[B-Greek] ETA

Webb webb at selftest.net
Sun Jul 16 20:07:34 EDT 2006


On a guess, because most (UK) English accents don't pronounce final 'r'--it
only results in a lengthening of the vowel. (A linguist could explain the
phenomenon correctly.) When I lived in England, my friends got no end of
giggles getting me (an American) to say "mirror". It sounds ratheh pecyulyeh
to many Brits feh people to pronounce theh final ahs.
Webb Mealy


 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org]
> On Behalf Of Kevin Riley
> Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2006 4:41 PM
> To: B Greek
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] ETA
> 
> 
> 
> -------Original Message-------
> 
> From: Gerry
> Date: 07/17/06 02:34:46
> 
> I was looking through Ward Powers Learn To Read NT Greek the other day
with
> my daughter when he mentions that the ETA should be sounded like the word
> There".
> For example we would then sound Jesus like "yair- soos" or ORGH like
> Or-gair" rather than Yay -sous or Or-gay
> 
> *******************
> K: This is what you will find in many books teaching Classical Greek - and
> the evidence is pretty good for both ETA and OMEGA being long open vowels
> circa C5th or shortly before in Attic Greek.  Before the adoption of the
> Ionian alphabet it was sensibly represented by E as it is simply that
vowel
> lengthened.  There never was any good reason for ETA and OMEGA to be
> separate letters in Attic (when compared with the other vowels where
length
> was not distinguished) during or after the Classical period .  If Ionian
did
> develop ETA from ALPHA via a sound like 'a' in cat, then that does explain
> why a separate letter was needed.
> 
> ******************
> 
> I ask Ward about this and he made mention that F F Bruce
> mentioned that the ETA was pronounced more like the "ea" in Bear.
> What I don't understand is that whilst Bruce certainly does say that, how
> does the "R" sound fit in?
> Bruce says that "ETA" sounds only like the "ea" in Bear, not actually
rhyme
> with it so that the "r" is also sounded.
> 
> Can anyone throw any light on that?
> 
> Gerry Todd
> 
> *****************************
> Bruce was using a  British pronunciation where non-initial/intervocalic
'r'
> is not sounded but the vowel is usually centralised or lowered.  Of
course,
> if you add an ending the 'r' is always sounded after such vowels even when
> one is missing in the written word.  It is all just part of pronouncing
> English 'correctly' :)
> 
> Kevin Riley
> 
> ---
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