I don't want to get involved in the question of pronunciation--however should we hear the dactyls? And as some have argued should every line be endstopped?
Your X sounds identicak to K which is wrong. It was KH with a tedency to sounds like H.
A word like kAlupte you pronounce it kalUpte. In pronounciation the first and most common error of foreigners is to not respect the little sign of tone that is above the vowel which is a most basic. It is not decorative, hehe! To imitate you can even pronounce a B like a V (anyway this process had already started prior to Alexander the Great in Ionia) but you can't change the tone of the word it is unatural.
@notgodsemigod Keep in mind that I posted this several years ago. I was attempting to do too many things at once (ie. pronounciation, pitches, as well as syllable length) and I realize that this attempt has many shortcomings.
Regarding the kh, as far as I know it is a k with an aspiration, far distinct from an h, and rather more like a k with an h thereafter. In this I am following the pronunciation given in Smythe's grammar, which is standard for Classical pronunciation.
@dkrispin As for the signs above the vowels, I was very much aware of them, though you must keep in mind at this time they were not stresses but rather pitches. For a native English speaker like me it is horridly difficult to separate stress from pitch, but I attempted this, ie. grave being a neutral pitch, acute being a rising pitch, and a circumflex a rising and falling.
@notgodsemigod As for the b, to my knowledge it wasn't pronounced anything near to a v at this time. Though it might indeed have begun to change even before Alexander's time, what I was trying for was a pronuncation some four hundred years earlier than Alexander. I realize that our reconstruction of pronunciation is partial at best (and mostly limited to Classical and later), but I nonetheless tried.
@dkrispin@dkrispin The Beta changing to Veeta, the Gamma changing to Wamma and the I, H, EI, OI streamlining to the "ee" sound all were changes accomplished in the early Roman Imperial times. A last major change was the U streamlined to "ee" (apart when following an A or an E where it is streamlined to an "f" or a "v") which occured in late Byzantine times.
Greek accent was largely formed out of the Ionian accent of western Minor Asia.
@notgodsemigod However these changes were not so much the influence of eastern languages (Semitic, Iranian etc.) during hellenistic times as some suggested in the past - for the simple reason that ALL Middle Easterners never ever softened their Betas and Gammas - Semitics like Arabs and Syrians cannot even pronounce properly Veeta.
The process was more an inner process of Ionian Greeks and it had started before the times of Alexander though that would be not so visible in texts of philosophers.
However, the likes of Platon make references about the changing accents of their times. Remember, such writers tended to write quite archaic. Xenophon wound even write "SYN" as "KSYN"! which in his times was completely void. Commoners' accents tended to be much more fluid.
Betas and Gammas were found mostly among Dorians, especially Macedonians and Epirots who maintained more archaic dialects of the Greek language.
This is supposed to be an Attic or Ionian, a Spartan or a Macedonian reading it? Because accents could vary considerably. When for a simple word like mother Ionians said meeter and Dorians maatar, you can only imagine.
I know it is difficult but to imitate properly the accent you have to make it flow. You pronounce too much the beggining and ending giving less importance to the emphasis tone of the word iteself. I know it is not easy. Even me as a Greek I find it quite a task.
@notgodsemigod I was attempting to emulate as best I could the old Ionic of Homer. I realize I did not do a particularly good job of it, but that was my intent. I think, should I attempt this again, I would do it quite differently and (hopefully) better.
hey, this sounds like Quenya or a finnish language ,you've just spell the ancient greek elve's speech,haha.nice try though.(just a tip:ai=e oi=i ei=i ou=u eei=ei hu=iv)
I do not think we will ever know the pitch exactly--I have settled for stresses --when I read it I admit it sounds infelicitous but Book 24 is perhaps the greatest book in The Iliad. Everyone has their theory of pronunciation but in a sense we can only approximate it --I had been taught for example that kai=the sound in SKY--I enjoyed the reading!!
we don't really know a great deal about pitch--only that it existed--the metrics are reasonably easy--though there is a debate about whether lines were endstopped or enjambed
but this is good. Coleridge said Book 24 was 1) simple (compared to Sophocles) and 2) so sublime that it was untranslatable BTW Homer will use both the aorist and imperfect --with no change in aspect--anyone know why?
i'm greek and this pronounciation is completely different from what we greeks speak today! the weird part is that the videos pronounciation is correct! ofcourse its natural that after 3000 years there have been changes! we should be lucky that we we learn ancient greek even with the modern greek pronounciation!
