A short article presenting concisely the results of my first remaining unpublished dissertation, ... more A short article presenting concisely the results of my first remaining unpublished dissertation, "The Dialect of the Megarian Pontic Colonies and the Hellenistic Koine," which I upload with a certain amount of nostalgia.
Лекция, изнесена на 24.04.2023 г. пред Лингвистичния семинар, организиран от гл. ас. д.ф.н. Ивайл... more Лекция, изнесена на 24.04.2023 г. пред Лингвистичния семинар, организиран от гл. ас. д.ф.н. Ивайло Буров във Факултета по класически и нови филология на СУ "Климент Охридски".
Delev, P., T. Stoyanov, Sv. Yanakieva, Hr. Popov, An. Bozkova, M. Vassileva, Jul. Zvetkova, M. Damyanov, P. Ilieva, Jul. Emilov (eds.). Ancient Thrace: Myth and Reality. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Congress of Thracology, Volume 2. St Kliment Ohridski University Press, 325-334, 2022
Based on the principles of the Sonority Hierarchy, the author focuses on the slot of the word-ini... more Based on the principles of the Sonority Hierarchy, the author focuses on the slot of the word-initial onset of Thracian names, which can be either empty or filled in by one, two, or three consonants. However, most word-initial onsets in Thracian are filled in by bipartite consonant clusters. They could be classified as follows: • I7 word-initial clusters, which have been not attested in Greek names; • 12 initial bipartite clusters, which are typical for both the Thracian and Greek names; • 25 clusters that are missing in Thracian but present in Greek names; The conclusion regarding the phonology of the Thracian word-initial syllable of the proper names is that it prefers a steeper sonority slope and a more sonorant onset than that encountered in Greek names. Apart from the general linguistic remarks, the demonstrated scrutinizing of the Thracian syllable could be helpful in both distinguishing the genuine Thracian names and supplementing their corrupted letterings in Greek and Latin inscriptions.
Годишник на Софийския университет "Св. Климент Охридски", Факултет по класически и нови филологии, Том 106, 2013
Старогръцките надписи от Дионисополис, Одесос, Месамбрия, Анхиало и Аполония предоставят интересе... more Старогръцките надписи от Дионисополис, Одесос, Месамбрия, Анхиало и Аполония предоставят интересен материол за изследване на лексиката на стгарогръцкия език в региона през Античността. Проучването откроява неологизми, лексеми с ново лексическо значение и регионализми. В словника, в перифрастичните конструкции и словообразуването се забелязват характерните особености на следкласическия гръцки език, но канцелариите на някои от колониите използват специфична административна терминология. Езикът на изследваните епиграфски паметници отдава предпочитание на гръцките лексически ресурси и на калкиране в контакта си с латинския език, демонстрирайки по този начин строг консерватизъм.
The Greek inscriptions from Dionysopolis, Odessos, Mesambria, Anchialos, and Apollonia give sufficient material for a lexical study of the Greek language in this area. They contain a lot of semantic peculiarities, such as neologisms, new meanings, and localisms. The Greek language written in these colonies shows typical Hellenistic features in its vocabulary, periphrastical constructions, and word formation. Nevertheless, some colonies have their own Kanzleisprache and specific worship terminology. Last but not least, the language of the epigraphical monuments in question prefers Greek lexical resources and/ or loan translation, thus demonstrating a strong conservatism in borrowing Latin words in the Roman period.
The subject of the paper are two overlooked mosaics dating back to the 2nd–3rd century AD which ... more The subject of the paper are two overlooked mosaics dating back to the 2nd–3rd century AD which have been discovered in the Roman provinces of Thracia and Moesia Inferior in the territory of present-day Bulgaria. The first one, now lost, is in fact the mosaic floor of a building discovered near the wall of Augusta Traiana; only the upper right corner of its frame are completely preserved. In the outer border, there are three Greek inscriptions, the most indicative of which – ΑΛΚΗ̣C̣ΤΙ̣C̣ – will provide the key for the interpretation of both the composition and the message of the mosaic. As for the second mosaic illustrating Cyparissus’ myth in Ulpia Oescus, despite its numerous mentions, it has not hitherto received any analytical study of its composition, including the replacement of Apollo’s figure with this of his sister Artemis, and the Latin inscription CYPRESVS
Abstract: The article presents a lead mirror with Greek inscriptions from the collection of the R... more Abstract: The article presents a lead mirror with Greek inscriptions from the collection of the Regional Museum of History in Silistra. It consists of a die-cast frame with a handle and a cover plate welded to the rear to support the reflecting mirror. Its dimensions are overall length 14.5 cm, outer diameter of the circular frame 7.8 cm, internal diameter 4.9 / 5.1 cm, handle length 5.9 cm. The mirror is richly decorated with two peacocks drinking water from a kantharos, with floral ornaments, embossing points, ivy leaves, and stars. On the front side of the handle extension, there is a Greek inscription in letters 7 mm high: The charm, whereas another five-line inscription on the cover reads For the beautiful lady all the beautiful things are suitable. Buy me! The mirror is remarkable for its relatively large reflective surface which indicates its utilitarian function. On the basis of a general overview of the Greek inscribed lead mirrors with utilitarian function from the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire discovered so far, a three-part classification is proposed: mirrors with elliptical inscriptions, mirrors with an “ad” statement including a verb, and “talking” mirrors with an imperative sentence. The Silistra mirror is distinguished by both its original combination of formulas of the second and third types and its rich ornamentation.
