Beginning Ancient Greek (GREEK 111 and 112) - Cumulative Flashcards

alpha

Α α

beta

Β β

gamma

Γ γ

delta

Δ δ

epsilon

Ε ε

zeta

Ζ ζ

eta

Η η

theta

Θ θ

iota

Ι ι

kappa

Κ κ

lambda

Λ λ

mu

Μ μ

nu

Ν ν

xi

Ξ ξ

omicron

Ο ο

pi

Π π

rho

Ρ ρ

sigma

Σ σ ς

tau

Τ τ

upsilon

Υ υ

phi

Φ φ

chi

Χ χ

psi

Ψ ψ

omega

Ω ω

Difference between lowercase sigmas

ς is only used when sigma is the last letter in a word

σ is used the rest of the time

The lunate sigma has the same shape regardless of where in a word it occurs.

"lunate" sigma

Ϲ ϲ

Vowels

α, ε, η, ι, ο, ω, υ

Stops: Labials

π, β, φ

Stops: Dentals

δ, τ, θ

Stops: Palatals

κ, γ, χ

Liquids

λ, ρ

Nasals

μ, ν

Sibilant

σ/ς

Double Consonants

ζ, ξ, ψ

ζ sounds

σδ, later δσ

ξ sounds

κσ, γσ, χσ

ψ sounds

πσ, βσ, φσ

What is a diphthong?

two vowels combined in pronunciation

What is an improper diphthong?

The second letter (ι) eventually became silent. In the Classical age, however, the iota was still pronounced.

Diphthongs (Proper)

αι, αυ, ει, ευ, ηυ, οι, ου, υι

Diphthongs (Improper)

ᾱι, ηι, ωι

Iota Subscript (improper diphthongs)

small iota written under the vowels ᾳ, ῃ, or ῳ

Note: You don't need a macron above the "α" because it is always long when it has an iota subscript (it is superfluous, but you can still add it)

Iota Adscript (improper diphthongs)

iota written next to the vowels ᾱι, ηι, ωι

When do you use iota adscript vs. iota subscript?

You use the iota subscript when both vowels are lowercase. You use the iota adscript when the first letter is capitalized.

Aspiration

the h-sound added to the BEGINNING of a word that starts with a vowel/diphthong or rho

Rough breathing

῾ (h-sound)

Smooth breathing

᾿ (no h-sound)

Breathing with rho

There is only ever rough breathing with rho. No breathing means that rho behaves like an "r". Breathing means that rho behaves like an "rh".

Placement of Breathing

usually above the vowel or rho

Proper diphthong (capital or lowercase): above second vowel

Improper diphthong (lowercase): above first vowel

Uppercase initial vowel/rho/improper diphthong : to the left of the capital letter

What consonants can a Greek word end in?

ν, ρ, ς, ξ, ψ

number of syllables =

number of vowels and diphthongs

Syllabic Pronunciation

one stop followed by different stop, liquid, or nasal: usually pronounced together

one liquid/nasal followed by different liquid/nasal or stop: usually pronounced separately

exception: μν

repeated consonants: always pronounced separately

sigma followed by a different consonant: ambiguous

double consonants: cannot be shown to be pronounced separately, but they are (can put a hyphen immediately after the vowel/diphthong, but remember to separate the sounds)

Syllabic Division

vowel/diphthong separated from the next vowel/diphthong by one consonant or two or more consonants pronounced together: syllabic break comes immediately after vowel/diphthong

vowel/diphthong separated from the next vowel/diphthong by consonants pronounced separately: syllabic break comes between those consonants (at their break in pronunciation)

double consonant between vowel/diphthong: cannot show that the double consonant has two separate sounds, so the visual break is immediately after the vowel/diphthong, but the auditory break is between the sounds of the double consonant

Comma

,

Period

.

Colon/High Dot

(like English colon or semi-colon)

·

Question Mark

;

Capitalization

capitalize the first letter of:

- a proper name

- a word beginning a quotation

- a word beginning a long section (paragraph, chapter, etc.)

