As I embarked on my doctoral journey at McMaster Divinity College, I was fortunate to cross paths with Hughson T. Ong, whose work introduced me to the field of sociolinguistics. In addition, my supervisor, Stanley E. Porter, deepened my understanding of sociolinguistic methodologies and their potential applications in biblical studies. This book is, therefore, both a culmination of my scholarly endeavors during my doctoral studies and a tribute to the mentors who shaped my academic perspective.
This work employs historical sociolinguistic approaches to the book of the Acts by synthesizing the sociology of language, critical constructivism, variationalist sociolinguistics, and ethnographic-interactional sociolinguistics. These methodologies provide a robust framework which identify the complex multilingual environment of Greco-Roman world, offering new insights into the sociolinguistic landscapes at the dawn of Christianity.
While contemporary scholars in the fields of ancient history and ancient languages have increasingly recognized the significance of historical sociolinguistics, its application in biblical studies has been still in an infant stage. Although biblical scholars often mention sociolinguistic issues in biblical studies, they do not have a comprehensive understanding of sociolinguistics. Biblical scholars who employ sociolinguistics are very few, and even they employ outdated theories that once prevailed in the 1970s. This book aims to bridge this gap by introducing contemporary sociolinguistic theories and models that can contribute to our understanding of the prestige language of the early Christianity and of how it was employed in the official settings of the churches, such as preaching, evangelism, and teaching. I hope this book will serve as a resource for scholars and students alike, providing a robust methodological toolset for those seeking to understand the linguistic and social underpinnings of the New Testament studies.
This publication would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions of numerous colleagues and mentors. I am particularly grateful to the academic community at McMaster Divinity College for their support and encouragement throughout this project. To my readers, I extend an invitation to explore the intricate interplay of language and society in the ancient world, as unveiled through the Acts of the Apostles.