The article attempts both to outline the specifi cs of the translation of literary historical sou... more The article attempts both to outline the specifi cs of the translation of literary historical sources and to set clearer criteria for their equivalent Bulgarian translation. On the basis of modern theories in traductology, the author analyzes and illustrates with examples from Bulgarian translations of Pachymeres, Xenophon, and the New Testament how and whether the four main characteristics (according Barhudarov) of the language sign are properly translated in the established Bulgarian practice of translation of literary historical sources, namely-the semantic correspondence between the original language and the target language, the pragmatic meanings, the intralanguage meanings and the grammatical meaning. The main conclusion is that although the main purpose of the translation of literary historical sources is the semantic equivalence of the text of the original and that of the translation, the three other features of the language sign should be, if possible, adequately translated...
ПЛАТОНОВИЯТ „КРАТИЛ“ В ПРЕВОД НА РАКОВСКИ. НАУЧНИ ТРУДОВЕ, ТОМ 55, КН. 1, СБ. A, ФИЛОЛОГИЯ. ПЛОВДИВСКИ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ „ПАИСИЙ ХИЛЕНДАРСКИ, 127-136., 2017
The article examines how Rakovski translates Plato's dialogue Kratylus and uses it to prove the s... more The article examines how Rakovski translates Plato's dialogue Kratylus and uses it to prove the superiority of the Bulgarian language over Greek in the framework of his Hindistan theory. After a brief overview of the formation of Rakovski as a Hellenist and the place of the dialogue in Plato's philosophical doctrine of εἶδος, the author firstly focuses on a passage composed by Rakovski from three different sentences in Kratylus which he uses twice as a motto and once as a quote. The second way in which Rakovsky utilizes Plato's text is in the treatise The advantage of Bulgarian over the Greek language (1865). In this essay, he selects six passages of Kratylus which he lists, translates, and comments. His translation strategies have been examined and defined as ranging between authenticity and manipulation.
The article offers a new reading of the Roman mosaic from Ulpia Oescus in Moesia Inferior illustr... more The article offers a new reading of the Roman mosaic from Ulpia Oescus in Moesia Inferior illustrating Menander’s comedy Achaeans, which has so far been interpreted as a travesty of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. Combining arguments from iconographic (masks), epigraphic (inscription in ancient Greek), and philological (a papyrus fragment of the comedy) kind and reasons related to the origin and character of the Roman colony of Ulpia Oescus, the author attempts to restore and situate the mosaic and the plot of the comedy in the cultural-historical context of the Roman Balkan provinces in the time of the Severans.
Статья содержит лингвистические заметки об наименованиях элементов одежды участников в ритуале Ан... more Статья содержит лингвистические заметки об наименованиях элементов одежды участников в ритуале Анастенария (болг. нестинарство), сообщенные Михаилу Арнаудову в 1914 году двумя информаторами из деревень Кости и Ятрос в Страндже, которые были свидетелями нестинарских игр. Названия отдельных частей одежды показывают многочисленные заимствования из разных языков, которые говорились в Османской империи. В сочетании со знанием об обособлености как обряда, так и греческого языка его оригинальных носителей, наименования могут пролить свет на происхождение и природу этого обычая.
The article contains linguistic notes on the names of the elements of clothing of participants in the ritual of Anastenaria (bulg. nestinari), communicated to Mikhail Arnaudov in 1914 by two respondents from the villages of Kosty and Yatros who witnessed the rite. The names of the garments show numerous borrowings from different languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire. Combined with the knowledge about the isolation of both the ritual and the Greek language of its original speakers, these names are used to shed additional light on the origin and the nature of the Anastenaria rite.
The paper focuses on the varying pronunciation of the ancient name of Augusta Traiana, Beroe, by ... more The paper focuses on the varying pronunciation of the ancient name of Augusta Traiana, Beroe, by scrutinizing ancient and Medieval Greek, Latin, Protobulgarian, Slavonic, and Arabic epigraphic and literary sources that record the toponym. Based on phonetic alteration of the Greek phonemes, the author attempts to specify the changes in its articulation and their rendering through the resources of different alphabets, including Arabic and Slavonic ones. The general conclusion is that, in fact, Boruy is not a specific Slavonic variation of the toponym as far as it represents the Middle Greek pronunciation Βоροίη < Βεροίη. This linguistic approach throws a new light on the cultural diversity of the medieval city as well as its ethnic and socioeconomic variety stemmed from both the late antique heritage and the establishment of the Bulgarian state in seventh cent. A.D.
The study attempts to trace the grammatical tradition of diathesis from the works of ancient Gree... more The study attempts to trace the grammatical tradition of diathesis from the works of ancient Greek grammarians Dionysius Thrax and Apollonius Discolus through the Latin grammars and the commentaries on them to the Byzantine era and the first grammars of the Church Slavonic language – Adelphotes, Zyzanij, Smotryckyj, and Mrazović. The grammars of the Church Slavonic language take on the traditions of ancient and Byzantine grammatical thought of diathesis, but in turn try to adapt the legacy matrix to the classification of verbs in view of the Slavonic verb system. In this experience, they rely on the achievements of the Latin grammarians and the Latin school grammars from the period of the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, designed for the needs of the Western European and, in particular, the German classical language education.The third part of the study follows the formation of the concept of the diathesis in the Bulgarian Revival grammars as a result of multi-directional influences and factors – on the one hand, the ancient grammatical tradition of the diathesis that passed through the Byzantine and Church Slavic reception, on the other – the Western and Russian grammatical writings, and on the third one – the efforts of Bulgarian men of letters to achieve an adequate model of description of the Bulgarian verb. The application of such a diachronic method makes it possible to highlight both the inheritance that authors of Bulgarian grammars received at the beginning of the 19th century and the way in which they take advantage of it. The most important aspect of their understanding of the diathesis is their pragmatic approach as they neither aim at nor engage with unnecessary theoretization on the diathesis and its nature, but rather offer a concise and easy-to-learn content in their school grammars, which is essential for the education and the assertion of literary language.
