''The Art of Grammar'' ( - or romanized, Téchnē Grammatikḗ) is a treatise on
Greek grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
, attributed to
Dionysius Thrax
Dionysius Thrax ( ''Dionýsios ho Thrâix'', 170–90 BC) was a Greek grammarian and a pupil of Aristarchus of Samothrace. He was long considered to be the author of the earliest grammatical text on the Greek language, one that was used as a st ...
, who wrote in the 2nd century BC.
Contents
It is the first work on grammar in Greek, and also the first concerning a Western language. It sought mainly to help speakers of
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
understand the language of
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
, and other great poets of the past. It has become a source for how ancient texts should be acted out based on the experience from commonly read ancient authors. There are six parts to understanding grammar including trained reading by understanding the dialect from certain poetical figures. There is a nine-part word classification system, which strayed away from the previous eight-part classification system. It describes morphological structure as containing no middle diathesis. There is no morphological analysis and the text uses the Word and Paradigm model.
Translation
It was translated into
Syriac by
Joseph Huzaya of the
school of Nisibis in the 6th century. It was also translated into
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Art of Grammarin Greek on Bibliotheca Augustana
''The Grammar of Dionysios Thrax'', translation by Thomas Davidson''The Grammar of Dionysius Thrax'', translation by Anthony Alcock
Grammar books
History of linguistics
Greek grammar
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