DO NOT capitalize the first letter of:

- a word beginning an ordinary sentence

Macron

"long mark"

placed above a vowel if there would otherwise be no way to tell that the vowel is long

Greek accents denote...

pitch

Types of Greek Accents

acute (´), grave (`), and circumflex (ˆ)

Acute Accent (´)

- indicates a gliding up of pitch

- can go above diphthongs, long vowels, and short vowels

- can appear on the antepenult, penult, or ultima syllable

Grave Accent (`)

- indicates a gliding down of pitch or no change in pitch

- can go above diphthongs, long vowels, and short vowels

- can appear only on the ultima syllable (ONLY IF the word would have had an acute on the ultima but is followed directly by another word with no intervening punctuation mark. In this case, the acute switches to a grave. The acute remains unchanged if there is a punctuation mark immediately after the word.)

Circumflex Accent (ˆ)

- indicates a gliding up followed by a gliding down of pitch

- can go above diphthongs and long vowels

- can appear on the penult or ultima syllable

Circumflex Accents and Macrons

Whenever you see a circumflex, you automatically know that the vowel beneath it is long; thus, a macron indicating the vowel's quantity would be superfluous. (you don't need a macron)

Placement of Accents

placed above/next to vowel/diphthong in that syllable (only vowels can have accents)

if breathing is also on that syllable, breathing goes to the LEFT of an acute/grave and UNDER a circumflex

proper diphthongs (lowercase and uppercase): above the second vowel

improper diphthong (lowercase): above the first vowel

capital letter (improper diphthong, vowel): to the left of the capital letter

Typically, how many syllables have an accent in Greek words?

one

Syllables in a Greek Word

ultima (last)

penult (almost last)

antepenult (before the almost last)

Syllable Length

LONG:

Long by nature: syllable contains a naturally long vowel or a diphthong

Long by position: the vowel/diphthong is followed by consonants pronounced separately or a double consonant (in general, only count/consider the consonants in a syllable that appear after the vowel)

SHORT:

syllable contains a naturally short vowel followed by no consonant, one consonant, or consonants pronounced together

**Note: αι and οι are considered to be naturally short diphthongs when they are the very last letters in a word

General Principle of Accenting 1

[Assume that the accent wants to be on the antepenult.]

The acute can stay on the antepenult ONLY IF the ultima is short. If the ultima is long by nature OR position, the acute must move to the penult.

(this principle considers both the vowel length and the consonants of the syllable)

General Principle of Accenting 2

[Assume that the accent wants to be on the penult.]

If the penult is naturally long and the ultima has a short vowel or ends in -αι or -οι, the accent on the penult will be a circumflex. If the penult is NOT naturally long, OR the ultima does NOT have a short vowel or end in -αι or -οι, the accent on the penult will be an acute

(this principle only considers the vowel length of the syllables)

Parts of Speech in Greek (8)

nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and particles

Verbs

denote actions or states of being

Properties of Verbs

person, number, voice, mood, and tense

Verbs - Person

first, second, or third

(first - I/we, second - you, third - he/she/they/it)

Verbs - Number

singular, dual, or plural

(singular - one or none, dual - two/a pair, plural - more than one)

Verbs - Voice

active, passive, or middle

(active - subject performs an action

passive - subject is acted upon by someone or something else

middle - subject performs an action for itself or on someone/something of special interest to it)

Transitive/Intransitive Verbs

Transitive - verb is combined with a direct object (that identifies who/what is being acted upon or who/what is doing the action)

Intransitive - verb is NOT combined with a direct object (that identifies who/what is being acted upon or who/what is doing the action)

Active/Middle verbs can be either transitive or intransitive

(I teach the children and I have the children taught vs. I teach and I teach [myself])

Passive verbs are inherently transitive (The children are taught by me)

*A passive sentence is the equivalent of a transitive active sentence.

