greek is fun. and it doesn't actually take that long to get used to readin gthe alphabet - especially in lower case, because many of the letters are a similar shape to ours and so the shape of the overall words doesn't look to unfamiliar, once you get past the whole OMG FORN stage.
and like any language, especially one that has had a strong influence on the development of modern ones, there are interesting juicy little bits here and there. Like, the word 'aristos' - from which, obviously, we get aristocracy &c - actually means very good. I'm not sure to what degree that's a moral comment and to what extent it's more a quality thing - I think it's a bit of both - but either way I love it. :)
and then little things like the fact that they didn't have a letter for H, though obviously they had the sound (Homer, Hector &c). But you'll notice it only ever occurs at the start of words. This is because they don't consider it a consonant, but a particular way of breathing. As far as they're concerned, Homer and Hector do begin with vowels. They're written (damn lack of greek alphabet) OMEP and EKTOP (where P is R) - but for every word in ancient greek that starts with a vowel, the type of breathing has to be indicated - rough or smooth - and this is done with a little accent over the vowel which looks sort of like a curly comma or apostrophe. Opening backwards it's a smooth breathing (as in aristos - just the straight vowel) and opening forwards it's a harsh breathing - the sound which we've decided is a letter, and called H.
I think that's fascinating. :)
hey, i'm a singer. :) it actually helps me relate an initial H when it begins a phrase on a high note by thinking of it as just a different way of breathing rather than a pesky consonant...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-08-03 07:11 am (UTC)and like any language, especially one that has had a strong influence on the development of modern ones, there are interesting juicy little bits here and there. Like, the word 'aristos' - from which, obviously, we get aristocracy &c - actually means very good. I'm not sure to what degree that's a moral comment and to what extent it's more a quality thing - I think it's a bit of both - but either way I love it. :)
and then little things like the fact that they didn't have a letter for H, though obviously they had the sound (Homer, Hector &c). But you'll notice it only ever occurs at the start of words. This is because they don't consider it a consonant, but a particular way of breathing. As far as they're concerned, Homer and Hector do begin with vowels. They're written (damn lack of greek alphabet) OMEP and EKTOP (where P is R) - but for every word in ancient greek that starts with a vowel, the type of breathing has to be indicated - rough or smooth - and this is done with a little accent over the vowel which looks sort of like a curly comma or apostrophe. Opening backwards it's a smooth breathing (as in aristos - just the straight vowel) and opening forwards it's a harsh breathing - the sound which we've decided is a letter, and called H.
I think that's fascinating. :)
hey, i'm a singer. :) it actually helps me relate an initial H when it begins a phrase on a high note by thinking of it as just a different way of breathing rather than a pesky consonant...
hannah
abstract tonight