Editing Attic Greek (section)

==Phonology==

===Vowels===

====Long a====
[[Proto-Greek language|Proto-Greek]] long ''ā'' → Attic long ''ē'', but ''ā'' after ''e, i, r''. ⁓ Ionic ''ē'' in all positions. ⁓ Doric and Aeolic ''ā'' in all positions.
* Proto-Greek and Doric ''m'''ā'''tēr'' → Attic ''m'''ē'''tēr'' "mother"
* Attic ''chōr'''ā''''' ⁓ Ionic ''chōr'''ē''''' "place", "country"

However, Proto-Greek ''ā'' → Attic ''ē'' after ''w'' ([[digamma]]), [[deletion (phonology)|deleted]] by the Classical period.<ref>Smyth, par. 30 and note, 31: long a in Attic and dialects</ref>
* Proto-Greek ''kor'''wā'''''<ref>Liddell and Scott, {{LSJ|ko/rh|κόρη}}.</ref> → early Attic–Ionic ''*korw'''ē''''' → Attic ''kor'''ē''''' (Ionic ''kour'''ē''''')

====Short a====
Proto-Greek ''ă'' → Attic ''ě''. ⁓ Doric: ''ă'' remains.
* Doric ''Art'''a'''mis'' ⁓ Attic ''[[Artemis|Art'''e'''mis]]''

====Sonorant clusters====
[[Compensatory lengthening]] of vowel before cluster of sonorant (''r'', ''l'', ''n'', ''m'', ''w'', sometimes ''y'') and ''s'', after deletion of ''s''. ⁓ some Aeolic: compensatory lengthening of sonorant.<ref>[[Paul Kiparsky]], "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/411806 Sonorant Clusters in Greek]" (''[[Language (journal)|Language]]'', Vol. 43, No. 3, Part 1, pp. 619–635: Sep. 1967) on [[JSTOR]].</ref>
: [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''VsR'' or ''VRs'' → Attic–Ionic–Doric–Boeotian ''VVR''.
:  ''VsR'' or ''VRs'' → Lesbian–Thessalian ''VRR''.<ref>''V'' = [[vowel]], ''R'' = [[sonorant]], ''s'' is itself. ''VV'' = [[vowel length|long vowel]], ''RR'' = [[gemination|doubled]] or long [[sonorant]].</ref>
* Proto-Indo-European ''*'''es-m'''i'' (athematic verb) → Attic–Ionic '''''ēm'''i'' (εἰμί) ⁓ Lesbian–Thessalian '''''emm'''i'' "I am"

====Upsilon====
Proto-Greek and other dialects' {{IPAslink|u}} (English ''f'''oo'''d'') became Attic {{IPAslink|y}} (pronounced as German ''ü'', French ''u'') and represented by ''y'' in Latin transliteration of Greek names.
* Boeotian k'''ou'''rios ⁓ Attic [[kyrios|k'''y'''rios]] "lord"

In the [[diphthong]]s ''eu'' and ''au'', upsilon continued to be pronounced {{IPAslink|u}}.

====Contraction====
Attic contracts more than Ionic does.
''a'' + ''e'' → long ''ā''.
* ''nik'''a-e''''' → ''nik'''ā''''' "conquer (thou)!"

''e'' + ''e'' → ē (written ''ει'': [[spurious diphthong]]).
* PIE ''*tr'''ey-e'''s'' → Proto-Greek ''tr'''ee'''s'' → Attic ''tr'''ē'''s'' = (τρεῖς), "three"

''e'' + ''o'' → ''ō'' (written ου: spurious diphthong).
* early ''*gen'''es-o'''s'' → Ionic ''gen'''eo'''s'' → Attic ''gen'''ou'''s'' "of a kind" (genitive singular: Latin ''generis'', with ''r'' from [[Rhotacism (sound change)#Latin|rhotacism]])

====Vowel shortening====
Attic ''ē'' (from ''ē''-grade of [[Indo-European ablaut|ablaut]] or Proto-Greek ''ā'') is sometimes shortened to ''e'':

# when it is followed by a short vowel, with lengthening of the short vowel ([[quantitative metathesis]]): ''ēo'' → ''eō''
# when it is followed by a long vowel: ''ēō'' → ''eō''
# when it is followed by ''u'' and ''s'': ''ēus'' → ''eus'' ([[Osthoff's law]]):
* ''basil'''ēo'''s'' → ''basil'''eō'''s'' "of a king" (genitive singular)
* ''basil'''ēō'''n'' → ''basil'''eō'''n'' (genitive plural)
* ''basil'''ēu'''si'' → ''basil'''eu'''si'' (dative plural)

====Hyphaeresis<!--'Hyphaeresis' redirects here-->====
Attic deletes one of two vowels in a row, called '''hyphaeresis''' ({{lang|grc|ὑφαίρεσις}}).
* Homeric ''boē-th'''o-o'''s'' → Attic ''boēth'''o'''s'' "running to a cry", "helper in battle"