Verbs - Mood

indicative, imperative, subjunctive, or optative

(indicative - statements of fact/reality and actual occurrences

imperative - commands or requests to change reality

subjunctive/optative - actions that are only contemplated or imagined such as wish, fear/doubt, possibility, etc.)

In Greek verbs, what does mood indicate?

the speaker's estimate of how real the action is

In Greek verbs, what two parts is tense made up of?

aspect and time

In Greek, what does the number of possible tenses depend on?

the mood of the verb

What tenses can Greek verbs have in the imperative, subjunctive, or optative mood?

present, aorist, or perfect

What tenses can Greek verbs have in the indicative mood?

present, imperfect, future, aorist, perfect, pluperfect, or future perfect

Why are there more tenses in the indicative?

The imperative, subjunctive, and optative moods use tense to show aspect (and not time) while the indicative mood uses tense to show not only aspect but also time.

In Greek verbs, what is aspect?

the type or quality of the action as perceived by the speaker

Verbs - Aspect

imperfective, aoristic, or perfective

(imperfective - a process continuing or action repeated over time

aoristic - one-time occurrence, neither continuing nor completed

perfective - action is completed or has an enduring result)

How do the three aspects match up with the imperative, subjunctive, and optative moods?

Each tense matches one of the three aspects:

present tense - imperfective aspect

aorist tense - aoristic aspect

perfect tense - perfective aspect

Verbs - Time

present, past, or future

*Note: a verb in the imperative, subjunctive, or optative mood never denotes time with one exception, the future optative)

How does the indicative mood combine time and aspect?

present tense - present time, imperfective or aoristic aspect

imperfect tense - past time, imperfective aspect

future tense - future time, imperfective or aoristic aspect

aorist tense - past time, aoristic aspect

perfect tense - present time, perfective aspect

pluperfect tense - past time, perfective aspect

future perfect tense - future time, perfective aspect

Primary (Principal) vs. Secondary (Historical) Tenses of the Indicative Mood

Primary (or principal) tenses: the four tenses in the indicative mood that denote present or future time

Secondary (or historical) tenses: the three tenses in the indicative mood that denote past time

Conjugation (the idea and how it's done)

Every Greek verb alters or inflects (bends) its form to indicate changes in its person, number, voice, mood, and tense.

Inflecting a verb means adding suffixes and (sometimes) prefixes to one of its six stems.

Inflecting a verb is called conjugating.

2 Main Groups of Conjugations in Greek

ω-verbs (bigger group) and μι-verbs

Does a Greek verb look different in the present/future tense if it has aoristic aspect vs. imperfective aspect?

No.

Although there is no difference in appearance between a present-tense Greek verb with imperfective aspect and one with aoristic aspect, the context generally makes clear which aspect the author of the sentence had in mind.

How do you find the present stem?

When you look up a Greek word in a lexicon, you will see six principal parts. The first principal part is the first-person singular present active indicative. If it ends in -ω, it belongs to the ω-conjugation.

Drop the -ω from the first principal part, and you have the present stem.

Endings in the Present Active Indicative

a combination of a thematic vowel ( a mark of the present tense) and a personal ending

Thematic Vowel: usually ε, but ο is used before μ or ν

Movable Nu

the "nu" in the third-person plural primary ending and third-person singular secondary ending

*added to a word ending in -σι or -ε whenever the following word begins with a vowel or whenever the -σι or -ε word falls at the end of a sentence

*if the a vowel contraction occurs, the movable nu is no longer applicable (specifically with third-person singular ending of -έω verbs)

Finite Forms

Verb forms that have personal endings are referred to as "finite." They do not need to be supplemented with personal pronouns (number and person are specified by the ending), but personal pronouns can be added for emphasis.

Recessive Accent

The accent in most finite forms is recessive. It wants to move as far to the LEFT as possible.

Infinitive Verbs

- "to verb"

- can function as a verb complementing the main verb or as a noun

- non-finite

- no mood

- has tense (only shows aspect)