The Reflexes of Syllabic Liquids in Ancient Greek - (Leiden Studies in Indo-European) by Lucien Van Beek (Hardcover)

About the Book

Reflexes of syllabic liquids play an important yet controversial role in Greek dialect classification and the analysis of Homeric formulas. This book tackles the entire evidence afresh and elaborates a ground-breaking new scenario of language change in the epic tradition.

Book Synopsis

How can we explain metrical irregularities in Homeric phrases like ἀνδροτῆτα καὶ ἥβην? What do such phrases tell us about the antiquity of the epic tradition? And how did doublet forms such as τέτρατος beside τέταρτος originate?
In this book, you will find the first systematic and complete account of the syllabic liquids in Ancient Greek. It provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and innovative etymological treatment of material from all dialects, including Mycenaean. A new model of linguistic change in the epic tradition is used to tackle two hotly-debated problems: metrical irregularities in Homer (including muta cum liquida) and the double reflex. The proposed solution has important consequences for Greek dialect classification and the prehistory of Epic language and meter.

About the Author

Lucien van Beek, Ph.D. (2013), Leiden University, is Assistant Professor at Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. He has assisted in Beekes' Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill, 2010) and published extensively on Ancient Greek and Indo-European linguistics, etymology, and lexicography.