12322 - History of the Greek Language (1)

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Docente: Camillo Neri
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: L-FIL-LET/02
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Humanities (cod. 8850)

Learning outcomes

The students are expected to acquire a basic knowledge of the fundamental stages of the Greek language in its diachronic development, from the archaic age to the formation of the so-called 'common language' that then developed into Modern Greek. Through a direct analysis of textual specimens the students are expected to develop: a) the ability to recognise the proper historical setting of a Greek text or document; b) the methodological skills to analyse a text from a historical and linguistic point of view.

Course contents

Core course ('parte istituzionale')

a) General rudiments of History of the Greek Language

Lecture-Seminar (optional, for students majoring in Greek, held in further meetings to be arranged)

b) The language of late-archaic lyric poetry: Bacchylides, Ep. 3.


Lectures Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 16-18, Aula II (11.2.2019-10.4.2019).

Start date: 11.2.2019 (2nd semester).

Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 9-13 (Dept.).

Links: http://www.unibo.it/docenti/camillo.neri

http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Didattica/Programs/20182019/Corso_Camillo/

Readings/Bibliography

a) Notes from the lectures. O. Hoffmann-A. Debrunner-A. Scherer, Storia della lingua greca, trad. it. Napoli, Macchiaroli, 1969, or A. Meillet, Lineamenti di storia della lingua greca, trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 1981 (2nd ed.), or L.R. Palmer, The Greek Language, London, Faber, 1980. See also the introductory section of C. Neri (et all.), Μέθοδος. Corso di lingua e cultura greca. Grammatica, Firenze, D’Anna, 2018. For the study of the Greek dialects, Y. Duhoux, Introduzione alla dialettologia greca antica, trad. it. Bari 1986; L. Bottin, Testi greci dialettali, Padova 2000.

The following optional texts are also recommended: for phonetics, L. Heilmann, L'alfabeto e la pronuncia del greco, in Introduzione allo studio della cultura classica, II, Milano, Marzorati, 1973, 335-362, and M. Lejeune, Phonétique historique du mycénien et du grec ancien, Paris, Klincksieck, 1972; as for morphology, P. Chantraine, Morphologie historique du grec , Paris, Klincksieck, 1961, and L. Heilmann, Grammatica storica della lingua greca, Torino, Sei, 1963; for the 'Indo-European language', P. Szemerényi, Introduzione alla linguistica indoeuropea, ed. by G. Boccali-V. Brugnatelli-M. Negri, Milano, Unicopli, 1985, F. Villar, Gli indoeuropei e le origini dell'Europa, trad. it. Bologna, il Mulino, 1997, W.P. Lehmann, La linguistica indoeuropea. Storia, problemi e metodi, trad. it. Bologna, il Mulino, 1999, M. Alinei, Origini delle lingue d'Europa, I-II, Bologna, il Mulino, 2000 (2nd ed.); for the epic language, P. Chantraine, Grammaire homérique, I-II, Paris, Klincksieck, 1948-1953.

b) Notes from the lectures. For the text see H. Maehler, Bacchylides. Carmina cum fragmentis, Monachii, Teubner, 2003 (3a ed.); H. Maehler, Die Lieder des Bakchylides, I-II, Leiden, Brill, 1982 (I), 1997 (II); J. Irigoin, Bacchylide. Dithyrambes. Epinicies. Fragments, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1993; for the italian translation, vd. G.L. Martinelli, Bac­chi­li­de. Epinici – Ditirambi – Frammenti, Calvatone (CR)-Parma, Ambarvalia, 1998; Roberta Sevieri, Bacchilide. Epinici, Milano, La vita felice, 2007; M. Giuseppetti, Bacchilide, Odi e frammenti, Milano, Rizzoli (Bur), 2015; or any other edition with critical text. See also D. Fearn, Bacchylides. Politics, Performance, Poetic Tradition, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2007; A. McDevitt, Bacchylides. The Victory Poems, Bristol, Bristol Classical Press, 2009. Further bibliography will be indicated during the lectures.

Students who do not attend the lessons are required to bring the same program as regards the institutional part and to define a personalized program, also in the light of their own interests, for the monographic part.

Teaching methods

The lectures will be of two kinds: a) lectures given by the teacher, which will outline a concise history of the Greek language from the origins to the Byzantine era through the reading of original texts, translated and analysed in class; b) the reading of Bacchylides' epinician ode (after some introductory lectures and the specimen analysis of some lines made by the teacher) will be carried out by the students themselves as presentations (which will test thus the abilities they have developed in the first part of the course).

Alongside the course, from 1 to 10 April 2019, some lectures on modern Greek will be held (participation free), by Dr. Elena Iakovou (Göttingen).

All the material handed out in the lectures will be available afterwards on line at http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Didattica/Programs/20182019/Corso_Camillo

Assessment methods

The viva voce examination consists of a conversation in which the teacher, through a series of questions, will test the theoretical knowledge and the theoretical-practical methodologies as explained in the lectures. In particular, the students will be invited to deal with a particular chapter of the history of the Greek language (i.e. the Ionic-Attic dialect group, the koiné, etc.) through the analysis of the textual examples illustrated in class.

The maximum grade (30L) requires accurate and complete answers to all questions posed during the oral examination. The exam will be deemed to have been passed (with variable evaluation depending on the quality of the answers) if the candidate has answered in a precise and complete manner to most questions.

For deeply-rooted didactic conviction, I do not propose links to syllabi of questions, which would inevitably end up impoverishing the general preparation of the students. Since exams take place every fifteen days, students who want to experience the actual performance of an exam can attend - as spectators - the exam sessions, which are public.

Teaching tools

PC, video projector, overhead projector, photocopied handouts.

Links to further information

http://www2.classics.unibo.it/Didattica/Programs/20182019/Corso_Camillo/

Office hours

See the website of Camillo Neri