READING GREEK.
Greek words sometimes appear in copy, and are somewhat vexatious to printers who never had the good fortune to study Greek at school—or elsewhere. In a proof-sheet, we once met a word whose etymology was given thus in the copy: “From Ἕλιος the sun, and φιλος a lover” (the epsilon was the author’s mistake). The compositor, not aware of a Greek alphabet, set up the passage in those English letters which most nearly resemble the Hellenic characters, and it appeared in this guise: “From Ediog the sun, and pidog a lover.” We advise proof-readers, and compositors and copy-holders as well, to acquire—if they do not already possess—so much knowledge of Greek letters and characters as will enable them to acquit themselves without discredit, though “Ediog” and “pidog” condog (v. Wb.) to annoy them. A few hours’ attention to the alphabet and characters given below, and to the annexed practical directions, will suffice to fix in the memory as much knowledge of Greek as will serve for the mechanical following of the copy,—mechanical following,—for, if you are setting up or reading a reprint of the 450th page of Webster’s Dictionary, and meet with the word ἐννενήκοντα you must put in the eleven letters as they stand: and if copying Worcester’s 486th page, you find ἐννεήκοντα, put in {p54} the ten letters. If you have any doubts, submit your query.
The Greek alphabet consists of twenty-four letters.
| Alpha | Α α | a |
| Beta | Β β | b |
| Gamma | Γ γ | g |
| Delta | Δ δ | d |
| Epsilon | Ε ε | ĕ |
| Zeta | Ζ ζ | z |
| Eta | Η η | ē |
| Theta | Θ ϑ θ | th |
| Iota | Ι ι | i |
| Kappa | Κ κ | k |
| Lambda | Λ λ | l |
| Mu | Μ μ | m |
| Nu | Ν ν | n |
| Xi | Ξ ξ | x |
| Omicron | Ο ο | ŏ |
| Pi | Π π | p |
| Rho | Ρ ϱ ρ | r |
| Sigma | Σ σ, final ς | s |
| Tau | Τ τ | t |
| Upsilon | Υ υ | u |
| Phi | Φ φ | ph |
| Chi | Χ χ | ch |
| Psi | Ψ ψ | ps |
| Omega | Ω ω | ō |
In reading Greek, mention each letter by its English equivalent.
Ε is read, “cap. short e”; ε, “short e”; Η is read, “cap. long e”; η, “long e.”
Ο is read, “cap. short o”; ο, “short o”; Ω is read, “cap. long o”; ω, “long o.” {p55}
There are three accents,—the acute ( ΄ ), the grave ( ), and the circumflex ( ).
ύ is read, “acute u”; ὶ is read, “grave i”; ᾶ is read, “circumflex a.”
Over every vowel or diphthong beginning a word is placed one of two characters, called breathings, which, for the purpose of reading, we may designate as the smooth ( ᾿ ) and the rough ( ῾ ).
ἀ is read, “smooth a”; ἱ is read, “rough i.”
When two marks appear over a letter, both should be mentioned by the copy-holder.
ὔ is read, “smooth, acute u”; ὅ is read, “rough, acute, short o”; ὃ, “rough, grave, short o”; ὦ, “circumflex, smooth, long o.”
The compositor and proof-reader should be careful that accented letters are used according to the copy, as in many cases the difference of accentuation serves also to mark the difference of signification. Thus, νέος signifies new; νεὸς, a field: ἴον, a violet; ἰὸν, going.
ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ, are diphthongs; their second vowel (ι), being silent, is placed underneath, or subscribed. These should be read thus: ᾳ, “a, subscript”; ῃ, “long e, subscript”; ῳ, “long o, subscript.”
In Greek, only four points or stops are used: the comma (,); the note of interrogation (;); the colon, or point at top (·); and the full stop (.). These should be mentioned as they occur. {p56}
EXAMPLE FOR READING.
EPIGRAM ON THEMISTOCLES.
The method of reading will, we think, be sufficiently exemplified if we give but one line. We select the third, which should be read by the copy-holder, as follows:
Cap. K, a, grave i; t, acute u, m, b, long o subscript; k, r, long e, p, circumflex i, d, a; p, short e, r, acute i, g, r, a, ph, short e; cap. P, short e, r, s, i, k, grave short o, n; cap. smooth acute A, r, long e.
