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In Latin and Greek poetry, correption ( la, correptiō , "a shortening") is the shortening of a long vowel at the end of one word before a vowel at the beginning of the next. Vowels next to each other in neighboring words are in
hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...
. Homer uses correption in dactylic hexameter: *
Odyssey * Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered full
many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy.

translation by A.T. Murray
Here the sequence η ε in bold must be pronounced as ε ε to preserve the ''long—short—short'' syllable weight sequence of a dactyl. Thus, the scansion of the second line is thus: | | | | |


Attic

Typically, in Homeric meter, a
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of Phone (phonetics), speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered t ...
is scanned long or "
closed Closed may refer to: Mathematics * Closure (mathematics), a set, along with operations, for which applying those operations on members always results in a member of the set * Closed set, a set which contains all its limit points * Closed interval, ...
" when a vowel is followed by two or more consonants. However, in
Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek dialect of the ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige dialect of the Greek world for centuries and remains the standard form of the language that ...
, a short vowel followed by a
plosive In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or simply a stop, is a pulmonic consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be made with the tongue tip or blade (, ), tongue body (, ), lip ...
and a liquid consonant or
nasal stop In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast majo ...
remains a short or " open" syllable. This is called Attic correption, sometime known by its Latin name ''correptio Attica''. Therefore, the first syllable of a word like δάκρυ (ᾰ) could be scanned as "δά | κρυ" (open/short), exhibiting Attic correption, or as "δάκ | ρυ" (closed/long), in keeping with the conventions of Homeric verse.


See also

* Metaplasm *
Hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...
* Synalepha


References

{{reflist Phonology Figures of speech Poetic rhythm Homeric Greek