Ancient Macedonian Language

Ancient Macedonian was the language of the ancient Macedonians. It was spoken in Macedon during the 1st millennium BC. From the 4th century BC, it was gradually replaced by the Koine Greek dialect of the Hellenistic period. Ancient Macedonian must have been an Indo-European language and was apparently related to Greek, although its exact relationship is unclear: it may have been a dialect of Greek, possibly a rather divergent one, or a sibling language to Greek, perhaps with some affinity to the neighbouring Thracian and Phrygian. Some linguists have proposed the term Hellenic to refer to a hypothetical subfamily uniting Macedonian and Greek proper.

Knowledge of the language is very limited because there are no surviving texts that are indisputably written in the language, though a body of words has been assembled from ancient sources, mainly from coin inscriptions, and from the 5th century lexicon of Hesychius of Alexandria, amounting to about 150 words and 200 proper names. Most of them are similar to standard Greek, while some have been interpreted as pointing to a separate lineage from Indo-European.

Properties

From the few words that survive, only a little can be said about the language. A notable sound-law is that the Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirates (/bʰ, dʰ, gʰ/) appear as voiced stops /b, d, g/, (written β, δ, γ), in contrast to all known Greek dialects, which have unvoiced them to /pʰ, tʰ, kʰ/ (φ, θ, χ) with few exceptions.

• Macedonian δάνος dánοs (‘death‘, from PIE *d^henh₂- ‘to leave’), compare Attic θάνος thános
• Macedonian ἀβροῦτες abroûtes or ἀβροῦϜες abroûwes as opposed to Attic ὀφρῦς ophrûs for ‘eyebrows’
• Macedonian Βερενίκη Bereníkē versus Attic Φερενίκη Phereníkē, ‘bearing victory’
• Macedonian ἄδραια adraia (‘bright weather’), compare Attic αἰθρία aithría, from PIE *h₂aid^h-
• Macedonian βάσκιοι báskioi (‘fasces’), Attic φάσκωλος pháskōlos ‘leather sack’ , from PIE *b^hasko
• According to Herodotus 7.73 (ca. 440 BC), the Macedonians claimed that the Phryges were called Brygoi before they migrated from Thrace to Anatolia (around 1200 BC).
• According to Plutarch,Moralia^[2] Macedonians use ‘b’ instead of ‘ph’,while Delphians use ‘b’ in the place of ‘p’.
• Macedonian μάγειρος mágeiros (‘butcher’) was a loan from Doric into Attic. Vittore Pisani has suggested an ultimately Macedonian origin for the word, which could then be cognate to μάχαιρα mákhaira (‘knife’, <PIE *mag^h-, ‘to fight’)

The same treatment is known from other Paleo-Balkan languages{{Or|date=December 2008}, e.g. Phrygian brater, Illyrian (and Elean, North-West dialect, by exception) bra^[3] but Attic phrater and phratra all from PIE *bhrater- brother. Since these languages are all known via the Greek alphabet, which has no signs for voiced aspirates, it is unclear whether de-aspiration had really taken place, or whether β, δ, γ were just picked as the closest matches to express voiced aspirates.

If γοτάν gotán (‘pig’) is related to *g^wou (‘cattle’), this would indicate that the labiovelars were either intact, or merged with the velars, unlike the usual Greek treatment (Attic βοῦς boûs). Such deviations, however, are not unknown in Greek dialects; compare Doric (Spartan) γλεπ- glep- for common Greek βλεπ- blep-, as well as Doric γλάχων gláchōn and Ionic γλήχων glēchōn for common Greek βλήχων blēchōn.

A number of examples suggest that voiced velar stops were devoiced, especially word-initially: κάναδοι kánadoi, ‘jaws’ (<PIE *genu-); κόμβους kómbous, ‘molars’ (<PIE *gombh-); within words: ἀρκόν arkón (Attic ἀργός argós); the Macedonian toponym Akesamenai, from the Pierian name Akesamenos (if Akesa- is cognate to Greek agassomai, agamai, “to astonish”; cf. the Thracian name Agassamenos).

In Aristophanes‘ The Birds, the form κεβλήπυρις keblēpyris (‘red-cap bird’) is found, showing a Macedonian-style voiced stop in place of a standard Greek unvoiced aspirate: κεβ(α)λή keb(a)lē versus κεφαλή kephalē (‘head’).

A number of the Macedonian words, particularly in Hesychius’ lexicon, are disputed (i.e., some do not consider them actual Macedonian words) and some may have been corrupted in the transmission. Thus abroutes, may be read as abrouwes (αβρουϝες), with tau (Τ) replacing a digamma (F). If so, this word would perhaps be encompassable within a Greek dialect; however, others (e.g. A. Meillet) see the dental as authentic and think that this specific word would perhaps belong to an Indo-European language different from Greek.

