[B-Greek] Newbie Question on the Pronunciation of Rho
Trevor Peterson
06PETERSON at cua.edu
Tue Nov 18 10:17:26 EST 2003
>===== Original Message From Raymond Regalado <fwgk5942 at mb.infoweb.ne.jp>
=====
>Dear List,
>
>If I may be allowed to ask a very basic question...
>
>Is the RHO pronounced with an "h" sound whenever it begins a word? I
>know that it always has the rough breathing, but is this rough
>breathing pronounced? At least in the Erasmian pronunciation system?
I think the way Erasmian is normally taught, it is to be pronounced with an h.
I think when I learned it, we were told to pronounce as though it's /hr/, even
though you write it /rh/. Modern Greek does not pronounce any /h/ sound, and
at least one reconstruction of Roman-era Koine follows that pattern.
>
>Also, is the name of the letter itself pronounced with or without an
>"h" sound?
I would say you pronounce the name according to your pronunciation of the
letter itself at the beginning of a word. Generally speaking, this is good
practice for all the letters of the Greek alphabet. Pronounce their names
according to the rules that you follow for Greek pronunciation in general.
Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics
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