ἢ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 ἢ

   ē

   or
2. sentence🔊 ὅμως τὰ ἄψυχα φωνὴν διδόντα εἴτε αὐλὸς εἴτε κιθάρα ἐὰν διαστολὴν τοῖς φθόγγοις μὴ δῷ πῶς γνωσθήσεται τὸ αὐλούμενον ἢ τὸ κιθαριζόμενον

   HO-mōs ta AP-sy-kha phō-NĒN di-DON-ta EI-te au-LOS EI-te ki-THA-ra e-AN di-a-sto-LĒN tois phthog-GOIS mē DŌ PŌS gnō-STHĒ-se-tai to au-LOU-me-non ē to ki-tha-ri-DZO-me-non

   even so the lifeless {things} a sound giving whether a flute or whether a harp if a distinction to the notes not gives how will be known the being played on a flute or the being played on a harp

Exegesis

The main interrogative clause is introduced by pos gnōsthēsetai {πῶς γνωσθήσεται | pôs gnōsthḗsetai} ‘how will it be known’, followed by articular participles to auloumenon and to kitharizomenon {τὸ αὐλούμενον ἢ τὸ κιθαριζόμενον | tó auloúmenon ḗ tó kitharizómenon} functioning as substantives, ‘what is being played on the flute or what is being played on the harp’. The Greek maintains strict parallelism between the two instruments and between condition and result, which the translation preserves by mirroring the conditional structure and using repeated phrasing for the two articular participles to foreground the need for recognizable, differentiated sound.

Root and etymology

phōnē🔊 φωνήphi–omega–nu–eta

“sound, voice”

• 🔊 φωνέωphi–omega–nu–epsilon–omegato call, cry outMark 10:48
• 🔊 φώνημαphi–omega–nu–eta–mu–alphasound, utteranceRomans 8:26