[B-Greek] Accents and breathings
Curtis Hinson
curtis at curtishinson.com
Mon Jul 17 21:06:13 EDT 2006
A little clarification is in order then. I teach (when I'm teaching
anyway) proper Greek pronunciation. The stress patterns are actually
simple, they're just different than what an English speaker is used to.
If you understand that, there's no need to see them written to know how
to pronounce the word. I have a way of teaching verbs that is different
than traditional grammars too, but that is a topic for another thread
and another day.
And I certainly agree that teaching the rules for diacriticals is a
complete waste of time. It seems to be one of the hardest things for
newcomers, and it doesn't do anything but obfuscate and editorialize.
Bless the Name
Curtis Hinson
P.S. By proper Greek pronunciation, I mean what some call "modern
Greek". In regards to Reconstructed Koine that Dr. Buth teaches, it
gives a slight advantage in hearing certain subtleties of play in
ancient texts. But on the other hand, it's a little harder to talk to
actual Greeks using it. I go with "modern" as a personal choice but I
think people using modern and people using reconstructed shouldn't have
any communication difficulties. At least they're both real and natural
pronunciations of the language. I explain this to my students and let
them hear the reconstructed pronunciation as well.
Kevin Riley wrote the following on 7/17/2006 6:43 PM:
> I think it depends on what is meant by 'teaching' the accents and
> breathings. As the accent marks the stress, teaching that it does so makes
> the Greek sound more Greek no matter what pronunciation scheme you use. I
> never understood why anyone taught the rules of Latin as the way to accent
> Greek when the accents were there on the words and all that you really need
> to know is 'accent the syllable with the accent'. Any student can get that
> in a minute or less. If by 'teaching the accents' he meant all those rules
> about which accent goes where, then for most of us that is a waste of time -
> which the Greeks have recognised by changing them all to acute accents that
> mark the stress. The stress [either pitch or dynamic] is an integral part
> of the Greek language, and there is no good reason why it should be ignored.
>
> Kevin Riley
>
> -------Original Message-------
>
> From: Don Dwight
> Date: 07/18/06 05:46:12
>
> Curtis Hinson wrote on July 9, 2006 under the subject: PEI, FEI, XEI, KSI,
> PSI (was pee or pie).
> "Concerning accents and breathings, I don't teach them. :-D
> Well, I do teach them eventually so people will
> know what they're for, but I otherwise ignore them. They were, in my
> opinion, never an integral part of the Greek language, they're actually
> editorial decisions more than anything."
>
> Don Dwight responds.
> Thank you, Curtis, for saying publicly what I've been thinking privately.
>
> For me a prime example in the GNT of where someone applying accents and
> breathings would have to make an editorial decision is John 1:1.
>
> EN ARCH (preposition with noun dative singular feminine)
>
> EN (noun nominative singular neuter)
> ARCH (noun dative singular feminine)
>
> EN (noun nominative singular neuter)
> ARCH (noun nominative singular feminine)
>
> Peace,
> Don Dwight
> Monterey, California, USA
> dddwight1234 at sbcglobal.net
>
>
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