Doric Greek
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| History of the Greek language (see also: Greek alphabet) |
| Proto-Greek (c. 2000 BC)
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| Mycenaean (c. 1600–1100 BC)
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| Ancient Greek (c. 800–300 BC) Dialects: Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, Attic-Ionic, Doric, Pamphylian; Homeric Greek. Possible dialect: Macedonian. |
| Koine Greek (from c. 300 BC)
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| Medieval Greek (c. 330–1453)
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| Modern Greek (from 1453) Dialects: Cappadocian, Cretan, Cypriot, Demotic, Griko, Katharevousa, Pontic, Tsakonian, Yevanic |
- For the modern Doric dialect of Scotland, see Doric dialect (Scotland)
Doric Greek is an ancient branch of the Greek language. In classical times its dialects were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon.
It is widely accepted that Doric originated in the mountains of Epirus, northwestern Greece, the original seat of the Dorian Greeks. It was expanded to all other regions during the Dorian invasion (circa 1150 BC) and the colonisations that followed. The presence of a Doric state (Doris) in central Greece, north of the Gulf of Corinth, led to the theory that Doric had originated in northwest Greece or maybe beyond in the Balkans. However, exactly where the prehistoric border was, and whether it comprised the ancient Macedonians, remains unknown (see Pella curse tablet).
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[edit] Doric dialects
Where the Doric dialect group fits in the overall classification of ancient Greek dialects depends to some extent on the classification. Several views are stated under Greek dialects. The prevalent theme of most views listed there is that Doric is a subgroup of West Greek. Some use the terms Northern Greek or Northwest Greek instead. The geographic distinction is only verbal and ostensibly is misnamed: all of Doric was spoken south of "Southern Greek" or "Southeastern Greek."
Be that as it may, "Northern Greek" is based on a presumption that Dorians came from the north and on the fact that Doric is closely related to Northwest Greek. When the distinction began is not known. All the "northerners" might have spoken one dialect at the time of the Dorian invasion; certainly, Doric could only have further differentiated into its classical dialects when the Dorians were in place in the south. Thus West Greek is the most accurate name for the classical dialects.
Tsakonian Greek, is a surviving language of the Doric branch, descendant of Laconian Doric (Spartan), still spoken by some on the southern Argolid coast of the Peloponnese in the modern prefecture of Arcadia. Today it is a source of considerable interest to linguists, and an endangered language.
The dialects of the Doric Group are as follows.
[edit] Laconian, Heraclean
Laconian was spoken by the population of Laconia in the southern Peloponnesus and also by its colonies, Tarentum and Heraclea, in southern Italy. Laconia was the seat of ancient Sparta.
Laconian is attested in inscriptions on pottery and stone from the 7th century BC. A dedication to Helen dates from the 2nd quarter of the 7th. Tarentum was founded in 706 BC. The founders must already have spoken Laconic.
Many documents from the state of Sparta survive, whose citizens called themselves Lacedaemonians after the name of the valley in which they lived. Homer calls it "hollow Lacedaemon", though he refers to a pre-Dorian period. The 7th century BC, Spartan poet, Alcman, used a dialect that some consider to be predominantly Laconian. Philoxenus of Alexandria wrote a treatise On the Laconian dialect.
[edit] Argolic
Argolic was spoken in the thickly settled northeast Peloponnesus at, for example, Argos, Mycenae, Hermione, Troezen, Epidaurus, and as close to Athens as the island of Aegina. As Mycenaean Greek had been spoken in this dialect region in the Bronze Age, it is clear that the Dorians overran it but were unable to take Attica. The Dorians went on from Argos to Crete and Rhodes.
Ample inscriptional material of a legal, political and religious content exists from at least the 6th century BC.
[edit] Corinthian
Corinthian was spoken first in the isthmus region between the Peloponnesus and mainland Greece; that is, the Isthmus of Corinth. The cities and states of the Corinthian dialect region were Corinth, Sicyon, Cleonae, Phlius, the colonies of Corinth in western Greece: Corcyra, Leucas, Anactorium, Ambracia and others, and the colonies of Cercyra: Dyrrachium, Apollonia. The earliest inscriptions at Corinth date from the early 6th century BC. They use a Corinthian epichoric alphabet. (See under Attic Greek.)
Corinth contradicts the prejudice that Dorians were rustic militarists, as some consider the speakers of Laconian to be. Positioned on an international trade route, Corinth played a leading part in the recivilizing of Greece after the centuries of disorder and isolation following the collapse of Mycenaean Greece.
[edit] Megarian
[edit] Rhodian
[edit] Coan
[edit] Theran and Cyrenaean
[edit] Cretan
[edit] Northwest Greek dialects
The Northwest Greek group is closely related to the Doric Group, while sometimes there is no distinction between the Doric and the Northwest Greek. Whether it is to be considered a part of the Doric Group or the latter a part of it or the two subgroups of West Greek, it is a verbal distinction only: the dialects and their grouping remain the same. The Northwest Greek dialects differ from the Doric Group dialects in two overall features: dative plural of the third declension in -οις (-ois) (instead of -σι (-si)) and ἐν (en) + accusative (instead of εἰς (eis)).