Not in the ancient pronouncation, at least, not in the standard pronounciation employed in Classical training. There may be variants and offshoots that I am aware of, but kai is quite distinct from ke in sound. Or are you referring to modern pronounciation?
I should really make a better recording of this. I can in fact read with the standard metre now (in line, at least, with what is standard in Classics.) I have given up attempting pitch accents, however. And as it is, any theories regarding those remain entirely uncertain, as even by the Hellinistic era they were falling into uncertainty.
I do not correctly do the stresses (I do now, but this is rather old), yet I would ask, how does it sound funny? The pronounciation of the words is correct according to the standards of Greek pronounciation, even if my metrics are somewhat off (largely due to badly attempting pitch stresses and failing.)
@dkrispin : look weell done mate im living in Greec 26 years all my life and still not get used with speaking good ancient greek..there are some pronounces u dont notice for example:
αι=e, oι=i or e u must practice this things better,,,but in generall good job :)
Hm, as far as I know, ai is pronounced just as that, as an a-i diphthong, and oi likewise. At least, this is the standard pronounciation in Classical studies, and is in line with the philology (and makes sense in the context of word morphology and the general linguistics of the language.) I am not sure what you are saying here... are you saying that ai should be pronounced as an epsilon, and an oi diphthong a iota?
Mhm. I must work on the pitches, though I have given up on that for the time being, and have instead opted for what is standard in the Classics... though not, admittedly, the most precise. Perhaps in time I will have greater proficiency, and my Greek will sounds nicer.
I would wait a bit with the pitches (though you can always experiment). Try to get a good grip of the metrics first. It's much easier and you get a fast reward and a feeling for it. After that things start falling in place
That is, our reconstruction of sound is based on internal reading of ancient text, not some sort of guessy extrapolation backwards from a modern sound. That sort of philological and linguistic approach might be disliked by the modern Hellenes, but just because something is disliked does not make it untrue. After all, the English I speak is not the same northern speech of 1000 years ago.
However, this was, I see now, a poor attempt at reading, and I do apologise for it.
A country itself is not, contrary to your opinion, neccessarially the best view of it's self. Even as it is often someone else who can best show us ourselves, it is more likely a drawback, than a benefit, to be a Hellene. And yes, I have been to Hellas... most surely I have. But still, I am attempting to speak as is fitting and appropriate for the field and, what is considered by the authorities to be right, apart from the nationalistic desires that fly in the face of ancient grammarians.
However, if a modern Hellen were to thoroughly practice and cultivate the skills at such a scientific pronunciation such as in thiss video, it'd sound quite perfect.
The message below this one is my first comment, please return to the current one which is my final one: ..But the source of the language,including its authentic characteristics,and not assumptions by assigned academic officials is its homeland.There could be a healthy dialogue upon how the language changed and how for instance where the η,οι,ι,ει where pronounced, but please don't vandalize it.Consult an appropriate hellenic source before you proceed in mutating the hellenic sound.
With all the respect, for i share your interest in hellenic culture as well as in my native language, i am obligated though to make some remarks upon your attempt to express it.First of all, i know the various theories of academics of all sorts, thinking they know how to pronounce the supposedly lost vocal expression of the ancient language.
It does not require greek education for one to realize that native languages and their evolution are by default dependent on the natural environment in which the people that gave rise to them were nurtured, that is, in our case, the mediterranean territory, the endless blue sea, the appalling breeze, the golden white and blue colours that you have obviously not experienced.
I too read ancient hellenic and I agree that i would prefer using its idioms and vocabulary more than we do in its current version.Some things were changed,others retained and new ones added.But..