В статията е направен опит да се възстанови социокултурният контекст на четири надписа върху разл... more В статията е направен опит да се възстанови социокултурният контекст на четири надписа върху различни артефакти, открити в могилния некропол при Дуванлии в Тракия (дн. в България) и датирани през V в. пр.н.е. Те са изписани с различни техники – едно погрешно възстановявано графито, надраскано на дъното на чернофирнисова паничка с ранноатическа азбука ΙΠΠΟΜΑΧΣ, дипинтите ΚΟΑΣ и ΚΟΜΟΣ върху червенофигурна хидрия и тракийският антропоним ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ, гравиран върху четири сребърни съда. Авторът обръща внимание на интерпретацията на отделните надписи и по-специално на възможността антропонимът ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ да бъде поставен в серия с познати тракийски имена, както и с новопубликуваните от храма на Аполон в Месамбрия – Зони, датиран през VІ в. пр.н.е. От друга страна се третира въпросът за контактната зона на траки и гърци в Тракия и на о.Самотраки, чиято специфика намира отражение в разглежданите писмовни практики. В първоначален вариант текстът бе представен като доклад на конференцията в чест на Вацлав Добруски (18–19 ноември 2016 г., София), организирана от НАИМ и катедра „Класическа филология“ на Софийския университет, а в съкратен вид бе отпечатан на английски език в Kadmos, B. 56, Heft 1/2, 2017, 119–138.
В настоящото изложение се предлага нов превод на първите девет глави и на глава 19. от Шеста книг... more В настоящото изложение се предлага нов превод на първите девет глави и на глава 19. от Шеста книга на Историята на Георги Пахимер (1242 – ок. 1310), които представляват най-ценният съвременен на събитията извор, наред с поемата на Мануил Фил (ок. 1275 – ок. 1345), за смутните 1278–1280 г. в историята на възобновеното Българско царство. Основанията са две – новото тексткритично издание на първите шест книги та Историята на Пахимер от А. Файе през 1984 г., който се опира на по-надеждния ръкопис Barberinianus gr. 203 (C), а не на Monacensis gr. 442 (А) и Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (В), по който е направен преводът в ГИБИ Х през 1980 г. И второ –желанието на автора да актуализира въпроса за предлагането на нови и/или осъвременени преводи на исторически извори за българската история. Стъпили на достиженията на предишните поколения филолози и историци, съвременните имат възможност да обогатят и прецизират постигнатото от тях.
The paper offers a new translation of the first nine chapters and of the chapter 19 of the Sixth Book of the History of Georgius Pachymeres (1242–1310), which is the most valuable contemporary source, along with the poem of Manuel Philes (cf. 1275–1345), about the troubled 1278–1280 years in the history of the resurrected Bulgarian kingdom. The reasons are two. The first one is the new textcritical edition of the first six books of Pachymeres’ History made by A. Failler and V. Laurent in 1984, which is based on the more reliable manuscript Barberinianus gr. 203 (C) and not of Monacensis gr. 442 (A) and Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (C), from which the translation in GIBI X was made in 1980. The second one is the author’s wish to raise the question of offering new and/or updated translations of historical sources of Bulgarian history. On the basis of the achievements of previous generations of philologists and historians, the contemporary ones have the opportunity to enrich and refine what they have done.
Разгледани са пет случая на елипса в старогръцки език в подчинени изречения и при лексическо знач... more Разгледани са пет случая на елипса в старогръцки език в подчинени изречения и при лексическо значение, като се уточнява методиката на преподаването им. Five cases of ellipse in ancient Greek both in constructing of subordinate sentences and forming of lexical meaning are discussed and explained specifying the methodology of their teaching.
The article attempts to restore the socio-cultural context of four inscriptions found on various ... more The article attempts to restore the socio-cultural context of four inscriptions found on various artifacts in graves from the mound necropolis at Duvanlii in Thrace (present day Bulgaria) dating back to the 5th century BC. They are written with a different technique - the erroneously transmitted graffito written in early Attic alphabet on the bottom of a plate ΙΠΠΟΜΑΧΣ, the depinti KOAΣ and ΚOMOΣ on a red-figure hydria, and the Thracian anthroponym ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ engraved on four silver vases. The author focuses both on the interpretation of the single inscriptions (especially the placement of ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ in a series with other known Thracian names, as well as with the newly published from Zoni) and on the contact zone of Thracians and Greeks in Thrace and Samothrace, whose specifics can explain the considered graphical practices.
The article examines Rakovski’s expertise in Indo-European studies and etymology on the basis of ... more The article examines Rakovski’s expertise in Indo-European studies and etymology on the basis of two of his writings – AntiquityofBulgarianlanguagelargelyproven andcomparedwithSanskrit and The advantages of Bulgarian over the Greek language. After a brief presentation of his Hindistan theory the author analyzes Rakovski’s critical remarks to three renowned Indo-European scholars of that period – Eugène Burnouf, Friedrich Max Müller, and Frédéric Gustave Eichhoff. After that the expose focuses on the 60 etymologies proposed by Rakovski in support of his theory of primeval origin of the Bulgarian language. It turns out that more than a third of them are correct, due to Rakovski’s considerable training in Greek and other languages, while the wrong ones are the result of both his ignorance of Indo-European sound laws and his ideological bias.