The dialects are as follows:
- Phocian
- Locrian
- Ozolian Locris, along the northwest coast of the Corinthian Gulf, around Amfissa
- Opuntian Locris, on the coast of mainland Greece opposite northwest Euboea, around Opus
- Elean
- Olympia, in the northwest Peloponnese
- Northwest Greek Koiné
[edit] Differences between Doric and Attic/Koine
[edit] Vocalism
- Preservation of long ā (α) where Attic/Koine change it to long open ē (η), as in γᾶ μάτηρ (gā mātēr) "earth mother" — Attic/Koine γῆ μήτηρ (gē mētēr).
- Contraction ae > η (ē) instead of Attic/Koine ᾱ (ā).
- Original eo, ea > ιο, ια (io, ia) in certain Doric dialects.
- Certain Doric dialects ("severe Doric") have η, ω (ē, ō) for the "spurious diphthongs" Attic/Koine ει, ου (ei, ou) (i.e. secondary long ē, ō due to contraction or compensatory lengthening. The most prominent examples are genitive singular in -ω (-ō) = -ου (-ou), accusative plural in -ως (-ōs) = -ους (-ous) and the infinitive in -ην (-ēn) = -ειν (-ein).
- Short α (a) = Attic/Koine ε in certain words: ἱαρός (hiaros), Ἄρταμις ('*Artamis), γα (ga), αἰ (ai)
[edit] Consonantism
- Preservation of -τι (-ti) where Attic/Koine have -σι (-si). The most prominent examples are: 1) third person singular of the μι-verbs -ti: e.g. φατί (phāti) — Attic/Koine φησί(ν) (phēsi(n)); 2) third person plural of the present and the subjunctive -nti: e.g. λέγoντι (legonti) — Attic/Koine λέγουσι(ν) (legousi(n)); 3) "twenty" ϝίκατι (wīkati) — Attic/Koine εἴκοσι(ν) (eikosi(n)); and 4) the hundreds in -katioi: e.g. τριακάτιοι (triākatioi) — Attic/Koine τριακόσιοι (triākosioi).
- Preservation of double -σσ- (-ss-) before a vowel where Attic/Koine have -σ- (-s-), e.g. μέσσος (messos) before a vowel where Attic/Koine have μέσος (mesos).
- Preservation of initial w (ϝ) which is lost in Attic/Koine. E.g. ϝοῖκος (woikos) — Attic/Koine οἶκος (oikos). The literary text in Doric and the inscriptions from the Hellenistic age have no digamma.
- ξ (x) in the aorists and futures of verbs ending in -ίζω, -άζω (-izō, -azō) where Attic/Koine have σ (s). E.g. ἀγωνίξατο (agōniksato) — Attic/Koine ἀγωνίσατο (agōnisato). Similarly κ (k) before suffixes beginning with t.
[edit] Morphology
- The numeral τέτορες (tetores) "four" instead of Attic/Koine τέτταρες (τέσσαρες) (tettares (tessares)).
- The numeral πρᾶτος (prātos) "first" instead of Attic/Koine πρῶτος (prōtos).
- The demonstrative pronoun τῆνος (tēnos) "this" instead of Attic/Koine (ἐ)κεῖνος ((e)keinos)
- Nominative plural of the article and the demonstrative pronoun τοί (toi), ταί (tai), τοῦτοι (toutoi), ταῦται (tautai) instead of Attic/Koine οἱ (hoi), αἱ (hai), οὗτοι (houtoi), αὗται (hautai)
- The ending of the third person plural of the athematic ("root") preterite is -n, not -san, e.g. ἔδον (edon) — Attic/Koine ἔδοσαν (edosan)
- First person plural in -μες where Attic/Koine have -μεν.
- Future in -σε-ω (-se-ō) instead of Attic/Koine -σ-ω (-s-ō), e.g. πραξῆται (prāxētai) instead of Attic/Koine πράξεται (prāxetai).
- Modal particle κα (ka) instead of Attic/Koine ἄν (an). NB Doric αἴ κα, αἰ δέ κα, αἰ τίς κα (ai ka, ai de ka, ai tis ka) = Attic/Koine ἐάν (ἄν), ἐὰν δέ (ἂν δέ), ἐάν τις (ἄν τις) ((e)an, (e)an de, (e)an tis).
- Temporal adverbs in -κα (-ka) instead of Attic/Koine -τε (-te): ὄκα (hoka), τόκα (toka).
- Local adverbs in -ει (-ei) instead of Attic/Koine -ου (-ou): τεῖδε (teide), πεῖ (pei).
[edit] Special words
- λέω (λείω) (le(i)ō) "will"; δράω (draō) "do", πάομαι (paomai) = κτάομαι (ktaomai) "acquire"