I am still not too well versed in applying the proper sound to hexameters, so it is just reading, as it were. I am attempting to train myself to give a proper pattern to the hexameters, but it is difficult for an English speaker. I am slightly better now than when I recorded this, yet the proper pronunciation of hexameters remains lamentably outside my current grasp (as, indeed, it is outside the grasp of many English-speaking Classicists.)
Despite some mistakes which I'm noob at detecting, because I don't know any Greek actually, your pitch accent was similar to what remains of it in modern Swedish. YES Swedish has a pitch accent intonation at least, but so do the modern Celtic languages. Highly educated L
Continued... Romans who learned Greek from the Greeks adopted the Greek pitch accent in approximately the middle of the 2nd century before the common era. That mode of intonation continued in Rome and Italy and is still vibrantly used by the Italians even now in this very moment. Ancient Roman grammarians spoke of pitch when referring to the Roman accent and all the same marks could have been used for the indication of the rise of tone on the stressed syllable. Infallaaaabile non sum, autem. XD
I disagree a bit with you about Romans adopting pitch from greek. I think both Greek and Latin had the pitch inherited from PIE. And yes, Italian has a very characteristic pitch. When I read latin I try to imitate it but it's just an educated guess.
Hmmm. I guess this could be just as right, about both languages having pitch accent, a feature from proto-indoeuropean. Have you check out my videos, especially the last one (Cicero)? I thik I could have mdae it more Italian-sounding, pitch-wise.
I just started Ancient Greek! I have scant resource for pronounciation of Ancient Greek, with recordings by Dr. Stephen G. Daitz only. Thanks! Please post more! More Homer, Sophocles, Sappho, Isocrates, Pindar...
Who ever thought I'd be using YouTube for studying Ancient Greek!
I'll forgive you for being a republican and pass this along anyway: Cambridge U Press sells a course in ancient greek by the Joint Association of Classical Teachers, titled Reading Greek. In addition to the text, grammar, study guide, and book on greek civilization, they just released a 2 CD set to accompany the readings. It uses the restored pronunciation but eschews the pitch accent. I urge you to buy it to compare with Daitz. Daitz may be more accurate but he sounds like he needs medication.
Well, I did my best, but yes, it is very near to reconstructed Greek. It is not modern, but ancient, and is very near to the accepted standard of the way the vast majority of scholars (apart from a few fringe dissenters) consider it to have been spoken. If you look at a grammar, say, Smythe, you'll see the explanation of the various pronunciations and intonations which I am attempting to replicate. Yes, it is good... though if you're defining it by Modern Greek, you're wrong.
By the way, if you're Greek, and are thinking to comment based on a native understanding, you'd be wrong. Even though I'm not, that doesn't mean I can't understand the ancient linguistics better than someone whose mothertongue is the modern variant. I admit I might have made some errors in the application of pitch, but this is more or less what is understood to have been. What is your basis and cause for criticism/comparison? By what standard is this not good?
This is actually very good. You have a nice Italian R, too. But, was ancient Greek R a little different, perhaps aspirated like suggested by the transcription rho in the Greek to Latin loanwords "rhetor". 5 stars for an excellent attempt by a Canadian! It's impressive, actually, and deserves, depsite it's imperfections, 5 stars still.
The standards that dkrispin is following are the standards that with an honest scientific attitude try to approximate the ancient pronunciation, how it is different from the modern pronunciation that is not phonetically represented by the spelling. The spelling of modern Greek partly suggest the pronunciation as it was done in early Koine Greek. Similarly, one doesn't pronounce the English language as modern when reciting Beowulf in its original Anglo-Saxon.