The article discusses the work of Dionysius of Halicarnassus On the Composition in the context of... more The article discusses the work of Dionysius of Halicarnassus On the Composition in the context of the literary criticism and grammatical studies in the Hellenistic period. In the beginning, there is a brief overview of the tradition in the study of language and literary art in antiquity in order to highlight the concept of the author of combining sounds and syllables to achieve beauty and pleasure of the text as the ultimate aim of the poet and the orator. The focus of the work is on four of the 26 chapters of the treatise (Ch. 14, 15, 16 and 20), which contain important evidence of ancient Greek phonetics and phonology (pitch, characteristics of phonemes, classification). Yet they elegantly incorporated Dionysius’ analysis of exemplary verses of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Reviewed and analyzed are five examples through which Dionysius illustrated his perception of the relation between sound and sense. The article contains Bulgarian translations of parts of On the Composition which are important for the subject in question.
Нови направления в синхронната и диахронната фонетика и фонология. Сборник с доклади от международна научна конференция, 17 юни 2016 г., 2017
In his less popular publication The advantages of Bulgarian over Greek language, published in Bul... more In his less popular publication The advantages of Bulgarian over Greek language, published in Bulgarian historical monuments (1865: 83–121, cf. also A Key to the Bulgarian language written in the same year), Rakovski – a skilled expert of Greek language as well as an ardent defender of national liberty and enlightenment – sets out to prove the primeval origin of the Bulgarian language and hence its superiority over the Greek language. Apart from the argument of the mixed and impure nature of the Greek language, the accusation of undetermined pronunciation and lost breathing takes a prominent place in the well-designed strategy of Rakovski’s exposé. My article focuses just on this “phonetic” part of his reasoning and the mechanism of its fabrication, in which the objective facts of Greek historical phonetics, imagination, and the dream of cultural superiority present a powerful message that is hard to refute.
A short article presenting concisely the results of my first remaining unpublished dissertation, ... more A short article presenting concisely the results of my first remaining unpublished dissertation, "The Dialect of the Megarian Pontic Colonies and the Hellenistic Koine," which I upload with a certain amount of nostalgia.
Лекция, изнесена на 24.04.2023 г. пред Лингвистичния семинар, организиран от гл. ас. д.ф.н. Ивайл... more Лекция, изнесена на 24.04.2023 г. пред Лингвистичния семинар, организиран от гл. ас. д.ф.н. Ивайло Буров във Факултета по класически и нови филология на СУ "Климент Охридски".
Delev, P., T. Stoyanov, Sv. Yanakieva, Hr. Popov, An. Bozkova, M. Vassileva, Jul. Zvetkova, M. Damyanov, P. Ilieva, Jul. Emilov (eds.). Ancient Thrace: Myth and Reality. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Congress of Thracology, Volume 2. St Kliment Ohridski University Press, 325-334, 2022
Based on the principles of the Sonority Hierarchy, the author focuses on the slot of the word-ini... more Based on the principles of the Sonority Hierarchy, the author focuses on the slot of the word-initial onset of Thracian names, which can be either empty or filled in by one, two, or three consonants. However, most word-initial onsets in Thracian are filled in by bipartite consonant clusters. They could be classified as follows: • I7 word-initial clusters, which have been not attested in Greek names; • 12 initial bipartite clusters, which are typical for both the Thracian and Greek names; • 25 clusters that are missing in Thracian but present in Greek names; The conclusion regarding the phonology of the Thracian word-initial syllable of the proper names is that it prefers a steeper sonority slope and a more sonorant onset than that encountered in Greek names. Apart from the general linguistic remarks, the demonstrated scrutinizing of the Thracian syllable could be helpful in both distinguishing the genuine Thracian names and supplementing their corrupted letterings in Greek and Latin inscriptions.
Годишник на Софийския университет "Св. Климент Охридски", Факултет по класически и нови филологии, Том 106, 2013
Старогръцките надписи от Дионисополис, Одесос, Месамбрия, Анхиало и Аполония предоставят интересе... more Старогръцките надписи от Дионисополис, Одесос, Месамбрия, Анхиало и Аполония предоставят интересен материол за изследване на лексиката на стгарогръцкия език в региона през Античността. Проучването откроява неологизми, лексеми с ново лексическо значение и регионализми. В словника, в перифрастичните конструкции и словообразуването се забелязват характерните особености на следкласическия гръцки език, но канцелариите на някои от колониите използват специфична административна терминология. Езикът на изследваните епиграфски паметници отдава предпочитание на гръцките лексически ресурси и на калкиране в контакта си с латинския език, демонстрирайки по този начин строг консерватизъм.
The Greek inscriptions from Dionysopolis, Odessos, Mesambria, Anchialos, and Apollonia give sufficient material for a lexical study of the Greek language in this area. They contain a lot of semantic peculiarities, such as neologisms, new meanings, and localisms. The Greek language written in these colonies shows typical Hellenistic features in its vocabulary, periphrastical constructions, and word formation. Nevertheless, some colonies have their own Kanzleisprache and specific worship terminology. Last but not least, the language of the epigraphical monuments in question prefers Greek lexical resources and/ or loan translation, thus demonstrating a strong conservatism in borrowing Latin words in the Roman period.
