THE GREEK VERBAL NETWORK VIEWED FROM A PROBABILISTIC STANDPOINT: AN EXERCISE IN HALLIDAYAN LINGUISTICS STANLEY E. PORTER AND MATTHEW BROOK O’DONNELL This study explores numerical or distributional markedness in the verbal network of the Greek of the New Testament. It extends the systemic analysis of Porter (Verbal Aspect in the Greek of the New Testament, 1989), making use of the Hallidayan concept of probabilistic grammar, which posits a typology of systems where features are either «equiprobable»— both features are equally distributed (0.5/0.5)—or «skewed»—one feature is marked by its low frequency of occurrence (0.9/0.1). The results con- firm that the verbal aspect system of the Greek of the New Testament is essentially independent of other verbal systems, such as voice and mood. 1. Introduction The use of numerical methods in both traditional grammar and modern linguistics has a chequered history within this century 1. Early field studies by such anthropologists and linguists as Boas emphasized data-gathering as of paramount importance, with recognition of the dif- ferences in the structures of languages 2. This approach developed into a 1 This paragraph is dependent upon P.H. Matthews, Grammatical Theory in the United States from Bloomfield to Chomsky (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 67; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), esp. pp. 5-48. For histories of the ear- lier period, see J.T. Andresen, Linguistics in America 1769–1924: A Critical History (London: Routledge, 1990); K.R. Jankowsky, The Neogrammarians: A Re-Evaluation of their Place in the Development of Linguistic Science ( Janua Linguarum, Series Minor, 116; The Hague: Mouton, 1972); and R.H. Robins, A Short History of Linguistics (LLL; London: Longman, 2nd edn, 1979), esp. pp. 164-240. For a contrasting history of the development of linguistics in Britain, see R. Harris (ed.), Linguistic Thought in England 1914–1945 (London: Duckworth, 1988), where it is obvious that there was far less systematic development, at least in part explaining why American linguistics has come to dominate linguistic discussion. A better overview is G. Sampson, Schools of Linguistics (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1980). 2 F. Boas, «Introduction», in Handbook of American Indian Languages, I (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1911; repr. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, n.d.). The most noteworthy proponents of recognition of the differences in lan- guages, and their relation to how humans think and speak, are E. Sapir, Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1921); and B. Malinowski, «The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages», in C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, The Meaning of Meaning: A Study of the Influence of Language upon Thought and of the Science of Symbolism (New York: Harcourt, 1923), pp. 296-336. Malinowski had a significant influence on J.R. Firth (e.g. Papers in Linguistics 1934–1951 [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957]), and Firth on M.A.K. Halliday (see below), and what has beco- me known as the London School of functional linguistics. Filología Neotestamentaria - Vol. XIV - 2001, pp. 3-41 Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de Córdoba (España)