You have made a good attempt but there are some letters in greek than to not exist in english.
the way they are pronunced is not familiar to you and as a result you make some mistakes of that kind.
keep trying i wish you the best!
greetings from Greece
USERCRETE 2 months ago
this is quite beautiful --I take toi men as "the rest on the one hand" but that is a guess
thought of supper and sweet sleep to enjoy but Achilles was weeping (why the imperfect) thinking (why perfect part?) about his dear comrade...
vivascargill 11 months ago
I don't want to get involved in the question of pronunciation--however should we hear the dactyls? And as some have argued should every line be endstopped?
vivascargill 11 months ago
Coleridge said of Bk 24 --It is "simple sublime untranslatable" the height of Homer's genius.
vivascargill 11 months ago
Your X sounds identicak to K which is wrong. It was KH with a tedency to sounds like H.
A word like kAlupte you pronounce it kalUpte. In pronounciation the first and most common error of foreigners is to not respect the little sign of tone that is above the vowel which is a most basic. It is not decorative, hehe! To imitate you can even pronounce a B like a V (anyway this process had already started prior to Alexander the Great in Ionia) but you can't change the tone of the word it is unatural.
notgodsemigod 1 year ago
@notgodsemigod Keep in mind that I posted this several years ago. I was attempting to do too many things at once (ie. pronounciation, pitches, as well as syllable length) and I realize that this attempt has many shortcomings.
Regarding the kh, as far as I know it is a k with an aspiration, far distinct from an h, and rather more like a k with an h thereafter. In this I am following the pronunciation given in Smythe's grammar, which is standard for Classical pronunciation.
dkrispin 1 year ago
@dkrispin As for the signs above the vowels, I was very much aware of them, though you must keep in mind at this time they were not stresses but rather pitches. For a native English speaker like me it is horridly difficult to separate stress from pitch, but I attempted this, ie. grave being a neutral pitch, acute being a rising pitch, and a circumflex a rising and falling.
dkrispin 1 year ago
@notgodsemigod As for the b, to my knowledge it wasn't pronounced anything near to a v at this time. Though it might indeed have begun to change even before Alexander's time, what I was trying for was a pronuncation some four hundred years earlier than Alexander. I realize that our reconstruction of pronunciation is partial at best (and mostly limited to Classical and later), but I nonetheless tried.
dkrispin 1 year ago
@dkrispin @dkrispin The Beta changing to Veeta, the Gamma changing to Wamma and the I, H, EI, OI streamlining to the "ee" sound all were changes accomplished in the early Roman Imperial times. A last major change was the U streamlined to "ee" (apart when following an A or an E where it is streamlined to an "f" or a "v") which occured in late Byzantine times.
Greek accent was largely formed out of the Ionian accent of western Minor Asia.
notgodsemigod 1 year ago
@notgodsemigod However these changes were not so much the influence of eastern languages (Semitic, Iranian etc.) during hellenistic times as some suggested in the past - for the simple reason that ALL Middle Easterners never ever softened their Betas and Gammas - Semitics like Arabs and Syrians cannot even pronounce properly Veeta.
The process was more an inner process of Ionian Greeks and it had started before the times of Alexander though that would be not so visible in texts of philosophers.
notgodsemigod 1 year ago
@notgodsemigod
However, the likes of Platon make references about the changing accents of their times. Remember, such writers tended to write quite archaic. Xenophon wound even write "SYN" as "KSYN"! which in his times was completely void. Commoners' accents tended to be much more fluid.
Betas and Gammas were found mostly among Dorians, especially Macedonians and Epirots who maintained more archaic dialects of the Greek language.
notgodsemigod 1 year ago
This is supposed to be an Attic or Ionian, a Spartan or a Macedonian reading it? Because accents could vary considerably. When for a simple word like mother Ionians said meeter and Dorians maatar, you can only imagine.
