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Is Australian accent a moderate between British and American ones?
Like the others said. There is a split between American accents and Commonwealth accents, with American often more archaic; the retention of r after vowels is the biggest shibboleth (and several British and Irish accents line up with America there). The Australian accent is pretty close to London English, though apparently there was a Midlands influence too.
What is halfway between British and American is not the accent in Australia, but the spelling, and increasingly the vocabulary. We spell jail not gaol, for example, and you will hear more and more US-specific words. As much as anything, that’s media and globalisation.
Why is “species” sometimes pronounced as “spee-shees”?
The explanation behind this is tied up with the bizarre history of the Traditional English pronunciation of Latin. I didn’t find an explicit explanation of what happened with species, and in fact the rules in that Wikipedia page took me in a slightly different direction to where I hoped to go.
But here goes. I apologise for fauxnetics in the following.
There are two rules at play here.
- -i-es (which would originally have been pronounces like –yeez) gets merged into –es (pronounces –eez). Aries is pronounced identically to Ares; rabies is pronounced identically to rabes. Originally, they would have been pronounced Air-yeez, rabe-yeez.
- An i before another vowel was pronounced as a semivowel (y): e.g. –ies = –yeez above. The combination sy ended up pronounced as sh. Russia > “Rusha”. Nation: na-si-on > na-syon > na-shon. Special: spe-si-al > spe-syal > spe-shal.
Now. If Rule number 1 gets applied to species before Rule 2, you get:
- spē-si-ēs
- spē-syēs
- spē-sēs (Rule 1: -ies > -es)
- = spee-seez. There is no place for Rule 2 to get applied: there’s no sy any more in the word.
If Rule number 2 gets applied to species before Rule 1, you get;
- spē-si-ēs
- spē-syēs
- spē-shēs (Rule 2: -si-e- > -sy-e- > -sh-e- )
- = spee-sheez. There’s no place for Rule 1 to get applied: there’s no -i-es any more in the word.
So there’s a timing conflict: if both rules were happening at the same time, it’s a matter of which rule got there first. And both pronunciations survived, because some speakers (or rather, some schools) applied one rule first to species, and other speakers (schools) applied the other rule first.
This kind of conflict btw is routine in historical linguistics; we refer to feeding vs bleeding rules (where a rule gets preempted by another rule).
Now, to me, spee-seez is a more posh pronunciation than spee-sheez. I don’t see an explanation for that here. I see something related in the pronunciation of ratio as ray-shyoe rather than ray-shoe: the -y- was put back in to reflect the spelling, as a hypercorrection. But if anything, that would suspect that spee-syeez > spee-sheez was the academic pronunciation, which doesn’t sound right to me.
So yes, English pronunciation is random, particularly English pronunciation of Latin. But it’s not inexplicable.
Why have the words “overmorrow” and “ereyesterday” gone? Was it easier for speakers to use “the day after tomorrow” instead of “overmorrow”?
It’s very hard to know. Language change is a bunch of stuff that happens, and language does not always change in an optimal direction. Greek has certainly retained its equivalent words, proxtes and methavrio (and even one more day out: antiproxtes, antimethavrio), it’s not like the concept had become suddenly useless.
The following is necessarily speculative. And these would be necessary but not sufficient conditions for the change.
- The formations were no longer semantically transparent, and sounded archaic. Ere and morrow were obsolete. Over meaning day after was likely a dead metaphor.
- The formations were useful, but not essential. So they did not have to be replaced when they dropped out of usage. We had days of the week, and we had calendar dates.
- More speculatively: as a highly literate society, the early modern English were more across what day of the week and date it was, than their mediaeval English counterparts, or their Greek contemporaries. If you are a peasant and don’t regularly go to church, why would you need to know what day of the week it is? I know I have no idea what day of the week it is, when I’m on holiday.
EDIT: Vote #1 Brian Collins: Brian Collins’ answer to Why have the words “overmorrow” and “ereyesterday” gone? Was it easier for speakers to use “the day after tomorrow” instead of “overmorrow”? OED tentatively agrees with him that overmorrow, ereyesterday were made up by Myles Coverdale. (See my comment there.)
