Pamphylian Greek

Pamphylian is a little-attested and isolated dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. Its origins and relation to other Greek dialects are uncertain. A number of scholars have distinguished in Pamphylian dialect important isoglosses with Arcadocypriot which allow them to be studied together. Pamphylia means "land of all phyles (tribes)". The Achaeans may have settled the region under the leadership of Amphilochus, Calchas, and Mopsus. However, other cities in Pamphylia were established by different Greek tribes: Aspendos was a colony of Argos, Side was a colony of Aeolian Cyme, Sillyon was a colony of an unknown Greek mother city, and Perga was a colony established by a wave of Greeks from northern Anatolia. The isolation of the dialect took place even before the appearance of the Greek article. Pamphylian is the only dialect that does not use articles other than Mycenean Greek and poetic language.

Pronunciation and writing

Pamphylian digamma

Pamphylia had a variant local alphabet, that made use both of the original "Pamphylian digamma" (И) and a standard digamma (Ϝ), which was probably borrowed from other Greek alphabets. It has been surmised that the original sound /w/ in some environments (after vowels) was represented by И; where the sound has changed to labiodental /v/ in the Pamphylian dialect, it was represented by Ϝ. Sometimes И stood also in the place of beta.

Pamphylian sampi

There is also a psi-like sampi (), used probably to represent the sounds /s/, /ss/, or /ps/. ^[1]

An inscription from Perge dated to around 400 BC reads: Иανάαι Πρειίαι Κλεμύτας Λϝαράμυ Иασιρϝο̄τας ἀνέθε̄κε (="Vanassāi Preiiāi Klemutas Lwaramu Vasirwōtas anethēke", "Klemutas the vasirwotas, son of Lwaramus, dedicated this to the Queen of Perge").^[2]

Glossary

• ἀβελιακόν/abeliakon - solar (Attic: ἡλιακόν, heliakon)
• Ἀβώβας/Abôbas - Adonis (Attic: ὁ Ἄδωνις)
• ἄγεθλα/agethla - sacrificial victims (Attic: "the driven ones")
• ἀγός/agos - priest (Attic: hiereus, Cf. agô lead)
• ἀδρί/adri (Attic: ἀνδρί, andri, dative of aner meaning "to (for) the man")
• Ἀηδών/Aêdôn or Ἀβηδών/Abêdôn - Athena
• αἰβετός/aibetos - eagle (Attic: ἀετός, aetos)
• ἀμείνασις/ameinasis - mentha (Attic: ἡδύοσμον, hêdyosmon)
• Ἀπέλο̄ν/Apelon (Attic: Ἀπόλλων)
• ἄρκυμα/arkuma - locust (Attic: ἀκρίς, akris)
• ἀτρώποισι/atrôpoisi or ἀτρο̄́ποισι dative, plural (Attic: τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, tois anthropois, "to/for the people")^[3]
• βαβέλιος/babelios - sun (Cretan and Doric: ἀβέλιος, abelios; Laconian: βέλα, bela; Aeolic: ἀέλιος, aelios; Ionic: ἠέλιος, ēelios; Attic: helios)
• βόϝα/bowa^[4] - oxen, cattle? (Attic: bota boes)
• βο̄λε̄μενυς/bolemenus - willing (Attic: boulomenos) (ἐβο̄λᾱσετυ/ebolasetu - they wanted to (Attic: eboulêthêsan)^[5]
• βουρικυπάρισσος/bourikuparissos - vineyard (Attic: ampelos)
• Εστϝεδιιυς/Estwediius - Aspendios or Aspendian
• ϝέτιια/wetiia - years (Attic: etê; Homeric: etea; Locrian, Elean, and Arcadocypriot: Wetos; Latin: vetus)
• ϝίλσις/wilsis - distress (genitive of wilsiios).^[6]
• ἰκτίς/iktis - weasel, skunk, cat or member of Felidae (Attic: αἴλουρος, aílouros; Attic: iktis)
• ἴοδυ/iodu - imp. they should go (Attic: iontôn)^[7]
• κασσύας/kassuas - thunnus (Attic: ὄρκυνος, orkunos, orcynus)
• κατεϝέρξοδυ/katewerxodu (katarxontôn?)^[8]
• κόρκορας/korkoras - bird or rooster (Modern Greek: kókoras)
• κόρταφος/kortaphos - temple (anatomy) (Attic κρόταφος, krotaphos)
• λάφνη/laphnê - daphne (Attic: δάφνη)
• λάψα/lapsa - turnip (Attic: γογγυλίς, gongulis)
• νι/ni - in or one (Attic: en or hen)^[9]
• ὀρούβω/oroubô^[10] - rush forward (Homeric: orouô, ornumi)
• πέδε/pede - five (Attic: πέντε, pente; Modern Greek: pende, informal pede)^[11]
• περτέδο̄κε/pertedoke - he gave (Attic: prosedôke; Aeolic: pres for Attic pros)^[12]
• πηρία/pêria - field or farm
• σαράπιοι/sarapiοi - small fish, picarel, or maenidae (Attic: μαινίδες, mainides)
• σισίλαρος/sisilaros - partridge (Attic: πέρδιξ, perdix)
• σκυδρὺ/skudru^[8]
• τριμίσκον/trimiskon - clothing (Attic: himation, tribon; Koine: trimitos or trimiton meaning "garment of drill or ticking")
• ὕλογος/hulogos - army (Attic: stratos; Attic: σύλλογος, syllogos meaning "reunion" or "gathering")
• Иανάϡα Πρειία/Vanassa Preiia - lady-goddess (Homeric: ϝάνασσα see wanax; Κλεμύτας Λϝαραμυ Иασιρϝο̄τας dedicated it to her)^[13]
• иοῖκυ/voiku - house (Attic: oikos; Cretan and Locrian: ϝοικία, Woikia)^[14]
• иρυμάλια/иrumalia^[15]
• φάβος/phabos^[10] - light (Homeric: phaos; Attic: phôs)
• φεννίον/phennion (Attic: μηδικὴ ὁδός, "Medean road")
• φίκατι/phikati^[16] - twenty (Attic: eikosi; Laconian: beikati; Aeolian, Doric: weikati).

See also

• Pamphylia
• Arcadocypriot Greek
• Ancient Greek dialects
• Anatolian languages

References

Sources

• Panayotou, A. "Pamphylian" (Maria Chritē and Maria Arapopoulou. A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press, 2007 ISBN 0-521-83307-8, pp. 427–432). Article in Greek: Παμφυλιακή.
• Hesychius of Alexandria