Ancient Greek was spoken in a large number of dialectal varieties, and is attested in both literary and epigraphic sources. Although none of these sources offers direct evidence for syllabic... Show moreAncient Greek was spoken in a large number of dialectal varieties, and is attested in both literary and epigraphic sources. Although none of these sources offers direct evidence for syllabic liquids, it is known that these sounds must have been present in Proto-Greek, the common pre-stage of these dialects, and already in Proto-Indo-European. This dissertation offers a reconstruction of the development of the syllabic liquids in all alphabetic Greek dialects (from ca. 800 BCE) and in Mycenaean (ca. 1400-1200 BCE). The emphasis is on two questions: what exactly was the regular outcome of syllabic r and syllabic l (in which way did they vocalize)? And when in the prehistory of Greek sound changes did this vocalization take place? Show less
