Language

Grammar

• Parts
  • Sentence (lógos)
  • Word (léxis)
  • Syllable (syllabḗ)
  • Consonant (sýmphōnon)
    • Semivowel
      • Double – z, x, [ψ]
      • Unchangeable – l, m, n, r, s
    • Mute
      • Smooth – b/p, c/k/q, d/t
      • Medial – v, g, ð
      • Rough – f, h, þ
  • Vowel (phōnḗnta)
    • Long – á, é, í, ó, ú, ý
    • Short – a, e, i, o, u, y
    • Dipthongs – ae, au, ei, eu, oe, ou
• Categories
  • Noun (ónoma)
    • Generic – e.g. man, horse
    • Specific – e.g. Peter, Paul
  • Verb (rhḗma) – e.g. strike
  • Participle (metochḗ) – e.g. trusting
  • Article (árthron) – e.g. the
  • Pronoun (antōnymía) – e.g. he
  • Preposition (próthesis) – e.g. in, at, from
  • Adverb (epírrhēma) – e.g. here, wastely
  • Conjuction (sýndesmos) – e.g. and, but, or, so
• Cases
  • Nomitive – e.g. he is working
  • Generic – e.g. his hands
  • Dative – e.g. speaking to him
  • Accusitive – e.g. hearing him
• Persons
  • 1st (sng.) – I, my/mine, me
  • 1st (pl.) – we, our, us
  • 2nd (sng.) – thou, thy/thine, thee
  • 2nd (pl.) – you, your, ye
  • 3rd (sng.) – he/she/it, his, him/her
  • 3rd (pl.) – they, those, them
  • – (–) – who, whose, whom
• Accents
  • Acute (oxī̂a) – ◌́
  • Circumflex (perispōménē) – ◌̃/◌̂
  • Grave (barī̂a) – ◌̀
  • Rough Breath (dasỳ pneûma) – ◌῾
  • Smooth Breath (psīlòn pneûma) – ◌᾿
  • Trema (diǽresis) – ◌̈

Alphabets

The following letters are derived from the Latin alphabet & usually employed by Germanic languages for sounds not represented by Latin:

• ð – d with a stroke, invented to represent th.

• ſ – Stylized s used in the middle of words in old English. It was combined with s—i.e. ſs was transformed into ß—to create the German sharp s. Therefore the acceptable substitute is s twice.

• ø – o with a stroke, used in some languages where oe would otherwise be.

• ◌̈ – Originally e written above the vowel to mark a change in pronounciation, therefore is the acceptable substitute to put e after the letter—e.g. ü to ue.

• ◌̊ – o placed above the letter, for much of the same reasons as ◌̈.

Traditionally, codices were written in uncial (now called lowercase), only employing capitals (now called uppercase) for chapter initial decoration. The terms upper- and lowercase are a result of printing presses, while their technical functions, a Germanic custom.

It is neccesary, I think, to tell in brief summary the history of the alphabet:

According to Christians, Moses (or Abraham) was the first to make written letters, which survives today as Syriac, and taught heiroglyphics to the Ægyptians. Cadmus, a Phœnecian, taught a form of Syriac to the Greeks, & again to the Latins.

According to the Greeks, Hermes was the first to write, and taught it to the Ægyptians, and it was a form of this Cadmus in turn then taught, & so on. They also credit Phœbus with some letters.

The Assyrian cuneifrom would seem to have been formed from the Ægyptian heiroglyphics. Chinese han-tzu, in turn, would seem to have been formed from Assyrian cuneiform. This is my opinion.

The Brachmic (now called Hindi) & Arabic alphabets were formed from Syriac.

SS. Cyril & Methodius taught a form of Greek to the Slavs, further developed by SS. Gorazd, Clement, Naum, Angelar, and Sava of Ohrid, which survives as Slavic (also called Cyrillic).

Numerals

For continued counting in Greek, prefix , to multiply the following number by 1,000. Further, place a number over M (for myriás) to multiply 10,000 by it: δΜʹ=10,000*4.

In Latin, when writing two or more i., use j, e.g. ij.

For continued counting in Slavic, prefix ҂ to multiply the following number by 1,000, but also overlay ⃝ for 10,000, ҈ for 100,000, ҉ for 1,000,000, ꙰ for 10,000,000, ꙱ for 100,000,000, & ꙲ for 1,000,000,000.

Languages

For the sake of better understanding these pages, here is how each English letter is properly pronounced:

A number of vowel usages have been left out here, most simplified to just e. At times a is pronounced áe, á as eí, u as áe, &c.

The words in brackets are those I haven’t thought of a suitable, acrophone for yet. Until then, read ice there as ‘ees’, & ox as ‘ooks’.

References

• John of Damascus, St. “Philosophical Chapters” in: The Fount of Knowledge.
• Thrax, Dionysius. The Art of Grammar.
• Suda, the.
• Herodotus. The Histories.