The pronunciation & reading of ancient Greek

11 Pages·1984·3.929 MB·English

by  Stephen G Daitz

THE LIVING VOICE OF GREEK AND LATIN LITERATURE
THE PRONUNCIATION AND READING
OF ANCIENT GREEK:
A Practical Guide
by
STEPHEN G. DAITZ
Professor of Classical Languages
The City College and the Graduate School, CUNY
DEMONSTRATION TEXTS AND PRACTICE EXERCISES
Jeffrey Norton Publishers, Inc.
New York Guilford, CT London
0 Stephen G. Daltz, 1981, 1984
Second Revised Edition
TO
A. E. RAUBITSCHEK
THE PRONUNCIATION AND READING OF ANCIENT GREEK: A Practical Guide
Copyright ° 1981, 1984 by Stephen G. Daitz. Second revised edition. All rights
reserved. Printed In the United States of America. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored In a retrieval system, or transmitted, In any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-88432-125-8
Published by Audio-Forum, a Division of Jeffrey Norton Publishers, Inc.,
On-The- Green, Guilford, Connecticut 06437
New York Sales Office: 145 E. 49th Street, New York, N.Y. 10017
London Sates Office: 31 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4LL, U.K.
PREFACE TO THE FIKST EDITION
This booklet contains In printed form
the Greek texts which are used in the recording
for demonstration purposes, as well as the
suggested practice exercises. One obvious
advantage of a recording in language study is
that the user can stop or repeat the recording
whenever he wishes in order to verify or to
reinforce hia aural impressions. It is my hope
that students using this recording will make
full use of the possibilities of stopping or
replaying so that each student can advance at
his or her own individual paoe.
Having the texts and the exercises before
the eyes will provide visual reinforcement
to the procesa of aural sensitization and compre
hension. After all, most of us have been conditioned
to absorb literature through the eyes rather than
through the ears. To savor the full beauty of
Greek literature, however, some form of reoonditioning
is necessary so that our ears can become active
participants in the literary process. The principal
aim of this recording is to encourage and to
facilitate this reconditioning.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help
of my colleagues, Professors Heller, Hurwitz,
and Stern, each of whom offered some excellent
suggestions towards the improvement of thi3
recording.
New York, May 1981 S.G.D.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
l'ext of Homer. ILIAD. Book I. lines 1-7
At the suggestion of several of my colleagues
and students, some minor changes and some major Mrjviv ds/eiSe, Oed, IltjXT/taSew 'Axikrjo?
additions have been made in the second edition of ovkopevqv, 17 fivpC 'Amatols aXye' ZOrjKev,
this recording. The scansion and reading of the
7roX\a9 8' l<j)dip.ov<; \l>v)(a<; "AjiSt irpotaxjjeu
dactylic hexameter, in the aim of greater clarity
y]pa>a)v, avroix; Se c'Xwpta reu^e Kwtcmnv
and effectiveness, has been broken down to five
stages rather than to the previous four. I have oiuivoicri re Saira — Atos S' e'reXeiero (3ov\rj —
added demonstration-readings of a complete passage (£ ov 8*7 TO. rrpcoTa hiacrryjrqv ipivavre
of dactylic hexameters at stages 2, 3, 4, and 5,
'ArpetS^s re jai>a£ avhpwv KOX Stos 'A^tXXeu?.
and have added a similar treatment of a passage
of iambic trimeters. Finally, I have added
demonstration-readings of a passage of anapestic
N.Bo In this text, the inserted letter, F, is
dimeters and of a lyric poem. The texts and
scansion of this additional material appear in a digamma, pronounced like the English letter, w.
the present booklet.
I insert the digamma only when it is etymologieslly
This new edition is dedicated to justified and when its Insertion allows us either
A. E. Raubitschek, eminent scholar and teacher,
to avoid hiatus or to avoid rhythmic irregularities
who many years ago read aloud a passage of the
Antigone and struck this listener with the which are otherwise inexplicable. Although the
unforgettable and amazed feeling of how
digamma is not found in the medieval manuscripts
beautiful Greek poetry could sound.
of Homer, it was probably pronounced in the
early pre-olassical recitations of Homer and
New York, September 1984
was very possibly pronounced in the ritualized
recitations of Homer during the classical period
at Athens. Of the three versions of these lines
heard in the recording, only the third version,
the restored ancient pronunciation, inserts the
digamma.
8
0 theta M
The Greok Alphabet and its Pronunciation (Attic. V cent.)
Short 1 (0 iota HI
(Only the small, non-capital, forma of the Greek
Long I (X) iota M
letters are printed here*)
International K kappa M
Greek Letter* Name Phonetic Symbol
X lambda N
Short « (<) alpha hi
mu 1*1
h
Long * <«) alpha /a:/
V nu In/
Short <M. alpha iota /ai/
ksi A s/
!
