Paragraphos
A paragraphos (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "Lang"., from Script error: No such module "Lang"., 'beside', and Script error: No such module "Lang"., 'to write') was a mark in ancient Greek punctuation, marking a division in a text (as between speakers in a dialogue or drama). The earliest Classical Greek and Roman texts were written in all capital letters with minimal spacing; punctuation was sparse and not standardized.[1] The paragraphos was also used to mark a change in topic in prose.[2] It was sometimes added to completed texts as a form of obelism alongside other marginalia, including the obelus.[3]
There are many variants of this symbol, sometimes supposed to have been developed from Greek gamma (Script error: No such module "Lang".), the first letter of the word Script error: No such module "Lang".. It was usually placed at the beginning of a line and trailing a little way under or over the text.[5] Two modern elements of writing derive their name and purpose from the paragraphos: the paragraph and the pilcrow. The paragraph, a section of prose typically dealing with the same topic, evolved from the use of the paragraphos, and its name comes from the French form of the term, paragraphe.[6] The paragraphos symbol was moved from beside the block of text into it, and its form changed from a simple line to a K for kaput (Latin for head), to a C for capitulum (Latin for little head), to a stylized C sometimes referred to as a capitulum (Template:Char), and finally into the pilcrow (Template:Char), also known as the paragraph mark. Ultimately the pilcrow was dropped, and paragraphs were indicated by spacing.[7]
Aristotle commented on the paragraphos and was dismissive of its use.[8] In Aristotle's Rhetoric, he argues that the end of section should be so clear from the language that it would not need to be marked.[9]
Unicode encodes multiple versions:
- Page Template:Mono/styles.css has no content.U+2E0F ⸏ Script error: No such module "Unicode data".
- Page Template:Mono/styles.css has no content.U+2E10 ⸐ Script error: No such module "Unicode data".
- Page Template:Mono/styles.css has no content.U+2E11 ⸑ Script error: No such module "Unicode data".
- Page Template:Mono/styles.css has no content.U+205A ⁚ Script error: No such module "Unicode data".
See also
- Obelus and Obelism, Greek marginal notes
- Coronis, the Greek paragraph mark
- Pilcrow (¶), the English paragraph mark
- Section sign (§), the English section mark
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Howatson, Margaret C. (2011). "Books, Greek and Roman". The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. sec. 2. ISBN 9780191739422.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kallendorf, Craig (2010). "The Ancient Book". The Oxford Companion to the Book. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. sec. 5.1. ISBN 9780199570140.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Dagger, Or Obelisk: A Typographic Enigma". Professor Carmichael's Cabinet of Curiosities. 17 September 2011.
- ^ P.Lit.Lond. 96 col. xiii (late first–early second century CE) in: E. Scott, Herodas: Facsimile of Papyrus CXXXV in the British Museum (London, 1892).
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pearse, Roger (9 Nov 2010). "Paragraphos and Coronis—the Joy of the Chase". Retrieved 9 Oct 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Oxford dictionary of English (3. ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 2010. ISBN 9780191727665.
- ^ * Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Houston, Keith (2013). Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks. W. W. Norton & Company. ch. 1. ISBN 9780393064421.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Pearse, Roger (10 Nov 2010). "More on the paragraphos mark". Retrieved 9 Oct 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wake, William C. (1957). "Sentence-Length Distributions of Greek Authors". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General). 120 (3): 331–346. doi:10.2307/2343104. ISSN 0035-9238.