I know it is difficult but to imitate properly the accent you have to make it flow. You pronounce too much the beggining and ending giving less importance to the emphasis tone of the word iteself. I know it is not easy. Even me as a Greek I find it quite a task.
notgodsemigod 1 year ago
@notgodsemigod I was attempting to emulate as best I could the old Ionic of Homer. I realize I did not do a particularly good job of it, but that was my intent. I think, should I attempt this again, I would do it quite differently and (hopefully) better.
dkrispin 1 year ago
hey, this sounds like Quenya or a finnish language ,you've just spell the ancient greek elve's speech,haha.nice try though.(just a tip:ai=e oi=i ei=i ou=u eei=ei hu=iv)
maedrosGR 1 year ago
I do not think we will ever know the pitch exactly--I have settled for stresses --when I read it I admit it sounds infelicitous but Book 24 is perhaps the greatest book in The Iliad. Everyone has their theory of pronunciation but in a sense we can only approximate it --I had been taught for example that kai=the sound in SKY--I enjoyed the reading!!
vivascargill 1 year ago
we don't really know a great deal about pitch--only that it existed--the metrics are reasonably easy--though there is a debate about whether lines were endstopped or enjambed
but this is good. Coleridge said Book 24 was 1) simple (compared to Sophocles) and 2) so sublime that it was untranslatable BTW Homer will use both the aorist and imperfect --with no change in aspect--anyone know why?
vivascargill 1 year ago
you read ekàstoi, however it is èkastoi , medònto for mèdonto, etaroù for etàrou...yes, you have to work on accent...but very good in general =)
zartha93 1 year ago
i'm greek and this pronounciation is completely different from what we greeks speak today! the weird part is that the videos pronounciation is correct! ofcourse its natural that after 3000 years there have been changes! we should be lucky that we we learn ancient greek even with the modern greek pronounciation!
billynox 1 year ago
wow.. I can (sort of) read/translate it.. but I can´t figure out the pronunciation, especially the metre
Caroline2711 2 years ago
και= k-έ-
paradiso221983 2 years ago
Not in the ancient pronouncation, at least, not in the standard pronounciation employed in Classical training. There may be variants and offshoots that I am aware of, but kai is quite distinct from ke in sound. Or are you referring to modern pronounciation?
dkrispin 2 years ago
Comment removed
theojuriaans 2 years ago
I should really make a better recording of this. I can in fact read with the standard metre now (in line, at least, with what is standard in Classics.) I have given up attempting pitch accents, however. And as it is, any theories regarding those remain entirely uncertain, as even by the Hellinistic era they were falling into uncertainty.
dkrispin 2 years ago
xaaxaxaxaxaxaxaxaxaaxaxxaax...
it was the most funny ancient greek reading i have ever heard !!!lol
paradiso221983 2 years ago
I do not correctly do the stresses (I do now, but this is rather old), yet I would ask, how does it sound funny? The pronounciation of the words is correct according to the standards of Greek pronounciation, even if my metrics are somewhat off (largely due to badly attempting pitch stresses and failing.)
dkrispin 2 years ago
@dkrispin : look weell done mate im living in Greec 26 years all my life and still not get used with speaking good ancient greek..there are some pronounces u dont notice for example:
αι=e, oι=i or e u must practice this things better,,,but in generall good job :)
paradiso221983 2 years ago
Hm, as far as I know, ai is pronounced just as that, as an a-i diphthong, and oi likewise. At least, this is the standard pronounciation in Classical studies, and is in line with the philology (and makes sense in the context of word morphology and the general linguistics of the language.) I am not sure what you are saying here... are you saying that ai should be pronounced as an epsilon, and an oi diphthong a iota?
dkrispin 2 years ago
@paradiso221983 :
for example:
Αχιλεύς pronounced Achil-έ-fs
Αυτάρ = Aft-ά-r( notice the greek letter there is the pronounce.
πάθεν = p-άαα--then (th like greek theta)
paradiso221983 2 years ago
sorry my friend, you forgot the rythm... (and some other things), pity for your nice voice ;-)
theojuriaans 2 years ago
Ypsilons aren't rounded, aspirates are hardly distinguished and I can't hear the circumflex accent, though the general accent is rather good.