The subject of the paper are two overlooked mosaics dating back to the 2nd–3rd century AD which ... more The subject of the paper are two overlooked mosaics dating back to the 2nd–3rd century AD which have been discovered in the Roman provinces of Thracia and Moesia Inferior in the territory of present-day Bulgaria. The first one, now lost, is in fact the mosaic floor of a building discovered near the wall of Augusta Traiana; only the upper right corner of its frame are completely preserved. In the outer border, there are three Greek inscriptions, the most indicative of which – ΑΛΚΗ̣C̣ΤΙ̣C̣ – will provide the key for the interpretation of both the composition and the message of the mosaic. As for the second mosaic illustrating Cyparissus’ myth in Ulpia Oescus, despite its numerous mentions, it has not hitherto received any analytical study of its composition, including the replacement of Apollo’s figure with this of his sister Artemis, and the Latin inscription CYPRESVS
Abstract: The article presents a lead mirror with Greek inscriptions from the collection of the R... more Abstract: The article presents a lead mirror with Greek inscriptions from the collection of the Regional Museum of History in Silistra. It consists of a die-cast frame with a handle and a cover plate welded to the rear to support the reflecting mirror. Its dimensions are overall length 14.5 cm, outer diameter of the circular frame 7.8 cm, internal diameter 4.9 / 5.1 cm, handle length 5.9 cm. The mirror is richly decorated with two peacocks drinking water from a kantharos, with floral ornaments, embossing points, ivy leaves, and stars. On the front side of the handle extension, there is a Greek inscription in letters 7 mm high: The charm, whereas another five-line inscription on the cover reads For the beautiful lady all the beautiful things are suitable. Buy me! The mirror is remarkable for its relatively large reflective surface which indicates its utilitarian function. On the basis of a general overview of the Greek inscribed lead mirrors with utilitarian function from the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire discovered so far, a three-part classification is proposed: mirrors with elliptical inscriptions, mirrors with an “ad” statement including a verb, and “talking” mirrors with an imperative sentence. The Silistra mirror is distinguished by both its original combination of formulas of the second and third types and its rich ornamentation.
The article attempts both to outline the specifi cs of the translation of literary historical sou... more The article attempts both to outline the specifi cs of the translation of literary historical sources and to set clearer criteria for their equivalent Bulgarian translation. On the basis of modern theories in traductology, the author analyzes and illustrates with examples from Bulgarian translations of Pachymeres, Xenophon, and the New Testament how and whether the four main characteristics (according Barhudarov) of the language sign are properly translated in the established Bulgarian practice of translation of literary historical sources, namely-the semantic correspondence between the original language and the target language, the pragmatic meanings, the intralanguage meanings and the grammatical meaning. The main conclusion is that although the main purpose of the translation of literary historical sources is the semantic equivalence of the text of the original and that of the translation, the three other features of the language sign should be, if possible, adequately translated...
ПЛАТОНОВИЯТ „КРАТИЛ“ В ПРЕВОД НА РАКОВСКИ. НАУЧНИ ТРУДОВЕ, ТОМ 55, КН. 1, СБ. A, ФИЛОЛОГИЯ. ПЛОВДИВСКИ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ „ПАИСИЙ ХИЛЕНДАРСКИ, 127-136., 2017
The article examines how Rakovski translates Plato's dialogue Kratylus and uses it to prove the s... more The article examines how Rakovski translates Plato's dialogue Kratylus and uses it to prove the superiority of the Bulgarian language over Greek in the framework of his Hindistan theory. After a brief overview of the formation of Rakovski as a Hellenist and the place of the dialogue in Plato's philosophical doctrine of εἶδος, the author firstly focuses on a passage composed by Rakovski from three different sentences in Kratylus which he uses twice as a motto and once as a quote. The second way in which Rakovsky utilizes Plato's text is in the treatise The advantage of Bulgarian over the Greek language (1865). In this essay, he selects six passages of Kratylus which he lists, translates, and comments. His translation strategies have been examined and defined as ranging between authenticity and manipulation.
The article offers a new reading of the Roman mosaic from Ulpia Oescus in Moesia Inferior illustr... more The article offers a new reading of the Roman mosaic from Ulpia Oescus in Moesia Inferior illustrating Menander’s comedy Achaeans, which has so far been interpreted as a travesty of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. Combining arguments from iconographic (masks), epigraphic (inscription in ancient Greek), and philological (a papyrus fragment of the comedy) kind and reasons related to the origin and character of the Roman colony of Ulpia Oescus, the author attempts to restore and situate the mosaic and the plot of the comedy in the cultural-historical context of the Roman Balkan provinces in the time of the Severans.
Статья содержит лингвистические заметки об наименованиях элементов одежды участников в ритуале Ан... more Статья содержит лингвистические заметки об наименованиях элементов одежды участников в ритуале Анастенария (болг. нестинарство), сообщенные Михаилу Арнаудову в 1914 году двумя информаторами из деревень Кости и Ятрос в Страндже, которые были свидетелями нестинарских игр. Названия отдельных частей одежды показывают многочисленные заимствования из разных языков, которые говорились в Османской империи. В сочетании со знанием об обособлености как обряда, так и греческого языка его оригинальных носителей, наименования могут пролить свет на происхождение и природу этого обычая.