Due to the fragmentary attestation various interpretations have been given. The discussion is closely related to the reconstruction of the Proto-Greek language. The suggested historical interpretations of Macedonian include:

• an Indo-European language which is a close cousin to Greek and also related to Thracian and Phrygian languages, suggested by A. Meillet (1913) and I. I. Russu (1938),^[8] or part of a Sprachbund encompassing Thracian, Illyrian and Greek (Kretschmer 1896, E. Schwyzer 1959).
• an “Illyrian” dialect mixed with Greek, suggested by K. O. Müller (1825) and by G. Bonfante (1987).
• various explicitly Greek scenarios:
  • a Greek dialect, part of the North-Western (Locrian, Aetolian, Phocidian, Epirote) variants of Doric Greek , suggested by N.G.L. Hammond (1989) and O. Masson (1996).^[9][10]
  • a northern Greek dialect, related to Aeolic Greek and Thessalian, suggested among others by A.Fick (1874) and O.Hoffmann (1906).
  • a Greek dialect with a non-Indo-European substratal influence, suggested by M. Sakellariou (1983).
  • a NW Doric Greek dialect with a Phrygian influence on a par with the Anatolian substratum on Pamphylian Greek (C.Brixhe, A.Panayotou 1994).

  Indo-European close to Greek

  Some linguists (e.g. A. Meillet) consider Macedonian an Indo-European language in its own right, close to Greek but perhaps not of unambiguously Greek stock, and treat it as other poorly attested languages as Thracian and/or Phrygian of some geographical proximity. Those who look towards “Thraco-Phrygian” (as I. I. Russu, 1938) do so sometimes, at the cost of unwarranted segmentations such as that of Ἀλέξανδρος into †Ἀλε- and †ξανδ-. The name is attested as early as the Mycenaean Greek period (c. 1600 -1100 BC) next to the feminine a-re-ka-sa-da-ra (𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, Classical Greek Ἀλεξάνδρα).^[9] Schwyzer^[14] and others hypothesize that linguistically Macedonian was between Illyrian and Thracian, a kind of intermediary language linking the two, in the sense of a dialect continuum or Sprachbund, since a genetic Thraco-Illyrian unity is highly uncertain and cannot be proven on grounds of the surviving evidence. In 1999, A. Garrett has surmised that Macedonian may at an early stage have been part of a dialect continuum which spanned the ancestor dialects of all south-western Indo-European languages (including Greek), but that it then remained peripheral to later areal processes of convergence which produced Greek proper. He argues that under this perspective sound-change isoglosses such as the deaspiration of voiced stops may be of limited diagnostic value, while ultimately the question of whether Macedonian belongs or does not belong to a genetic union with Greek is moot.

  Vladimir I. Georgiev places Greek and Macedonian on a common branch of an IE family tree; this branch he groups together with Phrygian and Armenian to form a grouping termed “Central” Indo-European. Similarly, Eric P. Hamp assumes a common branch of Greek plus Macedonian, with the next larger unit formed together with Armenian and termed “Pontic South Indo-European”.

  Hellenic language

  Some linguists have proposed the term Hellenic (used elsewhere as an adjective synonymous with Greek) to refer to the hypothetical linguistic sub-family within Indo-European that comprises Macedonian and Greek proper. Such a group is suggested as a possibility by Brian Joseph  and has been adopted in the classification scheme of the world’s languages used by the LINGUIST List.

  Greek dialect

  Another school of thought favours Macedonian as an explicitly Greek dialect. Those who favour a purely Greek nature of Macedonian as a northern Greek dialect are numerous and include early scholars like H. Ahrens, O. Hoffmann or A. Fick.^[19] A recent proponent of this school was Professor Olivier Masson, who in his article on the ancient Macedonian language in the third edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary tentatively suggested that Macedonian was related to North-Western Greek dialects:

  “

  In our view the Greek character of most names is obvious and it is difficult to think of a Hellenization due to wholesale borrowing [...]The small minority of names which do not look Greek [...] may be due to a substratum or adstratum influences (as elsewhere in Greece). Macedonian may then be seen as a Greek dialect, characterized by its marginal position and by local pronunciations. Yet in contrast with earlier views which made of it an Aeolic dialect [...] we must by now think of a link with North-West Greek [...] We must wait for new discoveries, but we may tentatively conclude that Macedonian is a dialect related to North-West Greek.

  ”

  As to Macedonian β, δ, γ = Greek φ, θ, χ, Claude Brixhe suggests that it may have been a later development: The letters may already have designated not voiced stops, i.e. [b, d, g], but voiced fricatives, i.e. [β, δ, γ], due to a voicing of the voiceless fricatives [φ, θ, x] (= Classical Attic [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ]). Brian Joseph sums up that “[t]he slender evidence is open to different interpretations, so that no definitive answer is really possible”, but cautions that “most likely, Ancient Macedonian was not simply an Ancient Greek dialect on a par with Attic or Aeolic”.In this sense, some authors also call it a “deviant Greek dialect.”

