Page 1 of 1

How do you say moo?

Posted: April 30th, 2016, 4:59 pm
by Jonathan Robie
Woodhouse has failed me.

How do you say "moo" in Hellenistic Greek?

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: April 30th, 2016, 6:05 pm
by cwconrad
Jonathan Robie wrote:Woodhouse has failed me.

How do you say "moo" in Hellenistic Greek?
You might try μυκᾶσθαι. In the GNT it's used of a lion roaring (Rev.10:3) and see L&N$§§14.74-86; I would have thought that βοᾶν should derive from βοῦς, but evidently it doesn't. μυκᾶσθαι is the verb, μύκημα the noun for lowing or bellowing.
So: say "moo-cow", add a middle ending, and stir gently ...

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: April 30th, 2016, 6:37 pm
by Wes Wood
A little late to the party. Feel good about the first two (to moo or bellow) and (moo-er or bellower) but the last two entries are for the μυ μυ part of their entries: μυκάομαι, μυκηθμός, μυγμός, μύζω

Citations for the first:
Μυκαλησσὸν δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν ὀνομασθῆναι, διότι ἡ βοῦς ἐνταῦθα ἐμυκήσατο ἡ Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἄγουσα ἐς Θήβας. ὅντινα δὲ τρόπον ἐγένετο ἡ Μυκαλησσὸς ἀνάστατος, τὰ ἐς Ἀθηναίους ἔχοντα ἐδήλωσέ μοι τοῦ λόγου. (Paus. 9.19)

ἐν δ᾽ ἀγέλην ποίησε βοῶν ὀρθοκραιράων: αἳ δὲ βόες χρυσοῖο τετεύχατο κασσιτέρου τε, μυκηθμῷ δ᾽ ἀπὸ κόπρου ἐπεσσεύοντο νομὸν δὲ πὰρ ποταμὸν κελάδοντα, παρὰ ῥοδανὸν δονακῆα. χρύσειοι δὲ νομῆες ἅμ᾽ ἐστιχόωντο βόεσσι τέσσαρες, ἐννέα δέ σφι κύνες πόδας ἀργοὶ ἕποντο. σμερδαλέω δὲ λέοντε δύ᾽ ἐν πρώτῃσι βόεσσι ταῦρον ἐρύγμηλον ἐχέτην: ὃ δὲ μακρὰ μεμυκὼς ἕλκετο: τὸν δὲ κύνες μετεκίαθον ἠδ᾽ αἰζηοί. τὼ μὲν ἀναρρήξαντε βοὸς μεγάλοιο βοείην ἔγκατα καὶ μέλαν αἷμα λαφύσσετον: (Hom. Il. 18.580)

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: April 30th, 2016, 6:39 pm
by Wes Wood
Not sure about the Hellenistic Greek part, though...

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: May 1st, 2016, 12:25 am
by Stephen Hughes
Jonathan Robie wrote:How do you say "moo" in Hellenistic Greek?
It depends on your pronunciation system.

Perhaps if your υ has not closed up the Classical μυκῶμαι is still onomatopoeic, and if it has then you could spell it according to the Mediaeval μουγκούμαι.

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: May 1st, 2016, 7:23 am
by cwconrad
Wes Wood wrote:A little late to the party. Feel good about the first two (to moo or bellow) and (moo-er or bellower) but the last two entries are for the μυ μυ part of their entries: μυκάομαι, μυκηθμός, μυγμός, μύζω

Citations for the first:
Μυκαλησσὸν δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν ὀνομασθῆναι, διότι ἡ βοῦς ἐνταῦθα ἐμυκήσατο ἡ Κάδμον καὶ τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατὸν ἄγουσα ἐς Θήβας. ὅντινα δὲ τρόπον ἐγένετο ἡ Μυκαλησσὸς ἀνάστατος, τὰ ἐς Ἀθηναίους ἔχοντα ἐδήλωσέ μοι τοῦ λόγου. (Paus. 9.19)

ἐν δ᾽ ἀγέλην ποίησε βοῶν ὀρθοκραιράων: αἳ δὲ βόες χρυσοῖο τετεύχατο κασσιτέρου τε, μυκηθμῷ δ᾽ ἀπὸ κόπρου ἐπεσσεύοντο νομὸν δὲ πὰρ ποταμὸν κελάδοντα, παρὰ ῥοδανὸν δονακῆα. χρύσειοι δὲ νομῆες ἅμ᾽ ἐστιχόωντο βόεσσι τέσσαρες, ἐννέα δέ σφι κύνες πόδας ἀργοὶ ἕποντο. σμερδαλέω δὲ λέοντε δύ᾽ ἐν πρώτῃσι βόεσσι ταῦρον ἐρύγμηλον ἐχέτην: ὃ δὲ μακρὰ μεμυκὼς ἕλκετο: τὸν δὲ κύνες μετεκίαθον ἠδ᾽ αἰζηοί. τὼ μὲν ἀναρρήξαντε βοὸς μεγάλοιο βοείην ἔγκατα καὶ μέλαν αἷμα λαφύσσετον: (Hom. Il. 18.580)
I guess that Pausanias figures as Hellenistic, albeit an Atticist (you be the judge!). But I really love the lines from the ἐκφράσις of Hephaestus' new shield of Achilles: just sound out that marvelous opening line -- spondaic, no less: a dactylic hexameter with only two dactyls and four spondees, which underscores the entire moo-cow-lick quality of that line:
ἐν δ᾽ ἀγέ/ λην ποί/ ησε βο/ ῶν ὀρ/ θοκραι/ ράων

Re: How do you say moo?

Posted: May 1st, 2016, 9:23 am
by Stephen Hughes
Stephen Hughes wrote:γκ
Off topic, so I'll be brief. To explain the γκ... The Mediaeval γκ for "g" is indirect evidence of a change in the value of γ from a "g" to that throat-clearing sound or a "y" ("j"). That happened in the post-Koine period. In some papyri from the Koine period, there is a substitution of κ for γ (but that is a different period to this later change that I'm mentioning).