DOI Artikel:
Lewis, J. M.: Notes on Attic vocalism
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8561#0290
NOTES ON ATTIC VOCALISM.
275
phonetic decay, and leaving no trace of its existence in the later
history of the language. The fact is that o, with a, c, and t alone of
the Greek vowels and diphthongs, has never changed; and it seems
highly improbable that its sign 0 could have been used during much
of the fourth century, interchangeably with ov to represent an u-
sound. Had this been the sound to be indicated, the sign ov would
have supervened entirely,1 and o would have been limited to its proper
province. Moreover, as already pointed out, a slight difference was
felt between 0 and ov, even in the fourth century. This would, of
course, be impossible, had the phonetic change under discussion been
complete at that time. After the Attic period the two sounds are
invariably written ov, and it may well have been during the third cen-
tury that they were entirely merged in u. It may be added here that
o, like e, was clearly of a closed or narrow pronunciation, being quali-
tatively distinct (as shown by long 5) from the open w, just as e and
i differed from 77. The spellings ao, eo, for av, ev2 are a confirmation
of this. The close <?-sound of modern French (as in fautif ) may
be compared.
The pronunciation of cu is well understood; it corresponds to that
of o being the most open of the labial vowels, as tj of the pala--.
tal. Very possibly the w arising by ablaut from a, ri (as in TreVraiKa,
£wpo's) may have kept in classical times a broader sound than that
existing in connection with o (as in Au'w, SZpov). That it "was always
an open vowel (i.e., without a vanish) is evidenced by its consistent
discrimination from o after the year of Eucleides, as well as by the
various contractions which give rise to it. These are all, as it would
be superfluous to point out in detail, quite analogous to those pro-
ducing 77.
3. The Vowel Y.
The confusion of v with 1, the first indication of its change of
sound from u to ii, occurs, though rarely, in inscriptions of the fourth
century. 'A/^iktiWs becomes ' X^lktvovk ; rjiuo-v; is Old-Attic,
r//j.uo-us New-Attic; Ru-Suf;? and KwSi>r;s appear interchangeably as
early as the fifth century. The spelling Movvvx^v is found once in
1 Supposing v to have become = ii at this time in Attica.
- Cf. G. Meyer, Gr. 119, 120.
1
275
phonetic decay, and leaving no trace of its existence in the later
history of the language. The fact is that o, with a, c, and t alone of
the Greek vowels and diphthongs, has never changed; and it seems
highly improbable that its sign 0 could have been used during much
of the fourth century, interchangeably with ov to represent an u-
sound. Had this been the sound to be indicated, the sign ov would
have supervened entirely,1 and o would have been limited to its proper
province. Moreover, as already pointed out, a slight difference was
felt between 0 and ov, even in the fourth century. This would, of
course, be impossible, had the phonetic change under discussion been
complete at that time. After the Attic period the two sounds are
invariably written ov, and it may well have been during the third cen-
tury that they were entirely merged in u. It may be added here that
o, like e, was clearly of a closed or narrow pronunciation, being quali-
tatively distinct (as shown by long 5) from the open w, just as e and
i differed from 77. The spellings ao, eo, for av, ev2 are a confirmation
of this. The close <?-sound of modern French (as in fautif ) may
be compared.
The pronunciation of cu is well understood; it corresponds to that
of o being the most open of the labial vowels, as tj of the pala--.
tal. Very possibly the w arising by ablaut from a, ri (as in TreVraiKa,
£wpo's) may have kept in classical times a broader sound than that
existing in connection with o (as in Au'w, SZpov). That it "was always
an open vowel (i.e., without a vanish) is evidenced by its consistent
discrimination from o after the year of Eucleides, as well as by the
various contractions which give rise to it. These are all, as it would
be superfluous to point out in detail, quite analogous to those pro-
ducing 77.
3. The Vowel Y.
The confusion of v with 1, the first indication of its change of
sound from u to ii, occurs, though rarely, in inscriptions of the fourth
century. 'A/^iktiWs becomes ' X^lktvovk ; rjiuo-v; is Old-Attic,
r//j.uo-us New-Attic; Ru-Suf;? and KwSi>r;s appear interchangeably as
early as the fifth century. The spelling Movvvx^v is found once in
1 Supposing v to have become = ii at this time in Attica.
- Cf. G. Meyer, Gr. 119, 120.
1