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Month: August 2017
How is the Dené-Caucasian theory considered among serious linguists?
I knew linguists that had worked with long-rangers (those who propose wide-ranging linguistic affiliations); I have in fact met the late Sergei Starostin, proofread contributions by John Bengtson, and read issues of Mother Tongue (journal). I even have a quote from Mother Tongue as one of my .sigs, though not approvingly: “Assuming, for whatever reasons, […]
Do they have pazza, Πατσά, in Melbourne restaurants at 6am, the way they do in Greece?
Patsas (Tripe soup) is a Greek hangover cure specialty. It occupies the same niche in Greece that a late night kebab occupies in Britain. Or Australia. The answer is, not really; Stalactites would be the obvious place to do it (one of the few remnants of the original Greektown in the CBD, which is open […]
Do linguists think that teaching prescriptive grammar should be banned at school? It bombards students with controversial statements they can’t evaluate yet and gives them a wrong idea of what linguistics is about.
You may be surprised to hear me say this, given the debate I’ve just had on a related question, but not quite. Kids have to learn how to speak Job Interview. Linguistics, as a science, dispassionately observes the fact that there is such a variant of the language as Job Interview. Linguistics knows that native […]
What is the so-called Greek word Albania/Αλβανιά (derogatory word), and from what does it stem?
There’s a lot of subtle linguistic history going on here. The –ia suffix for names of countries did not get used much in the vernacular of 1800, but when it did, it was pronounced in the vernacular way, as –ja: the vernacular did not tolerate -e– or –i– as a separate syllable before another vowel, […]
What does the ancient Greek word ‘βρουχος’ mean?
Like Riccardo Radici’s answer says: It is a variant of βροῦκος = locust (see: Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, Βροῦκος) OP has expanded on his inquiry: Its a word in the Greek Septuagint. Ive seen it translated in 3 different ways: Caterpilar,grasshopper,or lightning. But I have no idea how they came with […]
Is there a tradition someplace in Greece, to give a special name to your last girl to get a male child?
Ah, you know there is, OP. Greeks do have a tradition of omen-names they give kids, once they’re run out of grandparents to name their kids after—although with the drop of children per mother, and of traditional superstitions, they are probably no longer issued. Greeks did not like female births, because they cost them. Less […]
How would you translate “Ithaca-bound” (as in “sailing towards Ithaca”) into Ancient Greek (Homeric or Attic work)?
Ἰθάκηνδε, which occurs five times in the Odyssey (1.88, 1.163, 11.361, 15.157, 16.322). Answered 2017-08-13 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/How-would-you-translate-Ithaca-bound-as-in-sailing-towards-Ithaca-into-Ancient-Greek-Homeric-or-Attic-work/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
How did the Byzantine Empire named the Mediterranean Sea?
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium confirms John Bard’s answer: As late as the 4th C., the Mediterranean continued to be an “inner sea,” totally surrounded by the territory of the Roman Empire. It was the only sea for Greeks, the esō thalassa [internal sea] (Aristotle) as opposed to the exō thalassa [external sea] or ocean; […]
English spelling is infamously irregular. Is it possible for it to branch into several categories (e.g., Germanic spelling, French spelling, Greek spelling, etc.)?
Yes indeed. Bear in mind in particular that Greek and Latin fall under the rules of Traditional English pronunciation of Latin. (Greek is almost always borrowed into English via Latin; but there are late exceptions like kudos, not †cydus.) Those rules are not the rules of French words in English. For example, final –e in […]
Do you, as a Greek, think that Brazilians cannot pronounce Greek correctly? See my comment.
Yiannis Tsiolis’ answer nails it: There are three “components” in to verbalising a language. One is the correct pronounsiaton of vowels and consonants, the other is the correct intonation but the most important is how well you know the language (vocabulary, grammar, syntax, catchphrases). Unless one can copy all three there is hardly a chance […]