Augment (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, the augment is a syllable
added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages
, most notably Greek
, Armenian
, and the Indo-Iranian languages
such as Sanskrit
, to form the past tenses.
are uncertain whether the augment is a feature that was added to these branches of Indo-European, or whether the augment was present in the parent language and lost by all other branches (see also Proto-Greek
).
, the verb λέγω légo “I say” has the aorist ἔλεξα élexa “I said”. The initial ε e is the augment. When this comes before a consonant, it is called the "syllabic augment", because it adds a syllable. Sometimes the syllabic augment appears before a vowel, because the initial consonant of the verbal root (usually digamma
) was lost:
When the augment is added before a vowel, the augment and the vowel are contracted
, and the vowel becomes long
: akoúō "I hear", "I heard". This is sometimes called the "temporal augment", because it increases the time needed to pronounce the vowel.
, past-tense
(aorist
or imperfect) verbs appeared both with and without an augment.
"so he/she said"
"And when rose-fingered Dawn appeared, early-born,"
as a result of the loss of unstressed initial syllables. However, accented syllabic augments remained in place So Ancient ἔλυσα, ἐλύσαμεν "I loosened, we loosened" corresponds to Modern έλυσα, λύσαμε.
Temporal augment has not survived in the vernacular, which leaves the initial vowel unaltered: Ancient ἀγαπῶ, ἠγάπησα "I love, I loved", Modern αγαπώ, αγάπησα.
, the perfect ō- prefix is called an augment. It is also a common term in Bantu
linguistics.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, the augment is a syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
added to the beginning of the word in certain Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
, most notably Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, and the Indo-Iranian languages
Indo-Iranian languages
The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It consists of three language groups: the Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani...
such as Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, to form the past tenses.
Indo-European languages
Historical linguistsHistorical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
are uncertain whether the augment is a feature that was added to these branches of Indo-European, or whether the augment was present in the parent language and lost by all other branches (see also Proto-Greek
Proto-Greek language
The Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
).
Ancient Greek
In Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, the verb λέγω légo “I say” has the aorist ἔλεξα élexa “I said”. The initial ε e is the augment. When this comes before a consonant, it is called the "syllabic augment", because it adds a syllable. Sometimes the syllabic augment appears before a vowel, because the initial consonant of the verbal root (usually digamma
Digamma
Digamma is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet which originally stood for the sound /w/ and later remained in use only as a numeral symbol for the number "6"...
) was lost:
- *έ-ϝιδον → (loss of digamma) *ἔιδον → (synaeresisSynaeresisIn linguistics, synaeresis or syneresis is a sound change by which two vowels are pronounced together rather than separately...
) εἶδον
When the augment is added before a vowel, the augment and the vowel are contracted
Crasis
Crasis is a type of contraction in which two vowels or diphthongs merge into one new vowel or diphthong — making one word out of two. Crasis occurs in Portuguese and Arabic as well as in Ancient Greek, where it was first described.-French:...
, and the vowel becomes long
Vowel length
In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. Often the chroneme, or the "longness", acts like a consonant, and may etymologically be one, such as in Australian English. While not distinctive in most dialects of English, vowel length is an important phonemic factor in...
: akoúō "I hear", "I heard". This is sometimes called the "temporal augment", because it increases the time needed to pronounce the vowel.
Homeric Greek
In HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, past-tense
Past tense
The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future...
(aorist
Aorist (Ancient Greek)
In the grammar of Ancient Greek, including Koine, the aorist |voices]].-Terminology:In traditional grammatical terminology, the aorist is a "tense", a section of the verb paradigm formed with the same stem across all moods...
or imperfect) verbs appeared both with and without an augment.
"so he/she said"
"And when rose-fingered Dawn appeared, early-born,"
Modern Greek
Unaccented syllabic augment disappeared during the Byzantine periodMedieval Greek
Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe...
as a result of the loss of unstressed initial syllables. However, accented syllabic augments remained in place So Ancient ἔλυσα, ἐλύσαμεν "I loosened, we loosened" corresponds to Modern έλυσα, λύσαμε.
Temporal augment has not survived in the vernacular, which leaves the initial vowel unaltered: Ancient ἀγαπῶ, ἠγάπησα "I love, I loved", Modern αγαπώ, αγάπησα.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit had the augment a-, prefixed to past-tense verbs (aorist and imperfect).| stem | present | aorist | imperfect | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dhã | dadhãti | adhãt | adadhãt | put |
| gam | gacchati | agamat | agacchat | go |
Other
- PhrygianPhrygian languageThe Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians, spoken in Asia Minor during Classical Antiquity .Phrygian is considered to have been closely related to Greek....
seems to have an augment. - classical ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
had an augment. - YaghnobiYaghnobi languageThe Yaghnobi language is a living East Iranian language . Yaghnobi is spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people...
, an East IranianEastern Iranian languagesThe Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times .The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. The largest living Eastern Iranian language is Pashto, with some 50 million speakers between the Hindu Kush mountains in...
language spoken in TajikistanTajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, has an augment.
Non-Indo-European languages
The term has also been extended to describe similar features in non-Indo-Europeans languages. For example, in NahuatlNahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
, the perfect ō- prefix is called an augment. It is also a common term in Bantu
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
linguistics.