Discourse analysis has been presented in a variety of ways in New Testament studies. After a review of the eight different approaches used in New Testament studies, a Cognitive Model for Discourse Analysis, which is based on principles from Cognitive Linguistics and discourse processing, is proposed as a possible way forward, while also incorporating gains from the different Functional approaches into the model. Finally, the proposed Cognitive Model is applied to the parables of Jesus and to the other materials of Luke 15-16 as a "test case" for thinking about discourse from a uniquely Cognitive perspective.
This ePub book will be of interest to linguists, translators, and New Testament scholars who would like to have a comprehensive conceptualization of the discourse analysis enterprise as it has been used in New Testament studies, and of discourse analysis itself as it contributes to our overall understanding of the Greek language of the New Testament. As such, this book provides much needed foundational knowledge for those wanting to understand the discipline better.
About the Author :
Eric Fields received a PhD in Ancient Languages from Stellenbosch University, S. Africa (2024). He is currently the Team Leader for the *Makori Translation Project (2012-present), which published the New Testament in Roman and Ajami Scripts (2024), and he is also a New Testament Consultant-in-Training for SIL Africa in W. Africa (2025-present). His experience in Bible translation has led to an interest in Cognitive Linguistics and New Testament studies. *-pseudonym
Review :
As I prepared to read Eric Fields' text for the first time, I thought, "Good--I'll be able to see what's happening today
in Cognitive Linguistics." I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he covers much more than just Cognitive
Linguistics. In fact, the book is worth reading simply for his review and analysis of various past discourse models.
Fields discusses eight models--five that are no longer being developed and three that continue to be refined. He
critiques them primarily in terms of how they address boundaries, cohesion, and prominence, and he provides a
sample analysis for each model using a New Testament Greek text from Luke 15 or 16.
Fields recognizes considerable value in Functional Linguistics, yet he notes important distinctions between the
Functional and Cognitive approaches. He explains that a functional linguist is more of a specialist (like a specialist
physician), while a cognitive linguist is more of a generalist (like a medical general practitioner). The cognitive
approach to discourse analysis seeks to establish the notions of systematicity and schematicity, again focusing on the
areas of boundaries, cohesion, and prominence. Fields also analyzes several Greek texts from Luke 15 and 16 to
illustrate what the Cognitive Model has to offer. I highly recommend this book.
Ervin Starwalt, PhD
Discourse Coordinator, SIL Global Translation Services
Discourse analysis is an important topic of current interest at the interface of Biblical Studies and Linguistics, and this
book makes a significant and original contribution to both disciplines. Eric Fields shows how eight different discourse
analysis theories - five older and three current - can be used to analyze the parables of Jesus in Luke 15 and 16. He
then takes the most helpful elements from these theories and shows how his own, cognitive linguistic, approach
provides an even more insightful analysis of these parables. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in
applying linguistics to the study of the New Testament.
Steve Nicolle
Professor of Linguistics, Canada Institute of Linguistics
SIL Global Senior Linguistics Consultant and Pike Fellow
In this book, Dr. Eric Fields provides us with a comprehensive, cogent method of discourse analysis that develops a
detailed functional linguistic procedure for the exposition of the New Testament. This is coupled with a cognitive
linguistic model of conceptualizing and documenting what is going on in such an investigation with special reference
to the crucial parameters of textual boundaries, cohesion, and prominence. To my knowledge, this is the first study
that makes a precise comparative survey of all major approaches to the discourse analysis of the Scriptures from the
perspective of cognitive linguistics. This research is greatly enhanced by the application of nine different methods,
including his own, to a single corpus of NT texts, the familiar parable passages of Christ found in Luke 15-16. It will
be most interesting to see how scholars take the results of this exemplary study and apply it to the epistles and,
indeed, also to OT text analysis. This book will be of great relevance to all biblical exegetes, from academic
researchers to pastoral preachers, and Bible translators throughout the world, especially when dealing with difficult
and controversial passages.
Prof. Ernst R. Wendland
Stellenbosch University (Ancient Studies)