Long oil ( *) alpha iota subscript /a:i/
a omikron /o/
<U alpha upsilon /au/
OL omikron iol ;a /oi/
beta N
ft 00 omikron upsilon M
r gamma Id
ir
Pi hi
(Y before v,
x » x» i / *- w
rho hi (trilled)
f
r delta N
t epsilon hi «*, s sigma hi
( 0- before A, or y*, or \ , voru=* /a/
tl epsilon iota h:l
T tau hi
to epailon upsilon /eu/
zdeta /«*/ Short u ( 5) upsilon hi
\
eta M Long u ( 0) upsilon hi/
T
ut upsilon iota hi/
eta iota subso ript /€:i/
I1 W
phi /W
nu eta upsilon IvW •
khi M
X
*In the following list, the symbolw over a vowel
psi hsl
indicates a vowel of short quantity, the symbol "" •
CO omega loi/
indicates a vowel of long quantity. These same
COI. c uO omega iota subscript /o :i/
symbols are also traditionally used to indicate
respectively short and long syllables. (See below,
Rules of Syllabic Quantity and Soan3ion.)
11
10
Pronunciation of circumflex accent
Written Signs for Aspiration
«ouAos slave
©I unaa pi rated vowel
VI K U) I win
o^ aspirated vowel
etl unaspirated diphthong (sign over aecond element)
Pronunciation practice of twenty words
dU aspirated diphthong (sign over aecond element}
1. Messenger
2. Brother
Pronunciation Practice of Selected Vowels and Consonants
3. Man *civ0fu>Tro$
The pair, kappa and khi
4. Clear
K3 Kl K»| fcT K© Ku KW K6U
5. Gift
X* X£ XI X* X A1 xw ^
6. Collect
The pair pi and phi
7. Foreigner
TT<K m irr] rri To Ti? rw 7T£U
8. From there
$* §£ (^h AT it au (J>U> A eu
The pair tau and theta 9. Strong t « - X5P *s
10. Village
r* re rrj TT TO TO TCA) T tU
11. Silence K wM
03 0*L &*] 01 Oo flu 0w 0 eo
( t > u \ £ r rw
12. Protect
The consonant zdeta
I* £e ?»| £T u *u £>u> | tu 13. Athenian
14. Conspire €1TI/9ouX£UUJ
The consonant rho
p3 pt f»| p! PUJ p eu 15. Soldier <rTp*TlWT»jS
16. Grieve
Pronunciation of acute accent * X * ° £ *1
1. Over a short vowel 17» Prevent k .w XDLU
t v A
OM.OAO v-w
18. Agree
AGVOS reason, word
* f/ 19. Die
ra
Ooos street, way
20. Song
ri
2. Over a long vowel or a diphthong
/*VJTI1P mother
honor
12
13
Text of the opening sentence of Plato'a APOLOGY
and Arj|uJ 'I shall cease' have the first syllable
I. "O TC pkv fyms, <3 afSpe? 't\$t)vo2oi.. nerrovOaTe UJTO
long by position (because of the double consonant! ),
T(ou ipwu Karr/yopcDU, OVK otSa' cya> S* ovv /ecu atrrb<; vn civ-
but the first vowel is short in Xfc^w , long in Xn|u>.
rStv o\iyov epavrov (ire\a96pt}w OVTOJ iri$auo)<; ekeyov KCU-
rot a\r)0(<; y w? eVo? tlrreiv ovSeu (IprJKacrtv. 4. If a syllable does not qualify as long either
by nature or by position, it is classified short.
Rules to determine syllabic quantity
Some exceptions to the general rules on quantity
1. A syllable may be classified long either by
1. A syllable containing a short vowel which is
nature or by position.
followed by two consonants can sometimes remain
2. A syllable is classified long by nature if
shoxi; if the two consonants belong to one of
it contains a long vowel such as eta, omega,
the following combinations (a 'stop' plu3 a 'liquid*)J
long alpha, long iota, long upsilon, or any
diphthong. This syllable is said to be long
0A, 0 /s dv, 0j> ( \ * 0 f < M ° s)
by t no nature of its vowel or dipthong.
3. A syllable is classified long by position
* X, K /\ *V, Kj> ( v t K f o ' s )^
if it contains a short vowel, such as epsilon,
omikron, short alpha, short iota, short upsilon, r X, T >, TV, T£ Mrpo'l)
which is then followed by at least two successive
<j>x, <K <ff ( r f i f € u t o)
consonants which may include the double consonants
X ^ , XV, Xf c J x u -)
zdeta, ksi, and psi. This syllable is said to be
N.B. The symbol^ is placed over a syllable which
long by the position of its vowel in front of
may be theoretically scanned short or long.
two or more consonants.