Why does cnidarian have a silent “c”?
For the same reason knight and knee (German Knecht, Knie) have a silent k (and used to have a c: Old English cnēo, cniht). English stopped allowing initial kn– in its words in the Middle Ages. Words imported into English from other languages tend to abide by the pronunciation constraints (phonotactics) of native English words.
So the initial /kn/ pronunciation was simplified in cnidarian, just as we don’t pronounce p-sychology or k-xenophobia with their initial consonants.
What is proper name of the sound when pushing air through nose?
As a lay term rather than a linguistic description (Vote #1 Clarissa Lohr: Clarissa Lohr’s answer to What is proper name of the sound when pushing air through nose?), I was racking my brains: I was sure English had a word, and couldn’t place it. Something to do with flared nostrils. And huffiness.
Our fellow question-answerers at Stack Exchange are a step ahead of me:
Is there a term for letting out an exasperated sigh through the nose?
a snort articulated as a syllabic m or n with a voiceless onset and ending in a nasal h or a glottal stop; often read as ˈhəm(p)f.
That’s a voiced sound, and is in fact what I’ve only ever seen spelled as mpf; humph is 17th–19th century. From Stack Exchange, it looks like it’s the closest English has; someone explicitly asked for the voiceless equivalent of humph there.
PS: The reason I’m here and not on Stack Exchange:
Welcome to EL&U. Please note that this is not a discussion forum, but a Q&A site which seeks to provide definitive answers. As such, your answer would be greatly strengthened with an explanation— why would you propose suspirates? What is its dictionary definition? What are some examples in literature or journalism? I strongly encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance. – choster Oct 20 ’16 at 3:10
Makes for better answers. Makes for much worse socialising…
Of all the Greek audio bibles out there, which one comes the closest to authentic reconstructed pronunciation?
That site has a review of 22 audio files, of which at least a couple are in reconstructed Koine. They’re what you’re after, rather than Erasmian or Modern Greek.
That said, read the answers to:
- Is the modern pronunciation of Greek accurate for koine?
- What are the pros and cons of the Erasmian pronunciation?
The Koine of the 1st century AD was a system in flux—and most of the flux had already ended up where Modern Greek is now. I buried in comments to my answers there this:
John 1:10-14
Εν τω κόσμω æν και ο κόσμος δι’ αυτού εγένετο και ο κόσμος αυτόν ουκ έγνω. Εις τα ίδια ǽλθεν και y ίδιy αυτόν ου παρέλαβον. Όσy δε έλαβον αυτόν έδωκεν αυτýς εξουσίαν τέκνα θεού γενέσθαι τyς πιστεύουσιν εις το όνομα αυτού. y ουκ εξ αιμάτων ουδέ εκ θελǽματος σαρκός ουδέ εκ θελǽματος ανδρός αλλ’ εκ θεού εγεννǽθæσαν. Και ο λόγος σαρξ εγένετο και εσκǽνωσεν εν æμίν και εθεασάμεθα την δόξαν αυτού δόξαν ως μονογενούς παρά πατρός πλǽρæς χάριτος και αληθείας
Apart from the etas and upsilons, and the bilabial pronunciation of phi and beta, it pretty much already was Modern Greek. And conversely, if you’re going to teach to spelling, Erasmian (or for that matter reconstructed Ancient Greek) are a more sensible choice anyway, as a stable target lining up with the spelling. It is in fact what you’re asking for, OP (“both the aspirated consonants and the diphthongs right”), as opposed to what was likely spoken at the time.
If the purpose is teaching, rather than jumping in a time machine to hear Greek spoken the way Mark and Paul spoke it, I’d stick with Erasmian.
Who is Michael Masiello?
Translation into English follows.
Μιχαὴλ ὁ Μασιέλλος διδάκτωρ, ἀνήρ ἐστι σοφολογιώτατος ἅμα καὶ ἐναρετότατος. Ἄλλ’ ἄλλοι περὶ αὐτοῦ καλῶς ἔφησαν· τοῦτ’ ἐγῶ φαίην.
