[B-Greek] Question concerning accents

Stephen Carlson stemmatic at gmail.com
Tue Feb 1 09:23:56 EST 2011


OK, let me give these questions a shot.  I recommend you get/access
Smyth's grammar, as he has entries answering these questions.

On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 12:16 AM, Robert Stump <robertstump at gmail.com> wrote:
> 1) Do participles follow the pattern of verbs (that is persistence
> toward the antepenult), or the pattern of nouns (persistence toward
> the Nom. Sing.'s accent).

Participles are accented like adjective (persistent) rather than verb
(recessive).  There are some differences for single syllable
participles, however.

> 2)Does a compound verb push its accent into the preposition?  I have
> seen KATELABEN accented on the antepenult in John 1:5, but I thought
> this might be caused by the augment and so only to appear to fall back
> into the preposition.  I thought this might be confirmed by KATABAINON
> being accented on the penult in 1:32, but not knowing the answer to my
> first question I couldn't answer the second.

The accent of a verb generally cannot go back earlier than the
augment, reduplication, or the last syllable of a prepositional
prefix.  There are scattered exceptions to the recessive rule in some
compounded forms, for details see Smyth § 426.

> 3)Is there something special about FANEROQH in John 1:31?  I would
> have thought it would take an accute on the penult, but the text shows
> instead circumflex on the ultima.

This is an aorist subjunctive, formed by -(Q)E- plus endings.  The
epsilon contracts, leaving a circumflex accent.  The recessive accent
rules for verbs are pre-contraction.

> 4)I noticed that the accute ultima does not change to a grave in a
> number of cases when followed by an enclitic.  Is this a hard fast
> rule?

Right, the enclitic prevents an acute accent on the ultima of the
preceding word from changing to a grave.

> 5)Why do a number of words have mutliple accents? (hOUTOS, circumflex
> penult, accute ultima, and EKEINOS, in 1:38 when followed by the
> enclitic MOI, but not in 1:8 without the enclitic).  I was thinking
> hOUTOS was likely a compound which would be some sort of explanation,
> but I can't make sense of EKEINOS.

I think you meant 1:33 instead of 1:38.

Words can have multiple accents if they are followed by an enclitic,
which throws its accent back to the preceding word.  Sometimes,
however, a word followed by an enclitic does not get an additional
accent. If the ultima should be a grave, that grave becomes an acute
instead.  If the penult has an acute, then the enclitic's accent
vanishes.  As a result, a word will not have two acutes in a row.

Stephen
--
Stephen C. Carlson
Graduate Program in Religion
Duke University



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