2. A vowel at the end of a word standing before a
N.B. a) One or both of the two consonants lengthening
vowel at the beginning of the next word i3 said
a fi"al syllable by position may belong to the next
to be in hiatus. Sometimes a long final vowel or
word, e.g. <J>0*S$* rroinTiit or utv-dT'KTij***.
a diphthong in hiatus is shortened before the
b) Length by position does not change the natural
vowel that follows. This form of shortening is
A / c
t |« 'I shall 3ay'
called correptlon. Some examples are:
* See note on p.20.
14 15
^<H £YVeTT€ (Odyssey l.l)
Reading Homer. ODYSSEY I.1-10 (dactylic hexameter)
F A A ^ X^ t n^ (Odyssey 1.2) Stage 1. Rhythm without words (chanted on la la...)
For a complete treatment of these and other
Stage 2. Rhythm with words (chanted)
exceptions, see D.S, Raven, Greek Metre, pp.25-24.
v ^ - o v r *v «•,
' AvSpa /xoi W€ £7re, Mouaa, 7roADTpo77oy, 6j /xaAa 7roAAa
7rAay^l/rj, w€ «i lpooj? teoov 7rToA«t/pov entpae'
Scansion and reading of the dactylic hexameter 7roAA35f §'"*<£v0ptO7r<<)i'fi8e' facr-rea KCU voov kyvu>,
rroAAa o o y tv rrovrip TraUtv aAyeafov Kara vvfxov,
1. A dactyl m one long syllable •+ two short
"apvviiivosfyv rTifioxfiv KCU voarov'iraipiov. 6
syllables m ~~ w v^. aM ovd to? erapovs ippvaaro, lifitvos wep*
aurwf yap Oferepflotv aTaal/aAiflow oAovro,
2. A spondee m two long syllables » — —
vnmot, oi Kara povs l7repioKOs HeAioio
3. A troohee • one long syllable + one short I)OI)KOV avrap o roiaiv afaiAtro voarip.ov miap.
Ttof a/ioc/«y ye, Wea, vvyarcp Aids, ewe Kai T)/XIV. 10
syllable « — v-x
4. A hexameter « a verse consisting of six measures
Stage 3. Rhythm + words + pitoh accents (chanted)
5. A dactylic hexameter with the maximum number of
daotyls m 5 daotyls + 1 spondee or 1 trochee =
"AvSpa uoi (vv€7t€, Moucra, iroXvrponov, o? fidXa iroXXa
(Measures) 2 3 4 5 ithayyv-i), ena lpoiTjs ifpor TrroAuc/pov tirtpae-
_•_ V> VJ, VJ v_/ VJW , ^VJ iroXXcov 8' avOptibmovfloe fu'area «at v^ov eyvw,
7foAAa" 8* "o y'"V^ •JT(5IT'<O TraOei' aAyca/bv Kard Oup;^,
N.B. Sinoe there was presumably some pause at the end
of eaoh verse in a sequence of dactylic hexameters, aAA ovo aij «rapouy ippvaa.ro, uutvos nep'
awrw»> yap aitrepriatv araovaMfloiv oAowo,
the last syllable of the verse is in practice counted
long even if it theoretically scans short. •naotov avrap o roLotvafeiAero o vvdoaaTritfuxoovv f17l/wLa p.
Twv,c!jLt6'0«' ye, ^eal fluyarcp Atos, eW Kat ^/AIV. 10
6. The full metrical scheme of the dactylic hexameter,
including spondee substitution for dactyls, is
Stage 4. Rhythm + words + pitoh aooents (spoken tones)
(Measures) Stage 5. w Stage 4 + phrasing and interpretation
I I I
N.B. Spondee substitution in the fifth measure is
relatively rare.
16
17
Soanslon and reading of the iambic trimeter
Reading Aiskhylos. PROtdffflMJS BOUND 1-6 (iambic trimeter)
1. An iamb « one short syllable + one long syllable •»
Stage 1. Rhythm without words (chanted on la la...)
2. A tribrach «= three short syllables » "^ ^ -*
Stage 2. Rhythm with words (ohanted)
3. An anapest » two short syllables + one long
syllable m ^ •"* — ,j _ —— «- „. v _. v* —• « -v
w
XOovos pit *s ryXovpov rjKOfttv ntoov,
4. For spondee and dactyl, see p,14
JLVuflqi'"?? olfiov, apporovlh Ipiifiiav.
