From: Edgar M. Krentz (emkrentz@mcs.com)
Date: Wed Jul 31 1996 - 18:05:34 EDT
>I am interested in the different pronunciations that various list users use
>in their classes they teach, particularly for vowels which have had various
>pronunciation like Omicron, dipthongs like EI, etc.
>
>Jim McGuire
>Professor of Greek at
>Logos Bible Institute
>13248 Roscoe Blvd.
>Sun Valley, CA 91352
Pronunciation of ancient Greek is a fascinating problem. I do not teach the
pronunciation used in modern Greek, even though it is close to that of the
early Roman Empire period, for the reason Carl Conrad gave.
I use a modifed Erasmian pronunciation, taught to me years ago by Prof.
Saul Levin, an outstanding comparitive linguist. He taught me that omega is
an extended omicron, for example, close to awe in sound, not a long oo.
I favor a system of pronunciation in which every letter and diphthong has
its own distinctive pronunciation. If one learns that one always knows how
to spell what one hears. Thus the iota at the end of AI, OI, EI, etc.
appears as a kind of final glide into an English e sound. I teach students
to prohounce the rough breathing that would have stood over an initial
vowel or rho when the word is in a compound, e.g. in PARhRHSIA.
This is a didactic maneuver that, IMHO, commends itself against a more
purist use of a reconstructed pronunciation that leads to awful spelling.
See Carl Conrad's posting.
Edgar Krentz
Prof. of New Testament, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615
TEl.: Office: 312-256-0752; Home: 312-947-8105
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