Greek prepositions: composition, phonology, and accentuation rules (treatment of prefixes in verbs and prosodic behavior of prepositions, e.g., monosyllables, vowel endings, Aeolic variants)
τῷ χαρακτῆρι τῶν ὁμοίων τοῦ ἀλλοδαπός καὶ παντοδαπός καὶ τηλεδαπός. {1Περὶ προθέσεως.}1 Πρόθεσις εἴρηται ἐκ τοῦ πάσης λέξεως ἐθέλειν προτίθεσθαι, λέγω δὲ ὀνομάτων περὶ Ἀριστάρχου, ῥημάτων καταγράφω, μετοχῶν καταγράψας—λέγομεν δὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ κατά πρόθεσις ἐν τῷ καταγράφω, καταγράψας, ἀλλὰ μέρος ἐστὶ τοῦ ῥήματος, εἰ καὶ μετὰ προθέσεως ἐγένετο ἡ σύνθεσις. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ εὐγενής οὐκ ἔστι τὸ 'ευ' ἐπίρρημα, ἀλλὰ μέρος ἐγένετο τοῦ ὀνόματος, εἰ καὶ ἀπὸ ἐπιρρήματος ἐγένετο ἡ σύνθεσις, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ καταγράφω οὐ λέγομεν, ὅτι πρόθεσίς ἐστιν ἡ κατά, ἀλλὰ μέρος τοῦ ῥήματος, εἰ καὶ ἀπὸ προθέσεως ἐγένετο ἡ σύνθεσις—ἀντωνυμιῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ, ἄρθρων τῶν προτακτικῶν περὶ τοῦ στεφάνου. * Οὐδεμία πρόθεσις διὰ δασέος συμφώνου ἐκφέρεται, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὸ ἀμφί. λέγεται δ´ ἔσθ´ ὅτε καὶ ἀμπί ἐν συνθέσει διὰ τοῦ 'π' καὶ ἴσως ἀναλογώτερον. * Οὐδεμία πρόθεσις μονοσύλλαβος εἰς φωνῆεν λήγει, ἀλλὰ μόνον ἡ πρό. * Οὐδεμία πρόθεσις εἰς διπλοῦν λήγει, ἀλλὰ μόνη ἡ ἐξ. * Αἱ εἰς 'α' λήγουσαι προθέσεις σύμφωνον ἔχουσι πρὸ τοῦ 'α', ἀλλὰ μόνη ἡ διά τὸ 'α' καθαρεύει. * Οὐδεμία πρόθεσις δισύλλαβος εἰς σύμφωνον καταλήγει, ἀλλὰ μόνη ἡ ὑπέρ. * Αἱ ὑπὲρ μίαν συλλαβὴν προθέσεις εἰς φωνῆεν λήγουσι δίχρονον ὑπεσταλμένης τῆς ἀπό καὶ ὑπό· ἀναλογώτεροι ἄρα οἱ Αἰολεῖς τὴν ὑπό ὕπα λέγοντες, τὴν δὲ ἀπό ἄπυ, ἴσως ἵνα τὸ 'υ' ληκτικὸν γένηται τῆς προθέσεως ὡς τὸ 'α' καὶ 'ι'. Πᾶσα πρόθεσις εἴτε μονοσύλλαβος εἴτε δισύλλαβος ὀξύνεται—εἰ μὴ κατὰ ἀναστροφὴν παραληφθῶσι· τότε γὰρ βαρύνονται αἱ δισύλλαβοι οἷον »ἄστυ κάτα Ξάνθοιο«—ὅθεν καὶ ἡ ἀπό καὶ ὑπό, μηδεμιᾶς ληγούσης λέξεως εἰς 'ο' ὀξυνομένης, διὰ τὸ εἶναι προθέσεις ὠξύνθησαν· διὸ σημειούμεθα τὴν αὐτό ἀντωνυμίαν, ὅτι ὠξύνθη διὰ τὴν αὐτός ἀρσενικήν.
In the pattern of the like-formed words ἀλλοδαπός and παντοδαπός and τηλεδαπός. {1On the preposition.}1 “Preposition” has been so called from its being willing to be put before every word—I mean: before nouns, as in περὶ Ἀριστάρχου; I record it before verbs, as in καταγράφω; having recorded it before participles, as in καταγράψας—yet we say that in καταγράφω, καταγράψας the κατά is not a preposition, but is a part of the verb, even if the compound was formed with a preposition. For just as in εὐγενής the ‘ευ’ is not an adverb, but has become a part of the noun, even if the compound was formed from an adverb, so too in καταγράφω we do not say that κατά is a preposition, but a part of the verb, even if the compound was formed from a preposition—before pronouns, as in περὶ ἐμοῦ; before the prepositive articles, as in περὶ τοῦ στεφάνου. * No preposition is pronounced with a rough consonant, but only ἀμφί. Yet sometimes in composition it is also said ἀμπί with ‘π’, and perhaps more in accordance with analogy. * No monosyllabic preposition ends in a vowel, but only πρό. * No preposition ends in a double consonant, but only ἐξ. * The prepositions ending in ‘α’ have a consonant before the ‘α’, but only διά has the ‘α’ pure. * No disyllabic preposition ends in a consonant, but only ὑπέρ. * The prepositions of more than one syllable end in a long vowel, with the exception of ἀπό and ὑπό; therefore the Aeolians are more in accordance with analogy when they say ὕπα for ὑπό and ἄπυ for ἀπό, perhaps in order that ‘υ’ may become the final letter of the preposition, like ‘α’ and ‘ι’. Every preposition, whether monosyllabic or disyllabic, is accented acute—unless they are taken in anastrophe; for then the disyllables are accented grave, as in »ἄστυ κάτα Ξάνθοιο«—whence also ἀπό and ὑπό, since no word ending in ‘ο’ is accented acute, were accented acute because they are prepositions; therefore we mark the pronoun αὐτό, because it was accented acute on account of the masculine αὐτός.