The scanning itself is the action of a chant to , that is to say, to analyze the metric or, more specifically, to determine its or By extension, the recitation of the verse to highlight the metrical pattern is called scansion.

Scansion applies primarily to quantitative meters, that is to say, running on the oppositions of life , including Sanskrit , in ancient Greek and Latin to be confined to Indo-European ones. In this case, the metrical pattern is divided into "long" positions or "heavy" that mark by a macron () and positions "brief" or "light" that mark by a micron (U). The sequence of U and then organized into foot elementary. One or more legs is a measure or "meter", which names as traditional iambic trimeter (three-meter iambic feet each comprising two or a total of six iambic) or dactylic hexameter (six feet dactylic each comprising a foot). Once established cutting measures in feet and it remains to locate or hyphens , which in Greek and Latin metrics, often occur in the middle of a foot.

For a language like French, the traditional metric ignores any distinction of quantity, we can call scansion diction that merely individualize all syllables and mark hyphenation and purposes of worms (see below to ).

For languages like English, know a metric " accentual "scansion will then opposing positions" strong "(or" accented ") to position" low "(or" dull ").

The prosodic analysis of quantitative metrics

Metric patterns are abstract: they are not specific to a given language. A similar pattern (as, for example that of the dactylic hexameter ) can in principle be used both in Greek than in Latin, or in any language that is ready for use. It may represent a metrical pattern as a sequence of "empty boxes", large or small, known positions and designed to accommodate syllables: syllables of a verse given in a given language. A metrical pattern also evokes a musical line, composed of white and black, but without words. We remember that there are positions for metric heavy both categories (-), the "white" and light (U), the "black".

By definition, we mean by prosody part of grammar which deals with the accent and quantity in a given language, without regard to the particular verse (to study worms and their structure, we reserve the name of metric ). The concrete application of abstract metrical pattern in a verse given in a particular language based on the prosody of the language. It is indeed the prosodic analysis, which essentially identifies the quantity (or length) "natural" syllables individually and determine which syllable may occupy any position metric. Even more than its phonology , prosody dead languages poses extremely difficult and probably intractable. However, the little we know enough in general to the reader wishing to establish the scansion of a poem.

Prosody of Latin, like the Greek, familiar with both long and short categories for which we tend to use the same signs (- and U) in metric. This "disambiguation" can be confusing. As we shall see, there are indeed cases where we would note syllables U under prosody must ultimately be chanted - and vice versa. A further difficulty arises from the fact that prosody considered two different properties, though partially related, the quantity of the vowels and syllables, one is not always identical to the other for a given syllable.

syllabification

The postions metric component schemas being designed to receive syllables, we must first consider the syllabification of the classical languages, based on simple conventions. We cut it into syllable regardless of the words. To do this, we can simply consider that the verse is just one long word and break it into syllables (do not split a diphthong, true or false , in two vowels):

• Tityrus you patul recubans sub tegmina fagi. (Virgil, Eclogue I, to 1)

Tityretupatulrecubanssubtegminefagi.

Ti.ty.re.tu.pa.tu.l.re.cu.bans.sub.teg.mi.ne.fa.gi.

• , . ( Homer , Iliad , I, to 15).

.

................

The point marking the separation of syllables, we note that these examples:

• each syllable has a vowel or a diphthong;
• a single consonant following the same word or not, a vowel is part of the next syllable (and not * Ti.ty.re Tit.yr.e, .. not .. *);
• Except, of two consonants (or longer) after a vowel, the first belongs to the same syllable as the vowel, the second (and subsequent) to the next syllable (and not * teg.mi.ne te.gmi.ne or * tegm.i.ne, .. .. or not * * ..). The case of consonants followed by liquids (l and r) even nasal (n, m), is processed further.

It should be distinguished from open syllables (that is to say that the core or nucleus is followed by any vowel or consonant coda) closed syllables (of which the nucleus is followed by a coda). For example, the Latin word is divided into armed ar.ma. The first syllable, ar, is closed: its nucleus, a, is followed by a coda, r. The second is open: there is nothing after its nucleus has.

Number of syllables

In some cases it is possible to know the quantity of a syllable without worrying that its vowel. In other cases, this one is deduced from it.

