Arcado-Cypriot Greek

Arcado-Cypriot (Greek: Αρκαδοκυπριακή διάλεκτος; Latin: Dialectus Arcado-Cypria) was a dialect of Ancient Greek spoken in the mountainous region of Arcadia, in the central Peloponnese, and the island of Cyprus, south of Asia Minor. This dialect is only known from inscriptions dated between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. C. It was not used as a literary language, only Homer makes sporadic use of some forms of this dialect. On the island of Cyprus it was written using the Cypriot syllabary, derived from the Mycenaean linear B syllabary.

The Arcadian-Cypriot dialect descends directly from Mycenaean Greek, due to the fact that Arcadia was freed from the so-called Dorian invasion. According to a passage by Pausanias (Description of Greece VIII 2) the Arcadians, after the Trojan War, sailed to Cyprus and founded the city of Paphos.

Arcado-Cypriot maintained some characteristics of the Mycenaean dialect that disappeared from the other Greek dialects, such as the preservation of the phoneme [w], written ϝ (digamma). The letter san (Ϟ) was used only in Arcadia until the 6th century BCE. c.

This ancient dialect should not be confused with modern Cypriot Greek, as the latter is the result of the arrival of Koine on the island and its mixing with loanwords from other languages, gradually replacing native arcadian-cypriot.

Features

• Step –ο  -: verbal disinsensions –τυ/-ντυ instead of the attic –το/-ντο, πυ instead of πό, . instead of ◊.

• Step -α : preposition  instead of attic ►, όνεθυσε instead of attic أبام كالε.

• Step εν ה ιν: Русский instead of attic Dialogo, μινονσαι instead of μ, disindence of the medium voice –μινος instead of attic -μενος.

• Fonema maintenance [w], say: εκαστον instead of attic καστον.

• Step –τι ▪: εκοσι, disindence of 3rd person of the plural of verbs (as in attic).

• Dissents of singular and plural of the medium voice in –τοι and –ντοι instead of the attic –ται and –νται: τετακτοι instead of Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça Ça

• Apocope of prefixes παρά, κατά, παρά: κακειμεναυ instead of attic κατακειμ.

• Preference πος instead of attic πρός.

• In archdiocese he kept -: plural of the active voice - instead of attic -Oh., πανσας instead of attic π σας.

• In archdiocese he used the letter Saint ( ) to represent the result of the protogreego (♪^w, ♪^w, ♪^wh(c): ▪ = τε.

Example

Arcadian dialect, 6th or 5th century BCE. c.

οι γος, / [ιερος]ν εναρος, εναιμος. ει δε αφαετοι, / [οφλεν] τασεειαν. εεειαν. εε οδε κυρος δεκο.ετεα. ενα[ι] / [...] τοδεε.

Sacred Law, Luso. Reference: D. Robinson CD 38.191 ss.

Translation:

If a woman wears a colored garment, / she will consecrate Deméter Tesmoforia. / And if he do not consecrate it, because he is not willing to do so, / (...) that he die, and who then is demiurgo // that he pays thirty dracmas. And if you don't pay them, you'll be damned for impiety. This decree will last ten years. Let it be / (...) this.