Πῶς οὖν σοφολογιώτατος; Οὐ γε πυκνοὶ οἱ τῆς Κυόρας τρίβοι σοφολογιωτάτοις; Πάνυ γε. Ἀλλὰ τοιούτου εὔρους, οὕτω τε διδακτοφιλικῶς, οὐδαμῶς.
Πῶς γ’ οὖν ἐναρετότατος; Οὐ δὴ ὀργίλος καὶ βωμολόχος; Πάνυ γε. Φαῦλα τοῦτα ὅμως, φαῦλον καὶ ἐκ τούτων κατακρίνειν. Ὥς φησιν οἱ Τζέκωνες· Πρέσβυος μήδεα μὲν ἄκουε, πρέσβυος πορδὰς δὲ μή. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὀργίλον καὶ τὸ βωμολόχον, ἀνδρός ἐστι ἐναρέτου. Ὀργὴ γὰρ δικαίου, βωμολοχία τε ἀτόποις.
Διδάσκαλον βέλτιστον καλῶ αὐτόν, πολλάκις γάρ ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ διδασκόμενος, πολλάκις δ’ ἔτι διδασκοίμην ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ. Γέρον ἐμόν καλῶ αὐτόν, φραγκογαλλιστὶ ἅμα καὶ λατινιστί· ὁμήλικες γάρ ἐσμεν, ὑπὸ τῶν αὑτῶν ὠδίνων δαρόμενοι, τὸ αὑτό τε νηφάλιον χαλεπῶς κτούμενοι. Συμφράτερα καλῶ αὐτόν, δοκῶν αὐτὸν προσφιλέστατόν μοι φίλων καὶ σεβαστότατον ἁπάντων καὶ οἰκειότατον.
Ἐρρώσθω Μιχαὴλ ὁ Μασιέλλος. Ἀναγνώσατε αὐτοῦ· ὡραῖα γάρ.
Dr Michael Masiello is a man both most learned and most virtuous. Others have said other things about him, beautifully; let me say that of him.
How is he most learned? Are not the pathways of Quora dense with the learned? Very much so. But of such breadth, and with such love of teaching: in no wise.
And how is he most virtuous? Is he not indeed irascible and ribald? Very much so. However these are paltry things, and it is paltry to judge based on these things. As the Tsakonians say: Hearken to an old man’s counsels, not his farts. And yet, his ire and ribaldry are those of a virtuous man. For it is the ire of the righteous, and ribaldry towards the uncouth.
I call him best of teachers [Magister Optimus], for I have oft been taught by him, and may I yet be oft taught by him. I call him My Old Man, in both French and Latin [mon vieux, mi senex]; for we are of the same age, beaten down by the same pangs, attaining with difficulty the same sobriety. I call him my clansman [confrere], for I consider him my dearest of friends, and my most esteemed of all, and the most familiar to me.
Health to Michael Masiello. Read his writings; for they are beautiful.
What is the Greek translation of the poem in Michael Herzfeld’s book, “ours once more”?
Ah, that’s a famous ballad, integral to nation formation, and Herzfeld did right to focus on it. I do think you’re quoting my translation of it too!
Nick Nicholas’ answer to Do modern Greek people feel that Istanbul/Constantinople belongs to them?
Θρήνοι της Αλώσεως (29-05-1453). My translation into English.
Σημαίνει ὁ Θεός, σημαίνει ἡ γῆς, σημαίνουν τὰ ἐπουράνια,
σημαίνει κι ἡ Ἁγιά-Σοφιά, τὸ μέγα μοναστήρι,
μὲ τετρακόσια σήμαντρα κι ἑξήντα δυὸ καμπάνες,
κάθε καμπάνα καὶ παπᾶς, κάθε παπᾶς καὶ διάκος.
