Confused by 601 vs. 681

Are you reading Homeric Greek? Whether you are a total beginner or an advanced Homerist, here you can meet kindred spirits. Besides Homer, use this board for all things early Greek poetry.
Post Reply
justplainpossum
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:04 pm

Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by justplainpossum »

In 601 it says that omicron, by compensative lengthening, becomes oυ, but 681 reads that δαιmov becomes daimων and γεροντ becomes γερων (which is what I thought it should do). Which is correct? Is there something here that I am not understanding correctly?

601 also says that epsilon becomes ει. Why doesn't it become η?

Thank you!! This is a wonderful website for self-learners.

User avatar
jaihare
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 959
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:47 am
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Contact:

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by jaihare »

Have you checked Smyth?

Notice section 37. Also, he specifically says that the lengthening from ο to ου and from ε to ει are spurious in note c of that section. Normal lengthening of ε is to η and of ο is to ω.

In section 242, he addresses the lengthening of third-declension noun stem vowels.

(Curiously, why does your μ come out as m in your post?)

justplainpossum
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:04 pm

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by justplainpossum »

No, I am not familiar with Smyth.

I think I was confusing compensative lengthening with third declension stems ending in rho, sigma, and nu lengthening their last epsilon to eta or last omicron to omega. Sometimes my head gets spinny trying to absorb and understand all this.

However, are you saying that what Pharr writes in 601 is indeed incorrect? That in compensative lengthening, epsilon should become eta (not ει) and omicron should become omega (and not ου)? If so, I'll correct it in my book.

Thank you!
Aimee

NateD26
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 789
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:14 am
Contact:

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by NateD26 »

justplainpossum wrote:However, are you saying that what Pharr writes in 601 is indeed incorrect? That in compensative lengthening, epsilon should become eta (not ει) and omicron should become omega (and not ου)? If so, I'll correct it in my book.
Not at all. There are cases, like masc. acc. pl. of 2nd declension, where o turns to the (spurious)
diphthong ου (-ον-ς > -ους), and there are others, like noun stems ending in ν and οντ,
where o turns to ω (δαιμον* > δαίμων; γεροντ* > γέρων, but note dat. pl. γεροντ-σι* > (ντ drops) > γέρουσι).

With ε, there is λιμεν* > λιμήν, and there is ἐ-μεν-σα* > ἔμεινα (aorist of μένω; example from Smyth).
Nate.

User avatar
jaihare
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 959
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:47 am
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Contact:

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by jaihare »

justplainpossum wrote:No, I am not familiar with Smyth.
You'll have to correct that, too. :) Smyth is essential.

Smyth for PDF download from Textkit - link
Same from Internet Archive - link

There's a newly updated online version, but I can't seem to find the link that I had for it. I'll look around. If I find it, I'll post it here.

Regards,
Jai

User avatar
Anthony Appleyard
Textkit Member
Posts: 173
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 12:43 pm

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by Anthony Appleyard »

Greek spelling rules changed through time. Originally ε meant any E-type sound, and ο meant any O-type sound, and η was called "heta" and meant H.

With time, and influence from the H-dropping Ionic dialect, Attic usage changed to:

ε = closed E sound as French é or German long 'e'
ει = diphthong
η = long open E (since Indo-European 'ē' had become Ancient Greek long open E)
ο = closed O sound
ου = diphthong
ω = long open O (since Indo-European 'ō' had become Ancient Greek long open O)
ε and ο could be short (Indo-European original) or long (from Greek-period contraction, or as compensation before N dropping before S)

Time passed and the diphthongs ει and ου became long closed vowels. So people started writing the long closed vowels as ει and ου, to distinguish from the short vowels. For example, ου is the original diphthong in ἀκουω, but long closed vowel in the common genitive -ου.

We thus have:

ε = closed short E sound as French é
ει = diphthong, or long closed vowel (if you can remember which is which in which words)
η = long open E
ο = short closed O sound
ου = diphthong, or long closed vowel (if you can remember which is which in which words)
ω = long open O
Last edited by Anthony Appleyard on Wed Dec 03, 2014 9:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Anthony Appleyard
Textkit Member
Posts: 173
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 12:43 pm

Re: Confused by 601 vs. 681

Post by Anthony Appleyard »

justplainpossum wrote:In 601 it says that omicron, by compensative lengthening, becomes oυ, but 681 reads that δαιmov becomes daimων and γεροντ becomes γερων (which is what I thought it should do). Which is correct? Is there something here that I am not understanding correctly?

601 also says that epsilon becomes ει. Why doesn't it become η?

Thank you!! This is a wonderful website for self-learners.
The lengthening in daimων is "vrddhi" that happened in Indo-European times.

Examples of o becoming ou happened in Greek times.

Post Reply