Part 8
+---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+ | FORMS. | NAMES IN GREEK | SOUNDS. | NUMERICAL | | | AND ENGLISH. | | VALUE. | +---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+ | | | | | | Α α | Άλφα Alpha | a | 1 | | | | | | | Β β ϐ | Βῆτα Beta | b | 2 | | | | | | | Γ γ | Γὰμμα Gamma | g | 3 | | | | | | | Δ δ | Δέλτα Delta | d | 4 | | | | | | | Ε ε | Ἒψῖλόν Epsīlon | ĕ short | 5 | | | | | | | Ζ ζ | Ζῆτα Zeta | z | 7 | | | | | | | Η η | Ἦτα Eta | ē long | 8 | | | | | | | Θ ϑ θ | Θῆτα Theta | th | 9 | | | | | | | Ι ι | Ἰῶτα Iōta | i | 10 | | | | | | | Κ κ | Κάππα Kappa | k c | 20 | | | | | | | Λ λ | Λάμβδα Lambda | l | 30 | | | | | | | Μ µ | Μῦ Mu | m | 40 | | | | | | | Ν ν | Νῦ Nu | n | 50 | | | | | | | Ξ ξ | Ξῖ Xi | x | 60 | | | | | | | Ο ο | Ὀμῖκρόν Omĭcron | ŏ short | 70 | | | | | | | Π π | Πῖ Pi | p | 80 | | | | | | | Ρ ρ | Ῥῶ Rho | r | 100 | | | | | | | Σ σ ς | Σίγμα Sigma | s | 200 | | | | | | | Τ τ | Ταῦ Tau | t | 300 | | | | | | | Υ υ | Ύψῖλόν Upsīlon | u | 400 | | | | | | | Φ φ | Φῖ Phi | ph | 500 | | | | | | | Χ χ | Χῖ Chi | ch | 600 | | | | | | | Ψ ψ | Ψῖ Psi | ps | 700 | | | | | | | Ω ω | Ὠμεγα Omĕga | ō long | 800 | +---------+-------------------+---------+-----------+
From a desire, probably, to imitate Greek manuscript, a multitude of ligatures, abbreviations, and contractions of letters, as well as duplicates, were cast by the early type-founders. These, however, with two or three exceptions, have been quite discarded; and a fount of modern Greek is readily accommodated in a single pair of cases. The only duplicated characters in the preceding table are β and ϐ, ϑ and Θ, and σ and ς. β looks best when used as an initial letter, and ϐ as a medial. ϑ and Θ are used indiscriminately; but ς is employed as a final letter only.
There are twelve diphthongs or compound vowels in Greek, viz.:—
Six proper,—αι, αυ, ει, ευ, οι, ου; and
Six improper,—ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ, ηυ, υι, ωυ. The point under the first three letters denotes the iota, and is therefore called the _subscript iota_.
ACCENTS AND ASPIRATES.
᾿ Lenis. ῾ Asper. ´ Acute. ` Grave. ῀ Circumflex. ῎ Lenis acute. ῍ Lenis grave. ῞ Asper acute. ῝ Asper grave. ῏ Circumflex lenis. ῟ Circumflex asper. ¨ Diæresis. ΅ Diæresis acute. ῭ Diæresis grave.
Accents are nothing more than small marks which have been introduced into the language to denote the pronunciation of words, and aid its acquisition by learners. The ancient Greeks never used them, as is demonstrated from Aristotle, old inscriptions, and ancient medals. It is not easy to tell the date when the practice of writing with accents first obtained, though it is probable not till after the Romans began to learn the Greek tongue and to send their children to study at Athens,—that is, about or a little before the time of Cicero.
Accents—by the Greeks called τόνοι, tones—show the rising or falling of the voice in pronouncing; either separately in distinct syllables, or conjunctively in the same syllable.
Wherefore there are two sorts of accents: two simple, viz. the acute, ὀξύς, figured thus [´], which denotes the elevation of the voice; and the grave, βαρὺς, shaped thus [`], to signify the falling or depression of the voice: and the circumflex, περισπώμενος which was formed first of these two lines or points joined together thus [῍] and afterward was changed into a round sort of a figure like an inverted upsilon, thus [[symb]], but at length came to be figured like an s drawn crosswise [῀].[14]
* * * * *
The acute accent raises the voice, and affects one or more of the last three syllables of a word, if it has so many.