Ψάλλει ζερβὰ ὁ βασιλιάς, δεξιὰ ὁ πατριάρχης,
κι ἀπ᾿ τὴν πολλὴ τὴν ψαλμουδιὰ ἐσειόντανε οἱ κολόνες.
Νὰ μποῦνε στὸ χερουβικὸ καὶ νά ῾βγει ὁ βασιλέας,
φωνὴ τοὺς ἦρθε ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κι ἀπ᾿ ἀρχαγγέλου στόμα:
«Πάψετε τὸ χερουβικὸ κι ἂς χαμηλώσουν τ᾿ Ἅγια,
παπάδες πᾶρτε τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ σεῖς κεριὰ σβηστῆτε,
γιατί ῾ναι θέλημα Θεοῦ ἡ Πόλη νὰ τουρκέψει.
Μόν᾿ στεῖλτε λόγο στὴ Φραγκιά, νὰ ῾ρθοῦν τρία καράβια,
τό ῾να νὰ πάρει τὸ σταυρὸ καὶ τ᾿ ἄλλο τὸ βαγγέλιο,
τὸ τρίτο τὸ καλύτερο, τὴν ἅγια Τράπεζά μας,
μὴ μᾶς τὴν πάρουν τὰ σκυλιὰ καὶ μᾶς τὴ μαγαρίσουν».
Ἡ Δέσποινα ταράχτηκε καὶ δάκρυσαν οἱ εἰκόνες.
«Σώπασε κυρὰ Δέσποινα, καὶ μὴ πολυδακρύζῃς,
πάλι μὲ χρόνους, μὲ καιρούς, πάλι δικά μας θά ῾ναι».
God sounds; the earth sounds; and the heavens sound;
Haghia Sophia sounds, that mighty church,
with two-and-sixty bells, four hundred woodblocks.
For every bell: a priest; each priest: a deacon.
The King chants left, the Patriarch chants right.
They chant so loud, the very columns shake.
And when the Cherub hymn was coming in,
And when the King of All was coming out,
[allusion to the Cherubic hymn, which concludes with “welcoming the King of All”—i.e. Christ]
a voice came from an archangel in Heaven.
“Stop with the Cherubs, and take down the Holies.
Priests, take the sacred things. Go out, ye candles.
For God now wills the City to turn Turk.
Send word, then, to the West, to send three ships.
The first to take the Cross, the next the Bible,
the third and best to take our Holy Altar,
lest the curs take it from us and defile it.”
The Lady was upset; the icons wept.
“Quiet, Our Lady Mary, cry not so!
When times have passed, it will be ours once more.”
I discuss the ambiguity of the last verse in my previous answer.
How should you write third-person reflexive pronouns in a non-sexist way?
So, what’s the reflexive equivalent of non-binary (specific) or gender neutral (non-specific) they?
They are different, btw: you use the former for someone non-binary, and the latter for generic non-gender referents. E.g. Sam (who is intersex) recused XXX from…, vs. The chairperson shall recuse XXX from… The former is much newer than the latter.
Two clear solutions: James Cottam’s theirself, or OP’s tentative themselves.
James’ solution has the advantage of being accurate as to number. It has the disadvantage, (a) of being a novelty (which is precisely why they has proven so popular—it isn’t), and (b) disagreeing with the number of they that you are using everywhere else anyway.
Sam said that they were happy to observe the impact on their commitee [plural plural plural, familiar pronoun], but they [plural] have [plural] to recuse theirself [singular, and unfamiliar new pronoun] from any vote.
Myself, I’d go with your first instinct, OP. Themselves. You’ve assigned the plural as the subject already, that battle’s lost in all other ungendered references.
What are some (longer) words that appear or are considered false cognates, but which could plausibly be actual cognates?
My favourite example is Hawaiian meli “honey” and Greek meli “honey”. I have even seen a historical linguistics textbook say that’s a coincidence (Trask’s, I think.)
It’s not a coincidence.
The honeybee is not native to Hawaii. Honey is referenced in the New Testament. The New Testament needed to be translated by missionaries into Hawaiian.
…
… From Ancient Greek.