[B-Greek] Fwd: Ἴλιον ἥλιον & ἀγλύλιον
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Thu Oct 16 14:52:26 EDT 2008
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Nikolaos Adamou <nikolaos.adamou at hotmail.com>
> Date: October 16, 2008 1:25:07 PM EDT
> To: Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
> Cc: nikolaos.adamou at gmail.com
> Subject: Ἴλιον ἥλιον & ἀγλύλιον
> Ἴλιον ἥλιον & ἀγλύλιον
>
> Carl, you may place this for the list b-Greek list.
>
> Due to a death in family I was not able to participate in the
> discussion about the Greek Phonetics.
>
> Konstantinos Siamakis published a book in Greece about the Greek
> alphabet. Among other points that he makes, is that the way lower
> case Greek is written decodes the phonetics of the language.
>
> Thus, for a Greek, the Ἴλιον ἥλιον & ἀγλύλιον
> not only have different spelling but different sound. The sound of
> the vowel letter is also altered due to its accent and breathing
> sign combinations.
>
> ι has an –i– sound that from high goes down and ends smoothly.
>
> η has sound that from up moves down comes up very fast and then down
> again.
>
> υ has sound that from up moves down and from staying down comes up.
>
> The sound distinctions of the –i– sounded letters and letter
> combinations (ει & οι) in Greek ARE NOT in other languages –
> German, French or English. If one wants to listen to the sound
> difference, liking it or not, have to listen to Greeks.
>
> Been a Greek, and taught that all these are all the same, I was not
> able to recognize there difference even when I was listening these
> letters.
>
> When I start learning Byzantine music & chanting in Church, I was
> able to distinguish these differences. It is more how rhythm and
> time is involved in the sound.
>
> Another point I would like to make is that there is a continuation
> of the “Greek” sound. We never stop reading loud the Bible in
> Church from the time it is written to now. In Thessaloniki and
> Corinth, in Athens, and everywhere that St. Paul visited, preached,
> established Churches, wrote, we keep the language of our Bible in a
> very sacred way in our Church life.
>
> Phonetical differences among dialects and regions exist. But the
> phonetics of our church life, decode in Byzantine musical notation
> kept it standardized from Cyprus to Pontus, and from Crete to Corfu,
> where even today the vernacular sound is very different. But Church
> chanting and reading – including
> the Bible – is not.
>
> The sound of Greek language can be learned by listening to Greek
> people and not by trying to explore similarities with other
> languages. The difference of the sound between Greek and other
> languages is much more distant than any diachronic you may claim
> that exists. Exploring the sound of my language, I find much more
> difference among regions and dialects, even today, than Bible &
> Church sound in time.
>
>
>
> Nikolaos Adamou, Ph.D. ἀναπλ. καθ. Νικόλαος
> 'ΑδάμουAssociate
> Professor of Business Management Διοίκηση
> Ἐπιχειρήσεων
> BMCC / CUNY
> Πανεπιστήμιο Πόλεως Νέας Ὑόρκης,
> Κολλέγιο Μανχάτταν
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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