* * * * *
The grave depresses the voice, and affects the last syllable only.
* * * * *
The circumflex lengthens the sound, and affects either the last syllable of a word or the last but one.
* * * * *
There are two spirits, or breathings: the asper [῾], which is equivalent to the modern letter h; and the lenis [᾿], which has no perceptible power, and indicates the bare opening of the mouth and simple emission of the voice.
All the words that begin with a vowel have one of these breathings over them; but the vowel upsilon admits of no other than the _spiritus asper_ at the beginning of a word.
In diphthongs the _spiritus_ is put over the second vowel: as αὐτὸς, not ἀυτὸς.
The letter ρ, at the beginning of a word, has an _asper_ over it, as, ῥέω; and where two ρs meet in a word, the first has a _lenis_, and the other an _asper_.
* * * * *
The apostrophe [’] is used for cutting off the vowels α, ε, ι, ο, and the diphthongs αι and οι, when they stand at the end of a word and the next word begins with a vowel: as, παρ’ αὐτῷ for παρὰ αὐτῷ; πάντ’ ἔλεγον for πάντα ἔλεγον.
Sometimes the apostrophe contracts two words into one: as, κᾳ’γὼ for καὶ ἐγὼ; ἐγῶ’μαι for ἐγῶ οἴμαι; κᾳ’κεῖνος for καὶ ἐκεῖνος.
Sometimes an apostrophe supplies the place of the first vowel beginning a word: as ὦ ’γαθὲ for ὦ ἀγαθὲ; ποῦ ’ςι for ποῦ ἐςι. This is chiefly used in poetry.
But the prepositions περὶ and πρὸ suffer no apostrophe though the next word begin with a vowel; for we write περὶ υμῶν, πρὸ ἐμοῦ; περὶ αὐτον, πρὸ ἐτῶν, &c.
* * * * *
The diæresis [¨] is put over the last one of two vowels that come together, to show that they must be pronounced separately, and not as a diphthong: thus, ἀϋτὴ with a diæresis makes three syllables; but without a diæresis αυ is a diphthong, and makes αὐτὴ two syllables.
* * * * *
Diastole [,] is put between two particles that would bear a different sense without it: thus, ὄ,τε ὄ,τι signify _whatever_; whereas ὁτε stands for _as_, and ὁτι for _that_. Τό,τε with a diastole implies _and this_; but when without, it answers to the adverb _then_.
* * * * *
The sign of interrogation, in Greek, is made by a semicolon [;].
The colon is made by an inverted full-point [·].
All other points are the same as in English.
* * * * *
The compositor will find it advantageous to bear in mind the following rules:—
1. No accent can be placed over any other than one of the last three syllables of a word.
2. The grave accent never occurs but on the last syllable; and, this being the case, the asper grave ῝ and lenis grave ῍ can be wanted only for a few monosyllables.
3. No vowel can have a spirit, or breathing, except at the beginning of a word.
4. The letter ρ is the only consonant marked by a breathing.
5. Almost every word has an accent, but very seldom has more than one; and, when this happens, it is an acute thrown back upon the last syllable from one of those words called enclitics (_leaning back_), which in that case has none, unless it be followed by another enclitic. In no other case than this can a last syllable have an acute accent, except before a full-point, colon, or note of interrogation, when the grave accent of the last syllable is changed to an acute,—a circumstance which has often led printers, who were ignorant of the reasons for accenting the same word differently in different situations, to think that there was an error in their copy, and thus to make one in their proof. Most errors, however, proceed from those who do not think at all about the matter.
PLAN OF GREEK CASES.
The following plan of cases for Greek type is probably more convenient than any other. A Roman case may readily be altered to accommodate the lower-case sorts. Compositors who aspire to a full knowledge of their art should by all means make themselves familiar with Greek and Hebrew letters and cases.
HEBREW.
The Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters. Column No. 1 of the following table indicates the force of Hebrew letters when read without points. Column No. 2 gives their force when the language is printed with the Masoretic points or vowels, which are of later date than the letters. The names and numerical value of the characters are also shown.
THE HEBREW ALPHABET.
+---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+ | NAMES. | NO. 1. | NO. 2. |NUMER.| | | | |VALUE.| +---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+ | א Aleph | Sounded _a_ in | A gentle aspirate | 1 | | | _war_ (_vowel_) | | | | ב Beth | ... | _Bh_ | 2 | | ג Gimel | _g_ hard | _Gh_ | 3 | | ד Daleth | ... | _Dh_ | 4 | | ח He | _a_ in hate | A rough aspirate | 5 | | | (_vow._) | | | | ו Vau | _u_ _vowel_, or | ... | 6 | | | before a vowel, | | | | | _w_ | | | | ז Zain | ... | _Ds_ | 7 | | ה Cheth | ... | _Hh_ | 8 | | ט Teth | _Th_ | ... | 9 | | י Jod | Like _ee_ in | _j_ consonant, or | 10 | | | English (_vowel_) | the softer _y_ | | | כ ך final Caph | _k_ or _c_ hard | ... | 20 | | ל Lamed | ... | ... | 30 | | מ ם final Mem | ... | ... | 40 | | נ ן final Nun | ... | ... | 50 | | ס Samech | ... | Soft _s_ | 60 | | ע Ain | _o_ long (_vowel_) | _hg_, or _hgh_, | 70 | | | | the roughest | | | | | aspirate | | | פ ף final Phe | ... | ... | 80 | | צ ץ final Tzaddi | _j_ soft | ... | 90 | | ק Koph | _k_ or _qu_ | ... |100 | | ר Resch | ... | ... |200 | | ש Shin | ... | _s_ hard |300 | | or Sin | | | | | ת Thau | ... | ... |400 | +---------------------+--------------------+-------------------+------+
LETTERS THAT HAVE A LIKENESS TO OTHERS.
Beth ב Caph כ
Daleth ד Caph ך Resch ר
Vau ו Zain ז Jod י Nun ן
Mem ם Samech ס
Gimel ג Nun נ
He ה Cheth ח Thau ת
Teth ט Mem מ
Ain ע Tzaddi צ
The dividing of Hebrew words not being permitted, the five following letters are cast broad to enable the compositor to justify the lines without irregular spacing:—
Aleph ﬡ He ﬣ Lamed ﬥ Mem ﬦ Thau ﬨ
Hebrew has no capitals, and therefore letters of the same shape, but of a larger body, are used at the beginning of chapters and other parts of Hebrew works.
Hebrew reads from the right to the left, which is the case with all other Oriental languages, except Ethiopic and Armenian. In composing it, the general method is to place the nick of the letter downward, and after putting the points to the top, to turn the line and set the points that come under the letters. If the letter has but one leg, the point is placed immediately under it; but where the letter has two legs, it is put under the centre.
The Masoretic points or vowels are subjoined under the consonant בּ (beth).
1. _The Long Vowels._
Kametz ׇ _aa_ בָּ baa Tzeri ֵ _ee_ בֵּ bee Long Chirek י _ii_ בִּי bii Cholem וֹ _oo_ בּבּוֹ boo Shurek וּ _uu_ בּוּ buu
2. _The Short Vowels._
Patach ַ _a_ בַּ ba Sœgol ֶ _e_ בֶּ be Little Chirek ִ _i_ בִּ bi Kametz-chataph ָ _o_ בָּ bo Kibbutz ֻ _u_ בֻּ bu
3. _Shevas, which imply a Vowel to be wanting._
Simple Sheva חְ Patach furtive חַ Chataph Patach חֲ _a_ Chataph Sœgol חֱ _e_ Chataph Kametz חֳ _o_
The last three are called compound shevas; and, in fact, they are only the short vowels, to which the simple sheva [ְְ] is joined.
ACCENTS.
Hebrew accents are either mere points, or lines, or circles.