The article contains linguistic notes on the names of the elements of clothing of participants in the ritual of Anastenaria (bulg. nestinari), communicated to Mikhail Arnaudov in 1914 by two respondents from the villages of Kosty and Yatros who witnessed the rite. The names of the garments show numerous borrowings from different languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire. Combined with the knowledge about the isolation of both the ritual and the Greek language of its original speakers, these names are used to shed additional light on the origin and the nature of the Anastenaria rite.
The paper focuses on the varying pronunciation of the ancient name of Augusta Traiana, Beroe, by ... more The paper focuses on the varying pronunciation of the ancient name of Augusta Traiana, Beroe, by scrutinizing ancient and Medieval Greek, Latin, Protobulgarian, Slavonic, and Arabic epigraphic and literary sources that record the toponym. Based on phonetic alteration of the Greek phonemes, the author attempts to specify the changes in its articulation and their rendering through the resources of different alphabets, including Arabic and Slavonic ones. The general conclusion is that, in fact, Boruy is not a specific Slavonic variation of the toponym as far as it represents the Middle Greek pronunciation Βоροίη < Βεροίη. This linguistic approach throws a new light on the cultural diversity of the medieval city as well as its ethnic and socioeconomic variety stemmed from both the late antique heritage and the establishment of the Bulgarian state in seventh cent. A.D.
The study attempts to trace the grammatical tradition of diathesis from the works of ancient Gree... more The study attempts to trace the grammatical tradition of diathesis from the works of ancient Greek grammarians Dionysius Thrax and Apollonius Discolus through the Latin grammars and the commentaries on them to the Byzantine era and the first grammars of the Church Slavonic language – Adelphotes, Zyzanij, Smotryckyj, and Mrazović. The grammars of the Church Slavonic language take on the traditions of ancient and Byzantine grammatical thought of diathesis, but in turn try to adapt the legacy matrix to the classification of verbs in view of the Slavonic verb system. In this experience, they rely on the achievements of the Latin grammarians and the Latin school grammars from the period of the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, designed for the needs of the Western European and, in particular, the German classical language education.The third part of the study follows the formation of the concept of the diathesis in the Bulgarian Revival grammars as a result of multi-directional influences and factors – on the one hand, the ancient grammatical tradition of the diathesis that passed through the Byzantine and Church Slavic reception, on the other – the Western and Russian grammatical writings, and on the third one – the efforts of Bulgarian men of letters to achieve an adequate model of description of the Bulgarian verb. The application of such a diachronic method makes it possible to highlight both the inheritance that authors of Bulgarian grammars received at the beginning of the 19th century and the way in which they take advantage of it. The most important aspect of their understanding of the diathesis is their pragmatic approach as they neither aim at nor engage with unnecessary theoretization on the diathesis and its nature, but rather offer a concise and easy-to-learn content in their school grammars, which is essential for the education and the assertion of literary language.
В статията е направен опит да се възстанови социокултурният контекст на четири надписа върху разл... more В статията е направен опит да се възстанови социокултурният контекст на четири надписа върху различни артефакти, открити в могилния некропол при Дуванлии в Тракия (дн. в България) и датирани през V в. пр.н.е. Те са изписани с различни техники – едно погрешно възстановявано графито, надраскано на дъното на чернофирнисова паничка с ранноатическа азбука ΙΠΠΟΜΑΧΣ, дипинтите ΚΟΑΣ и ΚΟΜΟΣ върху червенофигурна хидрия и тракийският антропоним ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ, гравиран върху четири сребърни съда. Авторът обръща внимание на интерпретацията на отделните надписи и по-специално на възможността антропонимът ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ да бъде поставен в серия с познати тракийски имена, както и с новопубликуваните от храма на Аполон в Месамбрия – Зони, датиран през VІ в. пр.н.е. От друга страна се третира въпросът за контактната зона на траки и гърци в Тракия и на о.Самотраки, чиято специфика намира отражение в разглежданите писмовни практики. В първоначален вариант текстът бе представен като доклад на конференцията в чест на Вацлав Добруски (18–19 ноември 2016 г., София), организирана от НАИМ и катедра „Класическа филология“ на Софийския университет, а в съкратен вид бе отпечатан на английски език в Kadmos, B. 56, Heft 1/2, 2017, 119–138.
В настоящото изложение се предлага нов превод на първите девет глави и на глава 19. от Шеста книг... more В настоящото изложение се предлага нов превод на първите девет глави и на глава 19. от Шеста книга на Историята на Георги Пахимер (1242 – ок. 1310), които представляват най-ценният съвременен на събитията извор, наред с поемата на Мануил Фил (ок. 1275 – ок. 1345), за смутните 1278–1280 г. в историята на възобновеното Българско царство. Основанията са две – новото тексткритично издание на първите шест книги та Историята на Пахимер от А. Файе през 1984 г., който се опира на по-надеждния ръкопис Barberinianus gr. 203 (C), а не на Monacensis gr. 442 (А) и Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (В), по който е направен преводът в ГИБИ Х през 1980 г. И второ –желанието на автора да актуализира въпроса за предлагането на нови и/или осъвременени преводи на исторически извори за българската история. Стъпили на достиженията на предишните поколения филолози и историци, съвременните имат възможност да обогатят и прецизират постигнатото от тях.