Syllable long

Is a long syllable containing:

• a long vowel in open syllable. This is called long by nature:
  • = + = - - ( is a long vowel)
  • Latin: to + mas = - -
• a vowel, regardless of its prosodic quantity, followed by two consonants (at least) pronounced (whether or not consonants belong to the same word). In this case, the syllable is called long by position:
  • = - that is a short vowel, it is followed by two consonants pronounced, in the syllable- is punctuated - for , although prosodically short, is followed by two consonants,
  • Latin: rex = -; Jovis in pax-vis the syllable is punctuated - although i was here prosodically short.

Identify a long syllable, when open or that its vowel is followed only by a consonant, we know that demand is prosodically long

Double Letters

We take great care in the following fact: Greek and Latin use single signs noting two consonants (they are sometimes called double letters), which therefore automatically lengthen the syllable:

• Greek = Placement of the two consonants

  If the two consonants belong to the next syllable, the syllable is not lengthened. We can symbolize this as follows:

  • V oyelle onsonne C + C syllable long by position;
  • CC + V open syllable long or short depending on the length of the vowel.

  For example, the syllable ge-lege in the stator is punctuated U. This rule is valid, however, made so, in Latin. For Greek, just as two consonants follow a vowel, regardless of place of consonants, so that the syllable is lengthened: the syllable- in is punctuated -.

  We'll see next paragraph that over time has developed a particular case, however.

  Groups with liquid (and nose for the Ionian-Attic)

  The above follows directly from the previous rule.

  Traditionally called liquid consonants / r / and / l /. These follow a particular treatment in the scansion. Indeed, when they are preceded by another consonant (b, c Consonants / w / and that

  Greek
  In Greek, the phoneme / w / (of cotton / wat /), inherited from the Indo-European , quickly amu. Although still used in Mycenaean , it disappears from the first millennium before the Christian era, except in some dialects. The Greek language of Homer is a composite of some of the words coming from an ancient Ionian retain / w /, which is not written consonant that allows scanning to appear to explain the elongation that would otherwise appear irregular. In addition, the Homeric forms with / w / are confirmed by the etymology (they are not poetic license). For historical reasons, there is consonant with the letter digamma in capital , lowercase (note that this is just the letter F Latin ) used in some versions of the Greek alphabet to make the sounds Syllable brief

  Is short a syllable containing only a short vowel in a syllable or followed by a single consonant:

  • . = = UU (-is a syllable containing a short vowel in a syllable;- contains a short vowel followed by a single consonant);
  • likewise in Latin: tamen t.mn = = UU.

  Identify a short syllable, but it necessarily requires that is not enough to know that its vowel is short. No general rule for determining it, this knowledge is based on a detailed study of prosodic quantity.

  Quantity of vowels

  Determine that a syllable is long is easier than for short syllables. Indeed, the latter can not be considered as such if one is sure how much of the vowel syllables while for long presence of two consonants following a vowel, if necessary, is sufficient.

  Each vowel of Greek or Latin (as well as Sanskrit and many other languages) has an intrinsic quantity that practice, the dictionary and spelling can help determine: Malus, villain, Malus, "apple" / Ergon /, "work" / thrls /, "rumor", etc.. This quantity is intrinsic, directly or indirectly, to determine the scansion.

  Vowels brief

  In Greek

  The Greek alphabet is less ambiguous than the Latin : in fact, the vowels are denoted and always short (as opposed to and , still long). The letters , and are ambiguous: they can represent both , and that , and . Thus a word like can be directly chanted UUU.

  In verse epic (the dactylic hexameter ), it may happen that a long vowel at a word in hiatus with the initial vowel of a following word abbreviated. This phenomenon can obviously not occur if the long vowel is the high point of the foot. It calls it correption. For example, () is chanted as an orchard - and not UU - U - car is abbreviated correption before-after. Correption this would not be possible if was the first time since the foot thereof, in a dactylic hexameter, is necessarily long. Thus, would be chanted - UU.