Those which are mere points or dots consist of one or two or three such points, and are always placed above the middle of the accented letter, thus,
{ One, called _rebia_, ב֗ , i.e. _sitting over_. { That { Two, called royal _zakeph katon_, ב֔, or, _the little consisting { elevator_, from its figure, which is composed of upright of { points. { { Three, called royal _segolta_, ב֒, an inverted [ ֶ].
The lines are either upright, inclined, or transverse.
The upright is either solitary or with points or dots.
The { between two words, ב׀ב, termed _pesick_, or musical solitary { pause, and terminating a song. is { either { or { _Metheg_, בֽ or _bridle_, an euphonic accent { under a { at the beginning of a word. { word, { { { Royal _silluk_, בֽ, _end_, which is placed { { before [׃], _sophpasuk_, i.e. toward the end.
With { two, above the letter, royal _zakeph gadhol_, ב֕, points, { _the great elevator_, strains the sound. namely, { { one, below the letter, royal _tebhir_, ב֛, _broken_ { sound, from its figure and tone.
Inclined lines hang either above or below.
Above, { the right { Leader _pashta_, ב֙, _extension_, extends the toward { { voice or sound, and is placed above the last { { letter of the word. { { { { Subservient _kadma_, ב֨, _antecedent_, to the { { leader _geresh_; and is placed above the { { penult or antepenult letter. { { the left { Leader _geresh_, ב֜, _expulsion_, is sung with { { an impelled voice. { { { { _Gereshajim_, ב֞, _two expellers_, from the { { figure being doubled.
Below, { the right { Leader _tiphcha_, ב֖, _fatigue_, from the song toward { { or note. { { { the left { Of subservient _merca_, ב֥, _lengthening out_, { { from its lengthening out the song or note. { { { { _Merca kephula_, ב֦, _a double lengthening { { out_, from its music and figure.
The transverse line is either right or curved: thus, ־ ֮ .
The right line is placed between two words, connecting them together, thus, ב־ב, and is called _maccaph_, i.e. _connection_.
The curved or waved line, ב֮, is called leader, _zarka_, or _the disperser_, from its modulation and figure.
Circles are either entire or semi.
The entire circle is placed always above, and has a small inclined line attached to it.
Either on the left, when it is placed at the head of the word, ב֠, and is called leader _telisha the greater_, or _the great evulsion_.
Or on the right, when it is placed at the end, ב֩, and is called subservient _telisha the less_.
On both together, ב֟, called leader _karne para_, _the horns of the heifer_, from its modulation and figure.
The semicircle is either _solitary_ or _pointed_.
The solitary is either _angular_ or _reflected_.
The { on the { Subservient _hillui_, ב֬, _elevated_, from the angular { right { elevation of the voice. is { { { { _Munach_, ב֣, _placed below_, from its position. { { on the { Leader _jethith_, ב֚, _drawing back_, from its { left { figure. { { Subservient _mahpach_, ב֤, _inverted_, also from { its figure.
The { either single subservient _darga_, ב֧, a _degree_. reflected { is { or double, leader, _shalsheleth_, ב֓, a _chain_, from { its figure and modulation.
When joined with other points, it is either above or below the letter.
When above the letter, it has a small line attached to it on the left, ב֡, leader _paser_, _the disperser_ from the diffusion of the note.
When below the letter, it is pointed either downward, ב֑, called royal _athnach_, _respiration_, as the voice must rest upon it, and respire; or upward, ב֢, subservient, _jerah-ben-jomo_, _the moon of its own day_, from its figure.
PLANS OF HEBREW CASES.
The first plan shows a common case for Hebrew without points; the second exhibits a pair of cases with points.
RUSSIAN ALPHABET.