The paper offers a new translation of the first nine chapters and of the chapter 19 of the Sixth Book of the History of Georgius Pachymeres (1242–1310), which is the most valuable contemporary source, along with the poem of Manuel Philes (cf. 1275–1345), about the troubled 1278–1280 years in the history of the resurrected Bulgarian kingdom. The reasons are two. The first one is the new textcritical edition of the first six books of Pachymeres’ History made by A. Failler and V. Laurent in 1984, which is based on the more reliable manuscript Barberinianus gr. 203 (C) and not of Monacensis gr. 442 (A) and Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (C), from which the translation in GIBI X was made in 1980. The second one is the author’s wish to raise the question of offering new and/or updated translations of historical sources of Bulgarian history. On the basis of the achievements of previous generations of philologists and historians, the contemporary ones have the opportunity to enrich and refine what they have done.
Разгледани са пет случая на елипса в старогръцки език в подчинени изречения и при лексическо знач... more Разгледани са пет случая на елипса в старогръцки език в подчинени изречения и при лексическо значение, като се уточнява методиката на преподаването им. Five cases of ellipse in ancient Greek both in constructing of subordinate sentences and forming of lexical meaning are discussed and explained specifying the methodology of their teaching.
The article attempts to restore the socio-cultural context of four inscriptions found on various ... more The article attempts to restore the socio-cultural context of four inscriptions found on various artifacts in graves from the mound necropolis at Duvanlii in Thrace (present day Bulgaria) dating back to the 5th century BC. They are written with a different technique - the erroneously transmitted graffito written in early Attic alphabet on the bottom of a plate ΙΠΠΟΜΑΧΣ, the depinti KOAΣ and ΚOMOΣ on a red-figure hydria, and the Thracian anthroponym ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ engraved on four silver vases. The author focuses both on the interpretation of the single inscriptions (especially the placement of ΔΑΔΑΛΕΜΕ in a series with other known Thracian names, as well as with the newly published from Zoni) and on the contact zone of Thracians and Greeks in Thrace and Samothrace, whose specifics can explain the considered graphical practices.
The article examines Rakovski’s expertise in Indo-European studies and etymology on the basis of ... more The article examines Rakovski’s expertise in Indo-European studies and etymology on the basis of two of his writings – AntiquityofBulgarianlanguagelargelyproven andcomparedwithSanskrit and The advantages of Bulgarian over the Greek language. After a brief presentation of his Hindistan theory the author analyzes Rakovski’s critical remarks to three renowned Indo-European scholars of that period – Eugène Burnouf, Friedrich Max Müller, and Frédéric Gustave Eichhoff. After that the expose focuses on the 60 etymologies proposed by Rakovski in support of his theory of primeval origin of the Bulgarian language. It turns out that more than a third of them are correct, due to Rakovski’s considerable training in Greek and other languages, while the wrong ones are the result of both his ignorance of Indo-European sound laws and his ideological bias.
The article discusses the work of Dionysius of Halicarnassus On the Composition in the context of... more The article discusses the work of Dionysius of Halicarnassus On the Composition in the context of the literary criticism and grammatical studies in the Hellenistic period. In the beginning, there is a brief overview of the tradition in the study of language and literary art in antiquity in order to highlight the concept of the author of combining sounds and syllables to achieve beauty and pleasure of the text as the ultimate aim of the poet and the orator. The focus of the work is on four of the 26 chapters of the treatise (Ch. 14, 15, 16 and 20), which contain important evidence of ancient Greek phonetics and phonology (pitch, characteristics of phonemes, classification). Yet they elegantly incorporated Dionysius’ analysis of exemplary verses of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Reviewed and analyzed are five examples through which Dionysius illustrated his perception of the relation between sound and sense. The article contains Bulgarian translations of parts of On the Composition which are important for the subject in question.
Нови направления в синхронната и диахронната фонетика и фонология. Сборник с доклади от международна научна конференция, 17 юни 2016 г., 2017
In his less popular publication The advantages of Bulgarian over Greek language, published in Bul... more In his less popular publication The advantages of Bulgarian over Greek language, published in Bulgarian historical monuments (1865: 83–121, cf. also A Key to the Bulgarian language written in the same year), Rakovski – a skilled expert of Greek language as well as an ardent defender of national liberty and enlightenment – sets out to prove the primeval origin of the Bulgarian language and hence its superiority over the Greek language. Apart from the argument of the mixed and impure nature of the Greek language, the accusation of undetermined pronunciation and lost breathing takes a prominent place in the well-designed strategy of Rakovski’s exposé. My article focuses just on this “phonetic” part of his reasoning and the mechanism of its fabrication, in which the objective facts of Greek historical phonetics, imagination, and the dream of cultural superiority present a powerful message that is hard to refute.
Сборник статии от XV студентска научна конференция, организирана от Студентски историко-археологи... more Сборник статии от XV студентска научна конференция, организирана от Студентски историко-археологически клуб "Проф. Велизар Велков" при Пловдивски университет "Паисий Хилендарски".
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Papers by mirena slavova
• I7 word-initial clusters, which have been not attested in Greek names;
• 12 initial bipartite clusters, which are typical for both the Thracian and Greek names;
• 25 clusters that are missing in Thracian but present in Greek names;
The conclusion regarding the phonology of the Thracian word-initial syllable of the proper names is that it prefers a steeper sonority slope and a more sonorant onset than that encountered in Greek names.
Apart from the general linguistic remarks, the demonstrated scrutinizing of the Thracian syllable could be helpful in both distinguishing the genuine Thracian names and supplementing their corrupted letterings in Greek and Latin inscriptions.