  In Latin

  The Latin alphabet , while not allowing distinguish quantities (at least as it is written now), offers another clue: indeed, in that language (but not in Greek), a vowel in hiatus (followed another vowel) in a single word is abbreviated corripitur vocalem vocalis ante (even if h separates because this letter is silent): i in the following words can be identified as possible: nihil, omnia, Filius. This rule has some exceptions:

  • e radical of the fifth declension is long between two i: Diei but rei;
  • in the pronominal declension, the ending of the genitive -ius is most often chanted-ius;
  • in the forms without-r of verb fieri, i radical is long fiat but ferem.

  On the other hand, a vowel followed by a final single consonant other than-s is short: legit, MMEA, tamen, soror. Followed by s, the quantity of such a vowel can not be determined (except for bone-and-As, always long). In monosyllables, this rule does not always, though.

  Long vowels

  In Greek

  Vowels and are always long.

  The diphthongs are long, even false : , , , , and . The first element in diphthongs are not considered long even longer: (that is to say "") (= "") () and. Thus, the iota subscript unable to find that in a long vowel, a can not be that long.

  Any vowel after a contraction is long: the -to the imperative is long because the form goes back to *.

  In the final, the endings -and- that are considered short (except the optative and some adverbs) are chanting -. Thus, / Lsai / is chanted - -.

  Since only long vowels can bear the caret, it identifies a long when it comes , and ( and is already visibly long by the mere presence of and ).

  Remember that long vowels can undergo correption.

  In Latin

  Diphthongs are always long: , , and the eu.

  In the final, and-as-bones still have a long vowel:-as and-os.

  Vowels derived by monophtongaison , a diphthong remain long. Some monophtongaisons can be detected by studying the history of the language. Others, however, are easily visible: they are those from the apophonie. Knowing the root of a verb determines that monophtongaison could occur:

  • the radical caeda-o, we get the perfect to repeat this-cid-i. It is obvious that the / i / from the radical / /, it is long;
  • the radical-o claud provides in-clud derivatives, which comes from central vowel / au /: se-clud-o, o con-clud-, in-clud-o, re-clud-o, ex-clud-o, etc..

  Similarly, the vowels from a contraction are necessarily long. However, the contraction is a very common phenomenon in Latin that demand, again, some historical knowledge. Some cases, however, are easy to remember:

  • genitive contract. The genitive of names in the second declension in-ius or-ium are normally *- ii. However, there are very frequently (and this is actually the oldest form) contracts with a vowel-: sestertius sestertii / sestert, consilium Consilii / Consil, etc.. ;
  • vocative contract. The same names (masculine) in-ius have a vocative in-i from a contraction: filius fili!;
  • perfect and more-than-ideal contract. In conjugation, the parvaits in-avi,-Avista, etc.. or-ivi,-ivisti, etc.. and the more-than-perfect-in Verame, veras-etc. which can be derived from "syncopated" (by amussement of / v / and intervocalic possible contraction of vowels in touch ). The resulting vowels are long course: audivisti audist, amavisti amaster, deleveram delram, etc.. ;
  • other contractions to know: nihil nil, do * (h) emo (that is to say no homo) nemo, mihi E, etc..

  elisions

  Vowels in hiatus between words are often elided. They no longer rely as far as worms.

  The elisions and apheresis (elisions inverse) Greek raise no difficulty: in fact, they are all replaced by the apostrophe : ', .

  The elision of the Latin, by contrast, are more troublesome because there is nothing in writing, not the states. However, a vowel elided not count in verse. The rule is: any vowel (short, long, diphthong) end of a word is elided before a word beginning with a vowel. Two details are noteworthy:

  • written consonant h is silent. It does not prevent the elision: vidi homines is chanted as if we wrote vid'homines;
  • the m-word-final, from the classical period, did more pronounced. It does not therefore elision: hominum agmen reads hominu agmen, where homin'agmen.

  syneresis

  The syneresis (or synizse) is the act of reading in a single syllable two vowels that do not normally form a diphthong (a kind of contraction by coalescence in which the two vowels retain their identity). The vowel or diphthong is the resulting long (but can be shortened by correption). It is a poetic license that it can be assumed to properly punctuate a verse. It is therefore not possible to give hard and fast rules on its use.

  Examples (for the scansion of the verse and not just syllables, see below):

  • Pasco dapidus libations. Prout cuique libido ( Horace , Satires 2, 6, 67).