Aldanion 2 years ago
Mhm. I must work on the pitches, though I have given up on that for the time being, and have instead opted for what is standard in the Classics... though not, admittedly, the most precise. Perhaps in time I will have greater proficiency, and my Greek will sounds nicer.
dkrispin 2 years ago
try the ones on ipernity (.) com, of peri22b
theojuriaans 2 years ago
@ dkrispin
I would wait a bit with the pitches (though you can always experiment). Try to get a good grip of the metrics first. It's much easier and you get a fast reward and a feeling for it. After that things start falling in place
theojuriaans 2 years ago
Polú kaló to bívteo, kúrie! Polú gamáto! :)
kakosuranosx 2 years ago
TI BPOMIA EINAI AYTH
hausmeisterkraftfahr 2 years ago
Pésima interpretación.
Marconikoff7 3 years ago
I don't disagree.
MaBu888 2 years ago
conoces algo en YouTube que me puedas recomendar?
Thraikios 2 years ago
Can greek people understand Ancient greek?
Noregi 3 years ago 2
If it is pronounced in the modern way, thn yes, but with restaured pronunciation it is more difficicult but not impossible.
MaBu888 3 years ago
@Noregi No, definately not...
kindofnihilist 1 year ago
i read this but with moderne accent
prioni22 3 years ago
Good work. Reminds me of when I once listened to a man recite Chaucer's Tales in Middle English. :)
TheCanadianPrairies 3 years ago
Somewhat similar levels of accuracy in phonology.
MaBu888 2 years ago
Book 24 may well be the greatest verse ever written!
482c 3 years ago
That is, our reconstruction of sound is based on internal reading of ancient text, not some sort of guessy extrapolation backwards from a modern sound. That sort of philological and linguistic approach might be disliked by the modern Hellenes, but just because something is disliked does not make it untrue. After all, the English I speak is not the same northern speech of 1000 years ago.
However, this was, I see now, a poor attempt at reading, and I do apologise for it.
dkrispin 3 years ago
I tried the same thing with Latin (and Proto-Germanic). I'm so much better at classical Latin than Proto-Germanic :).
MaBu888 3 years ago
A country itself is not, contrary to your opinion, neccessarially the best view of it's self. Even as it is often someone else who can best show us ourselves, it is more likely a drawback, than a benefit, to be a Hellene. And yes, I have been to Hellas... most surely I have. But still, I am attempting to speak as is fitting and appropriate for the field and, what is considered by the authorities to be right, apart from the nationalistic desires that fly in the face of ancient grammarians.
dkrispin 3 years ago
However, if a modern Hellen were to thoroughly practice and cultivate the skills at such a scientific pronunciation such as in thiss video, it'd sound quite perfect.
MaBu888 3 years ago
The message below this one is my first comment, please return to the current one which is my final one: ..But the source of the language,including its authentic characteristics,and not assumptions by assigned academic officials is its homeland.There could be a healthy dialogue upon how the language changed and how for instance where the η,οι,ι,ει where pronounced, but please don't vandalize it.Consult an appropriate hellenic source before you proceed in mutating the hellenic sound.
faltsda 3 years ago
With all the respect, for i share your interest in hellenic culture as well as in my native language, i am obligated though to make some remarks upon your attempt to express it.First of all, i know the various theories of academics of all sorts, thinking they know how to pronounce the supposedly lost vocal expression of the ancient language.
faltsda 3 years ago
It does not require greek education for one to realize that native languages and their evolution are by default dependent on the natural environment in which the people that gave rise to them were nurtured, that is, in our case, the mediterranean territory, the endless blue sea, the appalling breeze, the golden white and blue colours that you have obviously not experienced.
faltsda 3 years ago
I too read ancient hellenic and I agree that i would prefer using its idioms and vocabulary more than we do in its current version.Some things were changed,others retained and new ones added.But..
faltsda 3 years ago
Is this just reading or real-hexameter recitation?