' II<f>aiorf, aoi 8e xpi] H*Xuv ImoroXas
5. A trimeter « a verse of three measures, eaoh
d? coi ita,Tt)p t<p(iro, rovix npos rr€TpaiS^
measure consisting of two iambs or their metrical viptjXoKprJuvotf TOC Xtwpyov oj^jaaou 5
aSafwiinrlvuJv Sta^iwv iv appfjKrois mfiais.
equivalent.
3tage 3. Rhythm + words ••- pitch accents (chanted)
6. The full metrical soheme of the iambic trimeter,
.JftWdr jWe <s rrjAovpov iJKoptv nioou,
including resolutions (substitutions for the iamb), is
£t<vOriv% otnov,y'appoTOi>~ils"4pynlav.
(Measures) 1 "II<f>atoT€, aol hi x~pf) fUXftv imoroXas
3s <roi rrari^p i<f>€fro, Tivht itpis ntrpats
w v^« iil»)XoKpifoivois rov Xtwpydv dxfjaocu 5
:
VJ KJ \J V) SJVJ Nj W W U VJ O "dSafwt'f/i'wf Sibpiujv^iv "Spp^KTOK WScus.
wu VI M
Stage 4* Rhythm + words + pitch aocents (spoken tones)
N.B. Since there was presumably some pause at the end Stage 5» m Stage 4 + phrasing and interpretation
of each verse in a sequence of iamblo trimeters,
N.B. In the above passage, observe the tribrach
the last syllable of the verse is in practice counted
resolution in the seoond measure of line 2, and
long even if it theoretically scans short. The above
the anapest resolution in the first measure of
metrical scheme is applicable to the iambic trimeters
line 6.
found in Greek tragedy. The soheme for the trimeters
of Greek comedy is somewhat different, containing many
more resolutions.
18
19
Euripides. HfiKABB 98-106 (anapestio dimeter), stage 5
Sappho 1 (lyric meter: sapphio strophe), stapie 5
Metrical scheme of the sapphic strophe:
Metrioal scheme of the anapestio dimeter:
^ __ ^ (lines 1,2,3)
. -~. \> <^J
»»> *J SJ \J vj \J MM VJ \j W
I I-
(line 4)
N.B, Symbol || • diaeresis (word end)
As can be seen, both dactyls and spondees oan be iroiKtX60pov' aOavdr' Athpooira,
ffat /Jto? SoAdn-AoKf, Xiaaopal at,
substituted for anapests. Normally, however, a
/i») /t aaatai jnjo oviaiai bapva,
sequenoe of four short syllables is avoided in the norvia, Ovpov,
anapestio dimeter. A "oataleotio" dimeter (a lino
dAAd TU/8' <A0', at 7roTa Kartpiora
with its last syllable omitted) is called a paroemiao, ras Upas avSas dlotoa vrfXoi
ZKXVCS, rrdrpos Si oopov Xtnoioa
an example of which can be seen in line 103 below.
Xpvoiov JjXOts
dpp' vnaaSev^aiaa' KaXot 8/ a' dyov
v •* — — —. — loxtts orpoGOcH irtpl yd? ptXaivas
'EKdf3t], <rirov8f)\irp6t <r' tXid<r6t]v,
ndxva olvvtirrts nrip' an' wpdvwXOt-
Tcky 8wiro(i6vovs\\crKi}vhs npoXuroOar ,
pos Bid piooio,
W tKXt)pd>Oi)v\\Ka\ npocr(TdxOi]v IOO
SoAXt), Tr6X(tx>i\\an(Xavvofi(Pt) atipa 8' ({{KOVTO- at) 8', d> /idxatpa,
rfc 'IXidSos, \6yxt)s atxffi fiu&iatoaio' aOavaTqj rrpoadmy
•qpt OTTI oijtirt rtirrovQa KIOTTI.
SoptOfyaros irpbs ^A-^ai&v, '5
ot)$Tt KaXyppi,
oio\v iraOiow dnoKov(f)({ovcr,
dXX' dyy(X(as fldpos dpapivi) toj
Kwrrt pot pdXtora OiXio yivtaOat
piya, <ro( T(, yfoat, Ktjpvi d-^iwv. ftatvoXa Odpip- rlva Si)irt ntlOoi
a<p a' ayqv is Fdv ^tAdrara; T»? a', &
ran<f> , dSiKtjet;
20
KOX yap ai (fitvyu, rax^os otu>£tr
at oi owpa pfj 8^K«T', dAAd Swatf
ai oi pr) (f>lXtt, raxtujs (fiiXyoti
<X9t /tot Kal vvv, xaXiirav St XGaov
(K ptptftvav, oaoa oe /xoi rtXeaaat
OOftos Ipippti., riXtaov av 8' avra
ovu/iaxos toao.