[B-Greek] What we can live with (was papyrus text)

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Tue Apr 14 00:42:19 EDT 2009


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yancy Smith" <yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net>
To: "greek B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 13. april 2009 18:30
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] What we can live with (was papyrus text)

<snip>
>... For example, the presence of B in MESHMBRIA (Acts
> 22:6) suggests that KOINE speakers trilled the intervocalic RHO much
> like Spanish speakers do today. BDAG dutifully reports that the word
> is a combination of MESOS + hHMERA. The E is reduced resulting in the
> combination MR. Because the R is pronounced as a dental flap, it gets
> represented as MBR-

Why would this suggest a dental flap or a trilled R?

What you have shown is that the cluster MR is/was not a possible cluster. When such a cluster would
occur, a B is inserted in order to strengthen the syllable onset from (M)R to (M)BR. (I am not sure 
whether the M begins or ends a syllable, but since I could not find any Greek word ending in M, 
apart from Semitic names, I assume that the language dislikes a syllable-final -m, even though it 
likes a syllable-final -n. Anyway, it is not important for the question at hand.)

The same phonological process appears to happen with other clusters of a nasal followed by R. That 
is, you don't find NR, but NDR (ANHR - ANDRES), nor do you find NG'R (I here use NG' for the velar 
nasal), but NG'GR. (The velar nasal was usually written as G (gamma), but sometimes as N as it is in 
English). The nasal is strengthened or supported by its homorganic plosive. That is a fairly common 
linguistic process, but I cannot see how that tells us whether the R is an alveolar flap or trill or 
whether it might be a velar consonant. I have no problem pronouncing a velar R in my native language 
following m or mb. I don't know how one could establish the phonetics of a Koine R, but using the 
Modern Greek R seems reasonable, whatever that R is. Or, you could allow people to use whatever R is 
found in their own language, which means that they will speak Greek with a certain accent.

Iver Larsen




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