Force Dynamics, Image Schemas, and Constructional Polysemy in the Prepositions ἐπί and κατά in Postclassical Greek

Bibliographic Data

ID22426482
AuthorsRachel E Aubrey (0009-0006-2780-3200, SIL International), Michael G Aubrey (0009-0009-2437-3892, SIL International)
Year2026
Volume22
Issue1
Pages53-88
Publication date2026-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Translation (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1558-7282 • E-ISSN: 1943-8141
PublisherSIL International (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.54395/jot-epikatafd
OpenAlexW7167081271
LanguageEN
References cited37

Greek prepositions ἐπί and κατά are among the most semantically complex in the Koine lexicon, generating English glosses that offer little coherent explanation for their diversity. This article argues that force dynamics—the cognitive-linguistic account of forces, counterforces, and causal relations—provides a unified semantic basis that conventional gloss-based approaches cannot. Drawing on over 10,000 tokens from the Septuagint, New Testament, and extra-biblical Koine sources, the study identifies a force-dynamic image schema for each preposition and shows how schema transformations generate constructional polysemy across physical, cognitive, and social domains. For ἐπί, a downward TRAJECTOR force and the stabilizing counterforce of a LANDMARK motivate constructions from physical stacking and attachment to abstract emotion, causality, authority, and conflict. For κατά, a TRAJECTOR propelled along a conforming LANDMARK path accounts for downward motion, distribution, conformity, manner, and opposition. The analysis concludes with practical guidance for translators and teachers: attending to force-dynamic structure rather than glosses enables more principled, consistent comprehension across contexts.

Comprehension · Image schema · Landmark · Oblique case · Polysemy · Categorization, perception, and language · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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