===Consonants===

====Palatalization====
PIE ''*ky'' or ''*chy'' → Proto-Greek ''ts'' ([[palatalization (sound change)|palatalization]]) → Attic and Euboean Ionic ''tt'' — Cycladean/Anatolian Ionic and Koine ''ss''.
* Proto-Greek ''*glō'''kh-y'''a'' → Attic ''glō'''tt'''a'' — East Ionic ''glō'''ss'''a'' "tongue"

Sometimes,  Proto-Greek *ty and *tw → Attic and Euboean Ionic ''tt'' — Cycladean/Anatolian Ionic and Koine ''ss''.
* PIE ''*kwe'''tw'''ores'' → Attic ''te'''tt'''ares'' — East Ionic ''te'''ss'''eres'', "four" (Latin ''qua'''ttu'''or'')

Proto-Greek and Doric ''t'' before ''i'' or ''y'' → Attic–Ionic ''s'' (palatalization).
* Doric ''[[reduplication|ti]]-[[Proto-Indo-European root|the]]-n'''ti''''' → Attic ''tithē'''si''''' = (τίθει'''σι''') "he places" ([[compensatory lengthening]] of ''e'' → ''ē'' = [[spurious diphthong]] (ει))

====Shortening of ''ss''====
Doric, Aeolian, early Attic–Ionic ''ss'' → Classical Attic ''s''.
* PIE {{PIE|*me'''dh-y'''os}} → Homeric ({{lang|grc|μέσσος}}), ''me'''ss'''os'' ("palatalization") → Attic ({{lang|grc|μέσος}}), ''me'''s'''os'' ("middle")
*Homeric ({{lang|grc|ἐτέλεσσα}}) → Attic ({{lang|grc|ἐτέλεσα}}), "I performed (a ceremony)"
*Proto-Greek {{lang|grk-x-proto|*podsi}}  → Homeric ({{lang|grc|ποσσί}}) → Attic ({{lang|grc|ποσί}}), "by foot"
*Proto-Greek {{lang|grk-x-proto|*hopot-yos}} → dialectal ({{lang|grc|ὁπόσσος}}) → Attic ({{lang|grc|ὁπόσος}})

====Loss of ''w''====
Proto-Greek ''w'' ([[digamma]]) was lost in Attic before historical times.
* Proto-Greek ''kor'''w'''ā →'' Attic ''korē'', "girl"<ref>Liddell and Scott, {{LSJ|ko/rh|κόρη}}.</ref>

====Retention of ''h''====
Attic retained Proto-Greek ''h-'' (from [[Debuccalization#Proto-Greek|debuccalization]] of Proto-Indo-European initial ''s-'' or ''y-''), but some other dialects lost it (''[[psilosis]]'', "stripping", "deaspiration").
* Proto-Indo-European ''*'''s'''i-sta-mes'' → Attic '''''h'''istamen'' — Cretan ''istamen'', "we stand"

====Movable ''n''====
Attic–Ionic places an ''n'' ([[movable nu]]) at the end of some words that would ordinarily end in a vowel, if the next word starts with a vowel, to prevent ''[[hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]]'' (two vowels in a row). The movable nu can also be used to turn what would be a short syllable into a [[long syllable]] for use in [[Prosody (Greek)|meter]].
* ''pāsi'''n''' élegon'', "they spoke to everyone", vs. ''pāsi legousi''
* ''pāsi'''(n)''''', dative plural of "all"
* ''legousi'''(n)''''', "they speak" (third person plural, present indicative active)
* ''elege'''(n)''''', "he was speaking" (third person singular, imperfect indicative active)
* ''titheisi'''(n)''''', "he places", "makes" (third person singular, present indicative active: athematic verb)

====Rr instead of rs.====

Attic and Euboean Ionic use rr in words, when Cycladean and Anatolian Ionic use rs:

* Attic (χερρόνησος) → East Ionic (χερσόνησος), "peninsula"
* Attic (ἄρρην) → East Ionic (ἄρσην), "male"
* Attic (θάρρος) → East Ionic (θάρσος), "courage"

==== Attic replaces the Ionic ''-σσ'' with ''-ττ'' ====
Attic and Euboean Ionic use tt, while Cycladean and Anatolian Ionic use ss:
* Attic (γλῶττα) → East Ionic (γλῶσσα), "tongue"
* Attic (πράττειν) → East Ionic (πράσσειν), "to do, to act"
* Attic (θάλαττα) → East Ionic (θάλασσα), "sea"<ref>Γ.Ν. Χατζιδάκις, Σύντομος ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσης, page 40: "Some special characteristics of the Attic dialect are [...] the double -ρρ instead of -ρσ and the double -ττ instead of -σσ [...]. (Translated from Greek).</ref>