Two main differences:
1) Original case: ϖῇ is a fossilized DAT, while ϖῶς is a fossilized old ABL. I don’t know if there’s a shade of meaning we (as non-native anachromnistic speakers) miss, but, well, there it is: one difference.
2) In Smyth’s chart, he refers to ϖῇ as “Way”, as in “which way?” or “which direction?” Additionally, not in Smyth’s chart but in the Middle Liddell, it is also used like “To what end?” in Herodotus, and even rarely as “Where?” in Sophocles.
Smyth refers to ϖῶς with the word “Manner”, as in “what manner?” or “in what guise?”
It’s pretty much the go-to word for “How?”
Another Litmus test would be to access the texts themselves, and see what kinds of answers « ϖῇ» and « ϖῶς» generated. Sounds like a reasonable Classics/Tech research thesis.
At least some of the crazy Greek alternate miniscule letter-forms have some more or less definite placements.
Initial Forms :
ϐ
ϑ
ϖ
ρ
Medio-Final Forms
β
θ
π
ϱ
So, for example, /'bar.ba.ros/ would be written
ϐάϱβαϱος
/θe.'o.θen/
ϑεόθεν
/'pi.pto:/
ϖίπτω
/re:.to:.ri.ke:/
ῥητωϱική
Gamma and Tau have alternate tall forms which seem to get used almost indiscriminately- anybody with a resource that nails the distinction in usage would be most appreciated
Jury's out on Kappa & Phi - Again, anybody have a reliable source to quote?
ϰκ / φϕ
χαίρετε, τοῦ "μέλλειν" ἐνθυμοῦμαι καὶ πῶς ἐργάζεται.
Hey again, I've been thinking about "μέλλειν" and how it works. (In Koine Greek and/or Attic Greek)
δοκεῖ σοι; εἶδον ταῦτα μεθερμηνευόμενα ὡς "going to" καὶ "about to"· πῶς δὲ ρελάτουσι μετὰ τοῦ μέλλοντος;
What do you think? I've seen it translated as "going to" and "about to". How does it relate (I dunno the Greek) to the future tense?
οὐκ ἤθελον οὔδεν ἀνοίσειν, περὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν θέλω αἰτῆσαι τοῦ μέλλειν καὶ τοῦ ἐσόμενου.
I wasn't wanting to refer to anything, I wanted to ask about the relationship between μέλλειν and the simple future.
A little strange to say, in greek grammar, « μέλλων » refers to the future (not ἐσόμενος ). The participle «μέλλων» seems to be functionally equivalent to ἐσόμενος (‽؟).
οὐκ ἤθελον οὔδεν ἀνοίσειν, περὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν θέλω αἰτῆσαι τοῦ μέλλειν καὶ τοῦ ἐσόμενου.
I wasn't wanting to refer to anything, I wanted to ask about the relationship between μέλλειν and the simple future.
Quite possibly other ways, since has a mutable/legoable syntax. ΩΠΑ! σχεδόν ἐνιαυτόν ὅλον μέχρι δεῦρ' οὐκ ἔγραφον...!
Ha! Almost a year to the day since last I posted herein.