A typst package for rendering text into polytonic Greek using a hopefully-intuitive transliteration scheme.
Usage
First, be sure you include the package at the top of your typst file:
@import "preview/polytonoi@0.1.0: *
The package currently exposes one function, #ptgk(<string>), which will convert <string> into polytonic Greek text in the same location where the function appears in the typst document.
For example: #ptgk("polu/s") would render: πολύς
NOTE: Quotation marks within the function call (see above example) are mandatory, and the code will not work without them.
Where possible, Greek letters have been linked with their closest Roman equivalent (e.g. a --> α, b --> β). Where not possible, I’ve tried to stick to common convention, such as what is used by the Perseus Project for their transliteration. A couple letters (ξ and ψ) are made up of two letters (ks and ps respectively), which the #ptgk() function handles as special cases. See below for the full transliteration scheme.
Additional Usage Notes
- Any character that isn’t specifically accounted for (including white space, most punctuation, numbers, etc.) is rendered as-is.
- Smooth breathing marks are automatically added to a vowel that begins a word, unless that first vowel is followed by another. In this case, you’ll need to manually add it to the second vowel.
Text Formatting
As of now, the text is processed as a string, which means that any formatting markup (such as _ or *) is not included in how the text is rendered, and is instead passed through and will display literally. To apply any kind of formatting to the Greek text, the markup or commands must be put outside the text passed to the function. Compare the following two examples to see how this works:
#ptgk("_Arxh\_") would display as _Ἀρχὴ_
whereas
_#ptgk("Arxh\")_ would display as Ἀρχὴ
Transliteration Scheme
| Roman letter | Greek result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| a | α | |
| b | β | |
| g | γ | |
| d | δ | |
| e | ε | |
| z | ζ | |
| h | η | |
| q | θ | |
| i | ι | |
| k | κ | |
| l | λ | |
| m | μ | |
| n | ν | |
| ks | ξ | |
| o | ο | |
| p | π | |
| r | ρ | |
| s | σ/ς | Renders as final sigma automatically |
| t | τ | |
| u | υ | |
| v | φ | |
| x | χ | |
| ps | ψ | |
| w | ω |
Upper-case letters are handled the same way, just with an upper-case letter as input. The upper-case versions of the two “combined” letters (Ξ and Ψ) can be entered either as “KS”/“PS” or “Ks”/“Ps”.
Accents & Breathing Marks
As mentioned above, this package will automatically put a smooth breathing mark on a vowel that begins a word, unless that vowel is followed immediately by a second vowel. In that instance, you’ll have to manually put the smooth breathing mark in its correct place. (This is to avoid having to code for edge cases, such as where a word starts with three vowels in a row.) By the same token, rough breathing must always be entered manually.
| Input | Greek | Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ( | rough breathing | Put before the vowel | (a --> ἁ |
| ) | smooth breathing | Put before the vowel | )a --> ἀ |
| \ | Grave / varia | Put after the vowel | a\ --> ὰ |
| / | Acute / oxia / tonos | Put after the vowel | a/ --> ά |
| = | Tilde / perispomeni | Put after the vowel | a= --> ᾶ |
| | | Iota subscript | Put after the vowel | a| --> ᾳ |
| : | Diaresis | Put after the vowel | i: --> ϊ |
Multiple diacriticals can be added to a vowel, e.g. (h| --> ᾑ
Punctuation
Most Roman punctuation characters are left unchanged. The exceptions are ; (semicolon) and ? (question mark), which are rendered as a high dot (·) and the Greek question mark (;) respectively.
Feedback
Feedback is welcome, and please don’t hesitate to open an issue if something doesn’t work. I’ve tried to account for edge cases, but I certainly can’t guarantee that I’ve found everything.