  In this verse, foo should be read in one long syllable (recall that or is not a diphthong in Latin) or / prowt / (or, in API , Determine the feet and hyphenation

  Once one has determined the quantity of each syllable which one can infer the amount must be cut out to feet then place the caesura. Each meter has its own rules of scansion, we refer to two examples to give an idea of the method:

  • a method to scan dactylic hexameter (see also dactylic hexameter );
  • a method to scan iambic trimeter (see also trimeter iambic ).

  However, there are general rules that must be mentioned here.

  Substitutions by contraction and resolution

  We have seen, there are only two categories metric, the heavy category (which would, for example, one white) and light category (black). Now worth two black one white, it is often possible to replace a foot, a position expected by two heavy or two light light expected from a heavy:

  • contraction: UU -;
  • Resolution: - UU.

  The possibilities of resolution and dependent contraction of the meter, however. For example, it is possible in the dactylic hexameter , turning every dactyl (- UU) into a spondee (- -). This is not true in the pentameter of the elegiac couplets where the last two dactyls can be spondees. It must therefore refer to the diagram of each to know for possible substitutions.

  Syllable anceps (undifferentiated)

  At the end of every verse, the last position is called undifferentiated (syllable anceps in Latin ). This means it can accommodate any syllable, whether long or short prosodically. In some meters, other positions that may be the final anceps.

  Queries and problems of interpretation: how to tell the old?

  Say (or sing) worms is an art, and little or nothing tells us about the practice of this art in antiquity. What one knows today is a scansion "school" whose only claim is, with little regard to historical accuracy, to make apparent the metrical pattern. This school scansion based in theory on the "quantity" of syllables, but it also teaches that different than my syllables, mas, Mans, mans mas or have the same property, namely that they would be lengthy. The reality was perhaps quite different: that tells us that in the inner perception that a speaker could have lambda Roman prosody of his own language, all these syllables was actually seen as equal in length? For the phonetic sound , in fact, mans tend to be longer than mas (there is a more consonant) and that mans mans. We should therefore consider that there are various degrees of quantity syllabic, in ascending order: long vowel long vowel + consonant long vowel + consonant + consonant, etc.. These syllables not very long, very long, long, very long, extra long, so it would be the metric (only prosody) forcing equivalence, by offering a single class to accommodate them all?

  How can those who sang the verse artfully they managed these tensions? Today, it is not known, for example, whether to distinguish the pronunciation of a syllable that is long both by nature and by position (Mans) of a syllable is long by position ( mans) ... In addition, we often can not determine the exact support of syllabic quantity. When a syllable is long by position and that its vowel is short, how to sustain its length so that, scansion, it lasts twice as a short syllable? In a syllable like AP. (Silent), it will be very difficult to rest the impression of length on the coda, consisting of an occlusive we will be very difficult to "take" as long as a vowel. Despite all efforts, Ap may seem shorter than at. Is it plausible that, by itself, the absence of disocclusion caracrise that the coda of syllables is responsible for their "length"?

  These are the questions we must ask ourselves when we try to go beyond the scansion of "school". Often, the readings "restored" we can hear "cheat" the reader, in effect, lengthen the short vowels syllables long by position ... Others, however, give a different answer and tend to follow more precisely the prosody not by lengthening the short vowels syllables long by position, but extending the consonants, so that the auditory impression of their time is well due, not only to vowels. With this idea in the first syllable is said to be ap.tus Related articles

  • To :
    • a method to scan dactylic hexameter ,
    • a method to scan iambic trimeter ,
  • prosody ;
  • ancient literature.

  External Links

  Theory

  • Introduction to Greek Meter.

  Listen to the ancient chanted

  • Homeric Singing An Approach to the Original Performance , Homer how to sing in the pronunciation as closely as possible. We can also find further reading ;
  • Society for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin literature , essential site offering several excerpts in Latin and Greek pronunciation which rendered some of Stephen Daitz, considered one of the pioneers of faithful reading. The extract of the Birds of Aristophanes ( here ) is particularly successful;
  • Viva Voce, Roman Poetry Recited , recitation of verses in Latin pronunciation returned.

  • Poetry portal

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