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Ancient Greek translations for voice recordings


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We would like the community's help in reviewing our translations below. If you have a strong understanding of Ancient Greek could you please go through the list and offer any suggestions or additions you think we should make.

English = 'Ancient Greek'

Yes? = 'Ti estì?'

My Lord? = 'Dèspotes mu'

How may I serve you? = 'Pos dynamai therapèuein'

As you wish = 'os epithymèis'

I am coming = 'trècho'

On my way = ' '

Attack! = 'eisbàlomen'

For my family! = 'pro ten patrìda mu'

Build = 'tèucho'

Farm = 'Georgèo'

Mine or Dig = 'skàpto'

Chop = 'kòpto'

Gather = 'syllègo'

Herd = 'nèmo'

Fish = 'ìchthys'

Repair = 'siachno'

Hunt = 'kynegetèo'

Your Orders? = 'pos kelèueis?'

Ready, Sir = ' '

My Liege? = 'etòimos, o stratège'

By your Command = 'òsper àrcheis èsto'

Yes, my Lord = 'pany ge, kyrie mu'

As you wish = 'pràsso'

Cities will Fall! = ' '

War Cry! = 'alalài'

To victory! = 'Zeus sotèr kài nìke'

Yes, great one? = 'prostàxe'

Your wish? = ' '

By the Gods = 'ma tus theùs'

Heal = 'iàomai'

At your service = 'ypo tu prostàgmatos su'

Orders, Sir = 'prostàxe, kyrie'

Ready = 'ètoimos dià ten màchen'

Move out! = 'ypakùo'

March! = 'porèuomai'

With my honour = ' '

Engage! = 'èis ten màchen'

Attack! = 'prosbàlomen'

Formation = 'tàxis'

Hold your position! = 'katàschete ten tàxin'

Retreat! = 'hypochorèsis'

Surround them! = 'amfibàlete autùs'

Advance! = 'katà ton èchthron'

Battle cry = 'alalài, alalalài!'

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Got your PM. I'm familiar with Ancient Greek, so I can help with translations and pronunciation of the words.

I have a few questions before I can offer suggestions or corrections.

With the verbs ("attack", "dig", "farm", "march"), what form should the Greek be? Is it supposed to be a statement, "I am attacking" or "we are attacking", or a command, "attack!", or something else? The Greek form to translate each of these is different, so I need to know which is intended.

On pronunciation, do you want to use the correct pronunciation as reconstructed by historical linguistics, or a simpler, more Modern Greek pronunciation? If you would like the correct pronunciation, the transliteration system needs to represent all the features of Ancient Greek pronunciation. Several features are missing from the transliteration, including long vowels and different types of pitch accent. These features are present in Ancient Greek, though not in Modern Greek. (That is, in Modern Greek all vowels are short, and there is only one type of accent, stress accent.) Do you want an accurate historical pronunciation, or a simpler one that is closer to Modern Greek? Either way, I can help out.

Edited by Erutuon
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Brilliant, thanks for the quick response.

With the verbs ("attack", "dig", "farm", "march"), what form should the Greek be? Is it supposed to be a statement, "I am attacking" or "we are attacking", or a command, "attack!", or something else? The Greek form to translate each of these is different, so I need to know which is intended.

I didn't write the voice list myself, but I'm assuming it's the unit being clicked/ordered that is talking. So it would be in future tense:

"I will attack"

"I will dig"

"I will farm"

"I will march"

On pronunciation, do you want to use the correct pronunciation as reconstructed by historical linguistics, or a simpler, more Modern Greek pronunciation? If you would like the correct pronunciation, the transliteration system needs to represent all the features of Ancient Greek pronunciation. Several features are missing from the transliteration, including long vowels and different types of pitch accent. These features are present in Ancient Greek, though not in Modern Greek. (That is, in Modern Greek all vowels are short, and there is only one type of accent, stress accent.) Do you want an accurate historical pronunciation, or a simpler one that is closer to Modern Greek? Either way, I can help out.

I should have mentioned that the voice list uses the ancient Attic dialect. I'd assume we are aiming for the correct Ancient Greek pronunciation - could someone on the team please confirm :)

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Greek changed a lot during the Koine Greek time period, undergoing sound changes that made it more like Modern Greek, and different regional pronunciations underwent each sound change at different times. What place and time should we try to base the pronunciation on? Athens around the time of Alexander (although that would not exactly be Koine), or somewhere else sometime later?

Edited by Erutuon
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Greek changed a lot during the Koine Greek time period, undergoing sound changes that made it more like Modern Greek, and different regional pronunciations underwent each sound change at different times. What place and time should we try to base the pronunciation on? Athens around the time of Alexander (although that would not exactly be Koine), or somewhere else sometime later?

Blah. Whatever Alexander and his successors would have thought of as "Koine Greek." But maybe someone like Joshua (Lead Historian) could give his preference.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'll use an early Koine Greek pronunciation given on Wikipedia. It's similar to Classical; it has just a few modifications, and lacks some changes that occurred later in the Koine Greek period. It should represent more learned pronunciation around the time of Alexander or a little later. I'm posting phrases with their pronunciations on the Voice-Actor Application thread. Should I also post a simpler list here (just English and Greek, maybe with a literal translation of the Greek)?

Edited by Erutuon
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I'll use an early Koine Greek pronunciation given on Wikipedia. It's similar to Classical; it has just a few modifications, and lacks some changes that occurred later in the Koine Greek period. It should represent more learned pronunciation around the time of Alexander or a little later. I'm posting phrases with their pronunciations on the Voice-Actor Application thread. Should I also post a simpler list here (just English and Greek, maybe with a literal translation of the Greek)?

Sorry I was away from home the past few days. No need to post the simpler list here, but it would be nice to keep it somewhere for future reference. Perhaps I'll place it on the wiki somewhere.

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  • 4 months later...

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