Spurious diphthong
| Ancient Greek grammar |
|---|
| General |
| Phonology |
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2021) |
A spurious diphthong (or false diphthong) is an Ancient Greek vowel that is etymologically a long vowel but written exactly like a true diphthong ει, ου (ei, ou).[1]
Origin
A spurious diphthong has two origins: from compensatory lengthening of short ε, ο (e, o) after deletion of a consonant or contraction of two vowels:[2]
- *mónt-ya or *móntʰ-ya → *mónsa[3] (assibilation from palatalization) → Μοῦσα "Muse"
- doter-ya[4] → δότειρα "giver" (feminine; compare masculine δοτήρ)
In general, spurious ει, ου contracts from ε, ο + ε, ο, ει, ου. The specific rules are more complex.
True diphthongs
By contrast, true diphthongs are e or o placed before i or u. Some come from e-grade of ablaut + i, or o-grade + u, co-existing beside forms with the other grade:
- λείπω "I leave" (e-grade: genuine diphthong) — λέ-λοιπα "I have left" (o-grade)
- *eleútʰ-somai → ἐλεύσομαι "I will come" (e-grade) — Homeric εἰλ-ήλουθα "I have come" (o-grade)[5][6]
- Proto-Greek *akouyō → ἀκούω "I hear"
Pronunciation
Early in the history of Greek, the diphthong versions of ει and ου were pronounced as [ei̯, ou̯], the long vowel versions as [eː, oː]. By the Classical period, the diphthong and long vowel had merged in pronunciation and were both pronounced as long monophthongs [eː, oː].
By the time of Koine Greek, ει and ου had shifted to [iː, uː]. (The shift of a Greek vowel to i is called iotacism.) In Modern Greek, distinctive vowel length has been lost, and all vowels are pronounced short: [i, u].
Other dialects
Long e and o existed in two forms in Attic-Ionic: ει, ου and η, ω (ē, ō). In earlier Severer[7] Doric, by contrast, only η, ω counted as a long vowel, and it was the vowel of contraction.[8] In later forms of Doric, it contracted to ει, ου. Throughout the history of Doric, compensatory lengthening resulted in η, ω.[9]
"Severe" refers to the sterner-sounding open pronunciation of η, ω [ɛː, ɔː], in contrast to the closer ει, ου [eː, oː].
References
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 25: diphthongs.
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 6: genuine and spurious ei, ou.
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 113: τι̯, θι̯ → σ(σ).
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 221: -ya in short-a feminine.
- ^ ἔρχομαι. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 36: vowel-grades.
- ^ Herbert Weir, Smyth. "INTRODUCTION:N3". A Greek grammar for colleges.
The sub-dialects of Laconia, Crete, and Southern Italy, and of their several colonies, are often called Severer (or Old) Doric; the others are called Milder (or New) Doric. Severer Doric has η and ω where Milder Doric has ει and ου
. - ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 59.5: Severer Doric εε → η; οο, εο → ω.
- ^ Smyth. A Greek Grammar for Colleges. § 37.2: Doric compensatory lengthening.