Macedonian in Classical sources

Further information: Ancient Macedonians

Among the references that have been discussed as possibly bearing some witness to the linguistic situation in Macedonia, there is a sentence from a fragmentary dialogue, apparently between an Athenian and a Macedonian, in an extant fragment of the 5th century BC comedy ‘Macedonians’ by the Athenian poet Strattis (fr. 28), where a stranger is portrayed as speaking in a rural Greek dialect. His language contains expressions such as ὕμμες ὡττικοί for ὑμείς αττικοί “you Athenians”, ὕμμες being also attested in Homer, Sappho (Lesbian) and Theocritus (Doric), while ὡττικοί appears only in “funny country bumpkin” contexts of Attic comedy.

Another text that has been quoted as evidence is a passage from Livy (lived 59 BC-14 AD) in his Ab urbe condita (31.29). Describing political negotiations between Macedonians and Aetolians in the late 3rd century BC, Livy has a Macedonian ambassador argue that Aetolians and Macedonians were “men of the same language”.^[22] This has been interpreted as referring to their common North-West Greek speech (as opposed to Attic Koiné).

Quintus Curtius Rufus, Philotas‘s trial.

Over time, “Macedonian” (μακεδονικός), when referring to language (and related expressions such as μακεδονίζειν; to speak in the Macedonian fashion) acquired the meaning of Koine Greek.

Adoption of the Attic dialect

As southern Greek influence increased, Macedonians increasingly began to adopt the Attic dialect in its emergent koine form. It is estimated that ancient Macedonian became supplanted in official discourse by the 4th century BC.

James L. O’Neil’s (University of Sydney) pointed out : Beside Pella curse tablet three other, very brief, 4th century inscriptions are also indubitably Doric. These show that a Doric dialect was spoken in Macedon, as we would expect from the West Greek forms of Greek names found in Macedon. And yet later Macedonian inscriptions are in Koine avoiding both Doric forms and the Macedonian voicing of consonants. The native Macedonian dialect had become unsuitable for written documents (Pella curse tablet#Dating and significance)

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Greek Epigraphy

The below list includes only those regions and elements that may be related or have been written by Macedonians before 350 BC.Early evidence from coastal cities dates back to 600-550 BC in Central Macedonia (Sane,Therme) ~ 550 BC East Macedonia (Neapolis)and 5th c.BC West side(Pydna).There is also a Carian inscription found in Therme 6th c. BC.

• Elimeia ca. 500-475 BC Doric the temples of Athena in Megara
• Aiane ca. 500-475 BC Apakos hapax with letter (ϟ) qoppa
• Aiane ca. 500-450 BC Kleiona hapax
• Pella ca. 500-450 BC Pythagores of Aristokrates , Aristobole
• Aiane c.a 450BC Arka poseria (Arka = lazy, slow – Att. Arga, poseria = cups – Att. Poteria)
• Aigai early 5th c.BC Peperias hapax
• Eordea early 5th BC of Machatas (never attested as Magatas)
• Aiane early 5th BC ..I am -alios of Dolio-.. Doric ἐμὶ emi Attic εἰμί emi but Attic τῆς tês instead of Doric τᾶς tâs
• Aiane ca. 450 BC wools of Arkaps (Arkapos) hapax
• Aiane ca. 450-400 BC Attya hapax
• Aiane 5th c. BC Themis (gen. Themidos)
• Aigai ca. 430-420 BC Argive Doric I am the prize from Argive Hera (Royal tomb)^[32]
• Aigai late 5th c. BC He loves _ _ina
• Pella ca. 400 BC Xanthos son of Demetrios and Amadika (attested also as Ammadika and Ammadikos only in Macedon)
• Pella late 5th/early 4th c. BC Zôbia (epitaph) (oldest evidence of this rare name)
• Pella late 5th/early 4th c. BC Eugeneia daughter of Xenon (epitaph)
• Pella late 5th/early 4th c. BC Xenariste of Boula_ _ _ (epitaph)
• Aigai late 5th/early 4th c. BC here Kallim- ..of well-pillared temples (eustyloi naoi) .. of esteemed father…art.. Callimachus (sculptor) ?
• Pella late 5th/early 4th c. BC I lie here dead, my homeland is Corinth , servant of Enodia , with name Timarete
• Dion late 5th/early 4th c. BC Aristotima , Sôsos
• Dion late 5th c. BC Theotimos of Parmenon
• Pella ca. 400-350 BC Dexios from Herakleion
• Beroea ca. 400-350 BC Andreas of Andron from Osbe
• Pella Katadesmos-ca. 380-350 BC Dagina hapax
• Aigai ca. 350 BC Berennô of Philistos Harpalos of Peucolaos Sillis(Epitaphs)(Berennô hapaxHarpalus Peukolaos Sillis ,firstly attested in Macedon)
• Lete ca. 340 BC Orphic Derveni papyrus