Word Order...in speaking Communicative Greek 1) I have read, that word order does not matter in Koine Greek. What are your thoughts on that please.
2) Point being...what word order is a American speaker in Communicative Greek to use?
3) Have you noticed a different order coming forth, as speakers around the globe, speak a different native language?
4) If there is a difference, do you think there may become a standard someday?
5) Is there a noticeable difference between Biblical Greek and other Koine literature, concerning word order? I am thinking that one who spends a lot of time in the New Covenant as well as in the LXX, may actually be speaking with a word order proceeding from a Hebraic mindset.
I am also thinking, as similar to #3, how does/did A) Geographic Regions and B) Time, effect Word Order?
Thank you in advance for your attention to my question!
I realize that the above information doesn't directly address all of your questions, Harlan. I'm short on time, so I'll just state that the default word-order in languages can vary somewhat depending upon conventionalized grammatical constructions acquired by language speakers individually and collectively. Generally speaking, finite verb clauses in Koine Greek narrative, for example, default to a VSO (verb-subject-object) pattern, beginning with a verb, then followed by core-arguments (which stand in relation to the verbal idea by complementing or completing it) and finally adjuncts (which are more peripheral, not being grammatically or semantically necessary to complete the clause). There are many factors involved in why Koine Greek speakers and writers don't always follow this pattern. Anyway, that's a bit abstract (sorry about that!), so I or someone else can provide or point you to more concrete examples later. There are many others who are better equipped than me! :-) I hope this is even a small help.
More advanced material can be found from Stephen H. Levinsohn. Analyzing Discourse: A Manual of Basic Concepts, which he coauthored with Robert Dooley, is one of the best entry points that I know of (after Runge) into their approach to discourse analysis and information structure. Levinsohn and Runge tend to follow an (eclectic) functional, cognitive, typological linguistic framework that would be broadly shared by many linguists, including Randall Buth. Levinsohn and Dooley have made their Analyzing Discourse available for free online (although note the disclaimer: "May be reproduced only for non-profit educational use.") http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/Analyzing%20Discourse%20-%20A%20Manual%20of%20Basic%20Concepts.pdf
From there, Levinsohn has many other materials on his SIL page, including his Discourse Materials for Narrative an Non-Narrative Discourse and BART Displays Enhanced for Discourse Features. https://scholars.sil.org/stephen_h_levinsohn https://scholars.sil.org/stephen_h_levinsohn/discourse https://scholars.sil.org/stephen_h_levinsohn/bart He provides a brief overview of some key discourse features in BART Displays Enhanced for Discourse Features: Greek New Testament, although it depends on his other writings. https://scholars.sil.org/sites/scholars/files/stephen_h_levinsohn/bart/enhancedbartdisplaynt.pdf As I understand, he's been working on an updated version of his book dealing explicitly with the Koine Greek of the NT, which hopefully will be released someday, Lord willing! That would be Discourse Features of New Testament Greek: A Coursebook on the Information Structure of New Testament Greek. https://www.amazon.com/Discourse-Features-New-Testament-Greek/dp/1556710933
Hi, Harlan. Word order in Koine Greek is a complex subject. It does matter, however! Steven E. Runge introduces some of the factors involved in "Part 3: Information Structuring Devices" of Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament: A Practical Introduction for Teaching & Exegesis (2010). https://www.amazon.com/Discourse-Grammar-Greek-New-Testament/dp/1598565834 Although before that, I'd generally recommend Randall Buth's Living Koine Greek series. He and his co-laborers at BLC do a wonderful job helping students internalize and understand information structure and how it interacts with linguistic form (morpho-syntax and discourse structure) and meaning (semantic-pragmatics). The new audio recordings and resources that they're producing for their Live Video Classes are phenomenal in this respect (e.g., "Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling" and "Comprehension Questions"). I understand some of the linguistic nuts and bolts of information structure and word-order, but it really becomes clear the more you internalize it (as implicit, communicative knowledge). https://www.biblicallanguagecenter.com/books-products/koine-greek/ https://www.biblicallanguagecenter.com/live-video/