+-------+-------------------+ | FORM. | SOUND. | +-------+-------------------+ | А а | ah, a. | | Б б | b. | | В в | v. | | Г г | g, gh. | | Д д | d. | | Е е | yai _or_ ai. | | Ж ж | zsh. | | З з | z. | | И и | ee. | | І і | ee. | | К к | k. | | Л л | l (guttural). | | М м | m. | | Н н | n. | | О о | o _or_ ah. | | П п | p. | | Р р | r. | | С с | _hard_ s _or_ ss. | | Т т | t. | | У у | oo. | | Ф ф | f, ph. | | Х х | kh, ~ch~. | | Ц ц | ts. | | Ч ч | ch, tch. | | Ш ш | ch. | | Щ щ | sh-tch. | | Ъ ъ | _mute_ e. | | Ы ы | we, ee. | | Ь ь | _half-mute_ e. | | Ѣ ѣ | yai _or_ ai. | | Э э | ai. | | Ю ю | you, ew. | | Я я | yah. | | Ѳ ѳ | f, ph. | | Ѵ ѵ | e. | | Й й | _short_ e. | +-------+-------------------+
г, х, е, л, щ, ъ, ы, ь, ѣ, я, о, й, are the only letters whose pronunciation offers any difficulty.
Г has a sound nearly like _g_ in the English word _goose_, as in гру́ша, a _pear_; read _groòshah_. But it has a guttural sound not found in English, and which nearly resembles that of the German ~ch~. This sound is especially perceivable in the middle of a word when the г is followed by a consonant, also at the end of a word, as in но́гти, _the nails_; read _nò~ch~tee_. In inflections аго, яго, ого, его, of adjectives and pronouns, the letter г is pronounced as _v_; as in кра́снаго, _of beautiful_; read _kràsnavah_.
Е has three different sounds: 1. In Russian words, and in all syllables in which it is preceded by a vowel, _е_ has a sound like that of _yai_, when the _y_ is nearly sunk in the pronunciation, as in ему́, _to him_; read _yaimoò_. 2. At the beginning of words from foreign languages, and at the middle and end of a word when preceded by a consonant, it has the sound of _e_ in _met_, as in берегу́, _I guard_; read _bayregoò_. 3. In the termination екъ of diminutives, in all the characteristic inflections of cases in the nouns, and of persons in the verbs, in fact, in almost all words, this letter when accented has a sound nearly like that of short _yo_ or _o_; as in куле́къ, _a little sack_; веде́шь, _thou leadest_; медъ, _the honey_; read _koolyòk_, _vaidyòsh_, _myod_. This sound _yo_ or _o_ of the letter _е_ is commonly distinguished by a diæresis over the vowel, as кулёкъ, ведёшь, мёлъ.
Л has a guttural sound nearly analogous to the English _w_. Писарлъ, _he wrote_, read _pisaw_ or _pisou_.
Ль has a soft sound, as in the French word _bouillon_.
Х corresponds to the German ~ch~. It is a strong aspiration that nearly resembles the sound _k_ when pronounced hastily from the throat; as in хвала́, _the praise_; read _khvahlàh_.
Щ unites the sound of ш and ч, as in щитъ, _the shield_; read _shtcheet_.
Ъ. This letter has no sound; the preceding consonant, the last letter of the word, ought to be pronounced a little hollow, as in боо́ъ, _a bean_; read _bop_.
Ы has a sound nearly like _we_ when the _w_ is pronounced rapidly; as in бу́квьшы, _the letters_, read _boòkwe_. It has this sound after the consonants б, в, м, п, ф; but after another consonant it is a thick _e_, as in сынъ, _the son_; read _seen_.
Ь. This letter at the end of a word has a sound nearly like that of the very short _e_. When followed by a consonant in the middle of a word it is mute, but is pronounced when followed by a vowel; as in знатъ, _to know_; read _znaht_.
Ѣ at the beginning of a word has the sound of _yai_; as in Ѣсть, _to eat_; read _yaist_. In the middle of a word it is pronounced _yai_, the sound of _y_ being almost sunk; as in нѣтъ, _no_; read _nyaitt_. At the end of a word it is sounded _ay_.
Я when accented has the sound of the diphthong _yah_; as in я́ма, _a pit_; read _yàhmah_. But if not accented it is pronounced _yai_, as in ядро́, _a ball_; read _yaidrò_. The pronoun ея́, _of her_, is pronounced _yaiyò_, and the syllable ся of pronominal verbs is pronounced _sah_, as in стара́ться, _to exert one’s self_; read _stahràhtsah_.
О is pronounced as English _o_; but if unaccented it takes the sound of _ah_, as in ко́локолъ, _a bell_; колокола́, _bells_; read _kòlahkall_, _kahlakahlà_.