Words from dead and foreign languages, introduced into English text, are printed in italics, until, being frequently met, they cease to be strangers; then printers and proof-readers anglicify them as much as possible, by printing them in roman; but some of these retain certain accents which indicate their alien origin. The Spanish cañon is completely anglicized into “canyon” (o as in no); our miners write “arrastra” in roman, although the term has not yet found its way into our most popular dictionaries; our dreadful accident-makers have set afloat so many “canards,” that that word has become better English than French; “papier-mache” usually appears in roman without the accent on the final e; employé {p57} has become a good “employee” in our workshops; and at an early day, every “protégé” and “protégée,” already roman, will throw off the foreign accents, and remain none the less acute “protegees”; “éclat,” “régime,” and “résumé” still cling to their acute e’s. Many words and phrases are hesitating whether to remain foreigners, or to become naturalized. They have “taken out their first papers,” as it were, having at times appeared in English garb.
It would be vastly convenient for every compositor and proof-reader (every author, of course, reads proof) to have at hand two lists of such Latin and foreign words as most frequently occur in books, magazines, and newspapers,—the one containing the words to be set up in italics, the other, words to “go in roman,” as the phrase is. We append two such lists, as samples rather than as fixities to be followed, although they represent very nearly, if not exactly, the present status of the class of words we are considering. The roman list is destined to be continually lengthening, while the italic, save as it receives new accretions from foreign sources, must be correspondingly diminishing.
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WORDS TO GO IN ITALICS.
- ante
- ad captandum
- ad libitum
- ad quod damnum
- aliunde
- alma mater
- amende honorable
- amicus curiæ
- artiste
- avant coureur
- beau monde
- coram non judice
- corpus delicti
- coup d’état
- coup de grâce
- coup de main
- de bonis non
- de facto
- de jure
- del credere
- de novo
- dilettante
- dilettanti
- dramatis personæ {p58}
- duces tecum
- en route
- entrée
- et al.
- ex officio
- ex parte
- ex post facto
- ex rel.
- falsi crimen
- feme covert
- feme sole
- femme couverte
- femme sole
- fleur de lis
- functus officio
- garçon
- ignes fatui
- ignis fatuus
- in extenso
- infra
- in statu quo
- inter alia
- in toto
- in transitu
- juste milieu
- malum in se
- malum prohibitum
- matériel
- nem. con.
- n’importe
- non constat
- non obstante
- nous verrons
- passim
- peculium
- personnel
- postea
- postliminium
- post mortem
- prima facie
- procès-verbal
- pro forma
- projet
- pro tempore
- rationale
- res adjudicata
- sans-culotte
- sine die
- soi disant
- sotto voce
- sub judice
- supra
- tabula rasa
- terra incognita
- tout ensemble
- ultima ratio
- ultima Thule
- vide
- vice versa
- viva voce
- vraisemblance
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WORDS TO GO IN ROMAN.
- addenda
- addendum
- ad interim
- ad valorem
- alias
- alibi
- alumnus
- alumnæ
- alumni
- animus
- assumpsit
- bagatelle
- belles-lettres
- bijou
- billet-doux
- bivouac
- bizarre
- bona fide
- canaille
- canard
- capias
- chargé d’ affaires
- coterie
- crevasse
- data
- datum
- débris
- dedimus
- détour
- devoir
- diluvion
- diluvium
- éclat
- emeute
- ennui
- entrepot
- exequatur
- exuviæ
- fasces
- faubourg
- feuilleton
- fiacre
- fieri facias
- habeas corpus
- hacienda
- hauteur
- in banc
- in situ
- literati
- literatim
- Magna Charta
- mandamus
- menu
- mittimus
- nisi prius
- nolle prosequi
- oyer and terminer
- papier-mache
- per capita
- per diem
- posse comitatus
- pro rata
- protégé
- quasi
- régime
- résumé
- rôle
- savant
- seriatim
- sobriquet
- status
- supersedeas
- via
- venire
- venire facias
- verbatim