Phonation in Textualization

Abstract This article argues for ancient Greek particles representing sounds and functioning as aural signs. Greek particles are susceptible to considerable phonetic reduction and do not have a stable thesis in prosody; as such, they are phonation substance, much like syllables and affixes, without much autonomous, lexical or nuancing (poly)semantic function, let alone independent semantics. Usage of lexemes as particles is the direct result of phonetic reduction, itself the effect of intonational variance. As phonation, particles extend the phonetic word’s intonational rise and slope, and facilitate, as do other morphemes, the cohesion and demarcation of rhythmical unities. Particles are thus written representations of phonemes, of sound, and their prosodic versatility makes them exceptionally suitable for emphasis. Their preservation in writing reflects ancient Greek’s idiosyncrasies as a spoken language.