The Greek inscriptions from Dionysopolis, Odessos, Mesambria, Anchialos, and Apollonia give sufficient material for a lexical study of the Greek language in this area. They contain a lot of semantic peculiarities, such as neologisms, new meanings, and localisms. The Greek language written in these colonies shows typical Hellenistic features in its vocabulary, periphrastical constructions, and word formation. Nevertheless, some colonies have their own Kanzleisprache and specific worship terminology. Last but not least, the language of the epigraphical monuments in question prefers Greek lexical resources and/ or loan translation, thus demonstrating a strong conservatism in borrowing Latin words in the Roman period.
The mirror is remarkable for its relatively large reflective surface which indicates its utilitarian function. On the basis of a general overview of the Greek inscribed lead mirrors with utilitarian function from the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire discovered so far, a three-part classification is proposed: mirrors with elliptical inscriptions, mirrors with an “ad” statement including a verb, and “talking” mirrors with an imperative sentence.
The Silistra mirror is distinguished by both its original combination of formulas of the second and third types and its rich ornamentation.
The article contains linguistic notes on the names of the elements of clothing of participants in the ritual of Anastenaria (bulg. nestinari), communicated to Mikhail Arnaudov in 1914 by two respondents from the villages of Kosty and Yatros who witnessed the rite. The names of the garments show numerous borrowings from different languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire. Combined with the knowledge about the isolation of both the ritual and the Greek language of its original speakers, these names are used to shed additional light on the origin and the nature of the Anastenaria rite.
The paper offers a new translation of the first nine chapters and of the chapter 19 of the Sixth Book of the History of Georgius Pachymeres (1242–1310), which is the most valuable contemporary source, along with the poem of Manuel Philes (cf. 1275–1345), about the troubled 1278–1280 years in the history of the resurrected Bulgarian kingdom. The reasons are two. The first one is the new textcritical edition of the first six books of Pachymeres’ History made by A. Failler and V. Laurent in 1984, which is based on the more reliable manuscript Barberinianus gr. 203 (C) and not of Monacensis gr. 442 (A) and Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (C), from which the translation in GIBI X was made in 1980. The second one is the author’s wish to raise the question of offering new and/or updated translations of historical sources of Bulgarian history. On the basis of the achievements of previous generations of philologists and historians, the contemporary ones have the opportunity to enrich and refine what they have done.
Five cases of ellipse in ancient Greek both in constructing of subordinate sentences and forming of lexical meaning are discussed and explained specifying the methodology of their teaching.
• I7 word-initial clusters, which have been not attested in Greek names;
• 12 initial bipartite clusters, which are typical for both the Thracian and Greek names;
• 25 clusters that are missing in Thracian but present in Greek names;
The conclusion regarding the phonology of the Thracian word-initial syllable of the proper names is that it prefers a steeper sonority slope and a more sonorant onset than that encountered in Greek names.
Apart from the general linguistic remarks, the demonstrated scrutinizing of the Thracian syllable could be helpful in both distinguishing the genuine Thracian names and supplementing their corrupted letterings in Greek and Latin inscriptions.
The Greek inscriptions from Dionysopolis, Odessos, Mesambria, Anchialos, and Apollonia give sufficient material for a lexical study of the Greek language in this area. They contain a lot of semantic peculiarities, such as neologisms, new meanings, and localisms. The Greek language written in these colonies shows typical Hellenistic features in its vocabulary, periphrastical constructions, and word formation. Nevertheless, some colonies have their own Kanzleisprache and specific worship terminology. Last but not least, the language of the epigraphical monuments in question prefers Greek lexical resources and/ or loan translation, thus demonstrating a strong conservatism in borrowing Latin words in the Roman period.
The mirror is remarkable for its relatively large reflective surface which indicates its utilitarian function. On the basis of a general overview of the Greek inscribed lead mirrors with utilitarian function from the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire discovered so far, a three-part classification is proposed: mirrors with elliptical inscriptions, mirrors with an “ad” statement including a verb, and “talking” mirrors with an imperative sentence.
The Silistra mirror is distinguished by both its original combination of formulas of the second and third types and its rich ornamentation.
The article contains linguistic notes on the names of the elements of clothing of participants in the ritual of Anastenaria (bulg. nestinari), communicated to Mikhail Arnaudov in 1914 by two respondents from the villages of Kosty and Yatros who witnessed the rite. The names of the garments show numerous borrowings from different languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire. Combined with the knowledge about the isolation of both the ritual and the Greek language of its original speakers, these names are used to shed additional light on the origin and the nature of the Anastenaria rite.
The paper offers a new translation of the first nine chapters and of the chapter 19 of the Sixth Book of the History of Georgius Pachymeres (1242–1310), which is the most valuable contemporary source, along with the poem of Manuel Philes (cf. 1275–1345), about the troubled 1278–1280 years in the history of the resurrected Bulgarian kingdom. The reasons are two. The first one is the new textcritical edition of the first six books of Pachymeres’ History made by A. Failler and V. Laurent in 1984, which is based on the more reliable manuscript Barberinianus gr. 203 (C) and not of Monacensis gr. 442 (A) and Vaticanus Barberinianus gr. 198 (C), from which the translation in GIBI X was made in 1980. The second one is the author’s wish to raise the question of offering new and/or updated translations of historical sources of Bulgarian history. On the basis of the achievements of previous generations of philologists and historians, the contemporary ones have the opportunity to enrich and refine what they have done.
Five cases of ellipse in ancient Greek both in constructing of subordinate sentences and forming of lexical meaning are discussed and explained specifying the methodology of their teaching.