latin America.