Mislavce 3 years ago
I am still not too well versed in applying the proper sound to hexameters, so it is just reading, as it were. I am attempting to train myself to give a proper pattern to the hexameters, but it is difficult for an English speaker. I am slightly better now than when I recorded this, yet the proper pronunciation of hexameters remains lamentably outside my current grasp (as, indeed, it is outside the grasp of many English-speaking Classicists.)
dkrispin 3 years ago
Despite some mistakes which I'm noob at detecting, because I don't know any Greek actually, your pitch accent was similar to what remains of it in modern Swedish. YES Swedish has a pitch accent intonation at least, but so do the modern Celtic languages. Highly educated L
MaBu888 3 years ago
Continued... Romans who learned Greek from the Greeks adopted the Greek pitch accent in approximately the middle of the 2nd century before the common era. That mode of intonation continued in Rome and Italy and is still vibrantly used by the Italians even now in this very moment. Ancient Roman grammarians spoke of pitch when referring to the Roman accent and all the same marks could have been used for the indication of the rise of tone on the stressed syllable. Infallaaaabile non sum, autem. XD
MaBu888 3 years ago
I disagree a bit with you about Romans adopting pitch from greek. I think both Greek and Latin had the pitch inherited from PIE. And yes, Italian has a very characteristic pitch. When I read latin I try to imitate it but it's just an educated guess.
DanVilAl 3 years ago
Hmmm. I guess this could be just as right, about both languages having pitch accent, a feature from proto-indoeuropean. Have you check out my videos, especially the last one (Cicero)? I thik I could have mdae it more Italian-sounding, pitch-wise.
MaBu888 3 years ago
I just started Ancient Greek! I have scant resource for pronounciation of Ancient Greek, with recordings by Dr. Stephen G. Daitz only. Thanks! Please post more! More Homer, Sophocles, Sappho, Isocrates, Pindar...
Who ever thought I'd be using YouTube for studying Ancient Greek!
jaeleekilmet 3 years ago
Daitz rules !
MaBu888 3 years ago
I'll forgive you for being a republican and pass this along anyway: Cambridge U Press sells a course in ancient greek by the Joint Association of Classical Teachers, titled Reading Greek. In addition to the text, grammar, study guide, and book on greek civilization, they just released a 2 CD set to accompany the readings. It uses the restored pronunciation but eschews the pitch accent. I urge you to buy it to compare with Daitz. Daitz may be more accurate but he sounds like he needs medication.
knovinski 3 years ago
Well, I did my best, but yes, it is very near to reconstructed Greek. It is not modern, but ancient, and is very near to the accepted standard of the way the vast majority of scholars (apart from a few fringe dissenters) consider it to have been spoken. If you look at a grammar, say, Smythe, you'll see the explanation of the various pronunciations and intonations which I am attempting to replicate. Yes, it is good... though if you're defining it by Modern Greek, you're wrong.
dkrispin 3 years ago
eleos ! u actually think this is good ?
polychronistheo 3 years ago 2
By the way, if you're Greek, and are thinking to comment based on a native understanding, you'd be wrong. Even though I'm not, that doesn't mean I can't understand the ancient linguistics better than someone whose mothertongue is the modern variant. I admit I might have made some errors in the application of pitch, but this is more or less what is understood to have been. What is your basis and cause for criticism/comparison? By what standard is this not good?
dkrispin 3 years ago
This is actually very good. You have a nice Italian R, too. But, was ancient Greek R a little different, perhaps aspirated like suggested by the transcription rho in the Greek to Latin loanwords "rhetor". 5 stars for an excellent attempt by a Canadian! It's impressive, actually, and deserves, depsite it's imperfections, 5 stars still.
MaBu888 3 years ago
Yes, probably it was aspirated or voiceless at the beginning of a word.
DanVilAl 3 years ago
The standards that dkrispin is following are the standards that with an honest scientific attitude try to approximate the ancient pronunciation, how it is different from the modern pronunciation that is not phonetically represented by the spelling. The spelling of modern Greek partly suggest the pronunciation as it was done in early Koine Greek. Similarly, one doesn't pronounce the English language as modern when reciting Beowulf in its original Anglo-Saxon.
MaBu888 3 years ago
quite right! I have heard all manner of hypothetical reconstructions--I think dkrispin does well!
ws photo
482c 3 years ago