How do linguistic innovations enter Homer’s technique of oral-verse composition, and how can we study them? Over the years, scholars have looked at how new phonological and morphological features are gradually integrated in the language of epic (Janko 1982, Hoekstra 1964, Andersen and Haug 2012). So far, however, nobody has investigated the spread of syntactic innovations in Homer - an area just as rich and consequential for the diachronic study of Greek. In this domain, the properties and the distribution of ὁ ἡ τό across Homeric poems constitute a particularly appealing case study (Guardiano 2013). Homer, in fact, seems to be our only witness to the transition of ὁ ἡ τό from “demonstrative” and anaphoric pronoun (as in Mycenean) to fully grammaticalized definite article (as in Plato, Guardiano 2003, 2011). The goal of this paper is then to systematically track how early adnominal usages of ὁ ἡ τό are spreading into the technique.

ὁ ἡ τό in Homer: Tracking the Spread of a Syntactic Innovation / Guardiano, Cristina. - (2015). (Intervento presentato al convegno Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics. tenutosi a Roma nel 23-27 Marzo 2015).

ὁ ἡ τό in Homer: Tracking the Spread of a Syntactic Innovation.

GUARDIANO, Cristina
2015

Abstract

How do linguistic innovations enter Homer’s technique of oral-verse composition, and how can we study them? Over the years, scholars have looked at how new phonological and morphological features are gradually integrated in the language of epic (Janko 1982, Hoekstra 1964, Andersen and Haug 2012). So far, however, nobody has investigated the spread of syntactic innovations in Homer - an area just as rich and consequential for the diachronic study of Greek. In this domain, the properties and the distribution of ὁ ἡ τό across Homeric poems constitute a particularly appealing case study (Guardiano 2013). Homer, in fact, seems to be our only witness to the transition of ὁ ἡ τό from “demonstrative” and anaphoric pronoun (as in Mycenean) to fully grammaticalized definite article (as in Plato, Guardiano 2003, 2011). The goal of this paper is then to systematically track how early adnominal usages of ὁ ἡ τό are spreading into the technique.
2015
Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics.
Roma
23-27 Marzo 2015
Guardiano, Cristina
ὁ ἡ τό in Homer: Tracking the Spread of a Syntactic Innovation / Guardiano, Cristina. - (2015). (Intervento presentato al convegno Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics. tenutosi a Roma nel 23-27 Marzo 2015).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1070077
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