[B-Greek] Re: Non-NT Koine Greek and earlier works

Chet Creider creider at uwo.ca
Fri May 23 12:05:14 EDT 2003


Chris Latimer wrote:
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> Could please advise where these other dialects are discussed in depth,
> especially during the period 300BC to 1000AD.
> Many thanks
> Brian J Boland

Happily.  The Byzantines were there own best grammarians producing a number
of texts that survive to this day.  The best ancient text comes from
Apollonius Dyscollus who wrote _Syntax_ which was preserved in Latin as
_Appollonii Dyscoli de Constructione  libri quattuor_.   Probably the most
modern translation of which comes to us from Fred Householder (Amsterdam:
Benjamins, 1981).  In the same vein, we find John Glykys' _PERI ORQWTETOS
SYNTACEOS_ (normally found under the Latin: Joannis Glyccae Patriarchae
Constantinopoli opus de vera syntaxeos ratione); although he writes in the
1300s, he still treats older forms.  Perhaps someone who subscribes to the
journal _Byzantinische Zeitschrift_ could produce a more complete
bibliography.
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It is true that Fred Householder's translation is the most modern.
However, I find it very annoying because he translates Apollonius'
Greek terms into those of modern structural linguistics and the
result is very misleading.  If you read French, there is a much
better translation available now (together with the original Greek):

De la construction, Apollonius Dyscole, edited with French translation by
Jean Lallot.  Paris: J. Vrin. 1997.

(This is not written to disparage the memory of Fred Householder, who was
a very fine linguist, rather to indicate that Lallot's translation is
more in keeping with current tastes and I think supercedes Householder's.)

Chet Creider

P.S.  A very useful work is: Gignac, Frances Thomas. A Grammar of the Greek Papyri of
the Roman and Byzantine Periods, vol. 1 Phonology, vol. 2 Morphology.  Milan.  (I'm
sorry that I don't have the publisher and date at hand.)  Unfortunately the projected
syntax volume was never published SFAIK.  The first two volumes are excellent.





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