Preface

Reading Morphologically by James Patterson

In each module you will find entries based on Gareth Morgan’s Lexis by James F. Patterson.

Gareth Morgan’s Lexis teaches students Ancient Greek by using a simplified morphophonemic approach to morphology and a reading approach to syntax. In these thirty entries, you are introduced to both these methods. The goal is to improve your understanding of word formation, your vocabulary, and your ability to read and understand Ancient Greek. A lot of the information in these entries you know already. But the presentation is different and empowering. It will improve your understanding of Ancient Greek and may improve your enjoyment of language in general.

The target dialect of this material is Ionic, spoken on the east coast of the Aegean Sea by authors like Herodotos and Hippokrates. An old form of Ionic also underlies Homeric Greek. Ionic is similar to Attic, the dialect most introductory Greek students learn first. Perhaps the most notable difference is that Ionic prefers not to contract vowels where Attic does. Differences in how the two dialects form words are noted below where relevant.

Read through the technical terms in the list below. If you do not understand something, keep reading. As you work through the Reading Morphologically entries, you will see examples of the phenomena present in the technical terms. For more, follow the link: readingmorphologically.com.

Technical Terms

Ablaut. Ablaut refers to a shift in vowel quality or quantity that marks morphological change, as in English “foot” (singular) but “feet” (plural). The shift may be between full grade ε and ο, lengthened grade η and ω, and zero-grade, or the absence of a vowel. One marker of the nominative singular of feminine and masculine nouns is a shift of a base’s last vowel to lengthened grade, as in ἡγεμόν > ἡγεμών, leader. This is ablaut.

Alpha Privative. Alpha privative is an α that can be prefixed to a base, creating a word that negates, like “un-,” “a-,” and “-less” in English: ἄθεον (ἄ/θεο/ν), atheist, godless.

Aspiration refers to the rough breathing in the letters θ (τ), φ (π), χ (κ).

Assimilation occurs when one sound becomes more like another sound. For instance, when a labial stop (π, β, φ) is followed by a μ, the labial stop assimilates to the μ:

Base. Bases are those letters that make up the unmarked stem. βα/ is the base that is used to create the marked forms βαίνω I go and ἔβην I went.

Borrowing. A borrowing is a word or word marker taken from another language. For instance, the English suffix /ize is borrowed from the Greek verb-making suffix /ζ/.

Cognate refers to two words that share a common ancestor. Ancient Greek οἶνον shares the same Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root as English “wine”.

Consonant Clusters are groups of consonants not broken up by vowels, like the “nts” in the word “consonants.” When they are difficult to pronounce, a sound may be inserted for euphony. Usually this is α (for instance *θυγάτρσι > θυγατράσι). However, if the consonant cluster is the combo of two liquids or nasals (namely μ, ρ, λ, or ν), the cluster is instead broken up by δ (for instance *ἄνρα > ἄνδρα).

Dental Stops (because the tongue is pressed against the front teeth when making the sound): τ, δ, θ

Labial Stops (because the lips compress in making the sound): π, β, φ

Velar Stops (because the breath is held briefly on the roof of the mouth): κ, γ, χ

For more consonant types, see Merlin: μ, ρ, λ, ν

Derivative. A word or word marker that is created from another word. For instance, the noun λόγος speech is derived from the verb λέγω I speak.

Denominal. A verb that is derived from a noun is called denominal. The English verb “nationalize” is derived from the adjective “national”. Likewise, the Greek verb θαυμάζω I am amazed is derived from the noun, θαύματ/ amazement.

Deverbal. The word deverbal refers to nouns and adjectives that are derived from verbs, like “baker” from “bake”. Here are some ways to make nouns from verbs in Greek:

Intervocalic ϝ drops: βασιλέϝ/Ṇ > *βασιλέϝα > βασιλέα.

ϝ drops when it is the first letter of a base in Ionic and Attic but is present in archaic Greek and sometimes in Homeric: *ϝέργον > ἔργον work (English “work” shares the same PIE root).

Base initial ϝ sometimes becomes a rough breathing: *ϝύδωρ > ὕδωρ, water (English water shares the same PIE root).

Dissimulation occurs when one letter changes to become different from another. For example, θίθημι > τίθημι by dissimulation. Likewise, dissimulation occurs in the pronunciation of “colonel”.

The Double Dental Rule. When two dental stops (τ, δ, θ) are combined, σ is inserted between them. Then the dental stop before the σ drops. For instance, ἐ/πειθ/θή/σαν > *ἐπείθσθησαν > ἐπείσθησαν they were persuaded.

Euphony, or ease of articulation, explains why certain sounds change from syllables that are more difficult to pronounce to ones that are easier to pronounce. For instance, α is sometimes added to consonant clusters to make them easier to pronounce.

Geminate Reduction. Sometimes a cluster of two identical consonants, like σσ, is reduced to one. This is called geminate reduction. For example, with bases that end in -εσ/, the double sigma of the dative plural is reduced to one: ὄρεσ/σι > ὄρεσσι > ὄρεσι, to or for mountains.

Grassmann’s Law observes that Ancient Greek does not permit aspiration on two consecutive syllables. When this occurs, in most cases the first aspirate de-aspirates: *φεφύλακα (φε/φυλακ/α) > πεφύλακα I have guarded.

The Lion Rule. Some masculine nouns and adjectives (especially participles) have bases or stems that end in -οντ/, like λέοντ/ lion. These form the nominative singular by lengthening the ο to ω by ablaut, and τ drops because it cannot end a Greek word. As a result, λέοντ/L > λέων.

Marker. A marker is a unit of inflection added to a base, like “/s” to make an English noun plural or “/ed” to make an English verb past tense. In linguistics, the technical term for “marker” is “morpheme”.

Merlin is a mnemonic for remembering the letters μ, ρ, λ, ν, which sometimes follow specific rules of sound change that other consonants do not. The sounds that μ and ν represent are called nasals. The sounds that λ and ρ represent are called liquids.

When two Merlin consonants form a cluster, a δ may be inserted for ease of articulation. For instance, *ἄνρα > ἄνδρα, man.

Verb bases that end in Merlin consonants form the future by adding /ε/ rather than the expected /σ/. For instance, βαλέω (βαλ/ε/ω), I will throw.