The Greek perfect and the categorization of tense and aspect : toward a descriptive apparatus for operators in role and reference grammar

This thesis expands the theoretical basis for operators within Role and Reference Grammar, using the Greek perfect as a test case. I examine current the approach to tense and aspect in RRG and its strengths and weaknesses. Some areas of RRG have a robust set of tools for language description, but semantic operators do not. I propose a model for tense and aspect operators that fills gaps in RRG while maintaining the integrity and spirit of the linguistic theory. I begin with a survey of the broader typological literature on tense and aspect to establish a set of tests for the evaluation and categorization of operators. I apply these tests to the Greek Perfect to evaluate their effectiveness, and concluding with a synthetic model for tense and aspect operators that satisfies the claims of the broader literature thereby furthering the goals of RRG as a framework for language description.