Best Attic Greek Grammar?
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Best Attic Greek Grammar?
Hi - I am currently working in Homeric Greek, but plan to jump into Attic Greek in the fall of 2007 after I have finished Pharr's book. I am building a library of Attic Greek books, and I am thinking Greek Grammar by Herbert Weir Smyth and Gordon M. Messing (ISBN: 0674362500) is the way to go.
Does anyone think there is a better grammar out there that is still in print? I simply want to make sure I am investing in the right volume.
Thanks for any replies.
Does anyone think there is a better grammar out there that is still in print? I simply want to make sure I am investing in the right volume.
Thanks for any replies.
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What modern languages do you read? There are excellent works in French and German, too.
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/ — http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
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Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, aka "Kühner-Gerth" may be the most comprehensive treatment of Greek grammar. It doesn't get much more in-depth than these volumes (plural!). But going from Pharr's introductory book to a mammoth Greek grammar is a huge leap. KG is strictly for reference, but it's probably the best reference out there.
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There is also Krüger's "Greek Syntax," in 4 vols. (the first two Attic, the second two poetic and Herodotean syntax). The University of Michigan Press offers a recent translation (so-called) by Guy L. Cooper. It is actually quite an extension of Krüger's work. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this translation at all. First, Cooper's writing style is sometimes impossibly obscure. Second, the books are fairly expensive but are at the same time some of the worst-edited books I've ever seen — not little errors, but things like commas in the middle of words and mysterious lunacies in the Greek examples. I do have vols. 3 and 4 of the translation, and I use it regularly. But after seeing the carelessness that went into the production, I cannot bring myself to get the first two, which cost even more than the poetic volumes.Didymus wrote:Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, aka "Kühner-Gerth" may be the most comprehensive treatment of Greek grammar.
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/ — http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;
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Impossibly obscure? Please tell me it's not as bad as the book description. From amazon:
Edit: Found a good review of the first two volumes: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1999/1999-02-07.html#n1
I think with my one year of German, I might decipher the original faster...Guy L. Cooper III offers us the third volume of a revised and copiously expanded new edition of a recognized masterpiece of German syntactic analysis. In this and the {\field{\*\fldinst HYPERLINK "http://www.press.umich.edu/titles/11295 ... s16\cf1\ul fourth volume}}\plain\fs24\plain\fs24 , he translates K. W. Kr\'fcger's work on Herodotus and on the Greek poets from Homer through Aristophanes. \par\pard\s1\sa100\sb100\li0\plain\fs24 With the {\field{\*\fldinst HYPERLINK "http://www.press.umich.edu/titles/10845 ... s16\cf1\ul first two volumes}}\plain\fs24\plain\fs24 of the set, \plain\fs24\i1{\field{\*\fldinst HYPERLINK "http://www.press.umich.edu/titles/10845 ... s16\cf1\ul Attic Greek Prose Syntax volumes I and II}}\plain\fs24\i1 ,\plain\fs24 the third addition will make an essential reference for libraries and personal collections alike. \par\pard\s1\sa100\sb100\li0\plain\fs24 Guy L. Cooper III is Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of North Carolina, Asheville. \par\pard}
Edit: Found a good review of the first two volumes: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1999/1999-02-07.html#n1