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Category Archives: Greek

December 17, 2019
by Graham
4 Comments

Cheops

Cheops is the well-known name of the Egyptian Pharaoh whose tomb is the Great Pyramid at Gizeh. This is actually the Greek form of the name, and in modern times he has had his name ‘re-egyptianized’, if I may coin … Continue reading →

Categories: French, Greek, Language, Names | Tags: bbc, english, French, pronunciation, reporters, speech | Permalink

November 7, 2018
by Graham
2 Comments

Bellerophon

Until about two years ago, I had never heard any pronunciation for this Greek name other than that given by all the current English pronunciation dictionaries: /bəˈlerəfɒn/ (with allowances for varying qualities of unstressed vowels). Then I went to a … Continue reading →

Categories: Greek, Language, Names | Tags: english, pronunciation, speech, spelling | Permalink

May 30, 2016
by gpointon
4 Comments

Some data on criteria for plural phenomena in English

In response to Matthew Phillips’ comment on my last post, I thought I should add more on Latin and Greek plurals in English. He raises the question of consortia being used as a singular noun in English, but is relieved … Continue reading →

Categories: Greek, Language, Latin | Tags: english | Permalink

May 11, 2016
by gpointon
0 comments

A Little Learning

Until the end of the 19th Century, when, in Britain at least, we began to have universal education, most people, however intelligent they were, didn’t have access to as much knowledge as we have today. The ‘educated’ classes tended still … Continue reading →

Categories: Greek, Language, Latin, Names | Tags: english, place names, pronunciation, spelling | Permalink

January 3, 2016
by gpointon
6 Comments

Diplodocus

My friend and co-author Stewart Clark has drawn my attention to this BBC blog, which discusses the ‘correct’ pronunciation of the dinosaur’s name. Apparently the Natural History Museum, which is moving its model, stresses the third syllable: /ËŒdɪpləʊˈdÉ’kÉ™s/ on the … Continue reading →

Categories: Greek, Language, Latin, Names | Tags: bbc, english, pronunciation, speech | Permalink

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  • The Queen’s English – literally (2)
    • Graham: Sidney – I’ve not only just read Fabricius (2007) but also gone back to the Harrington et al...
    • Sidney Wood: Fabricius (2007 in JIPA) found that virtually no-one born after 1945 acquired the old closer TRAP in RP....
  • Accentism (3)
    • Sidney Wood: Graham, that’s a neater way of putting it. No deliberate decisions to change. And which direction...
    • Graham: Sidney – I can’t say that my accent is the same now as it was fifty five years ago, just before I...
    • Sidney Wood: Graham, regarding the last paragraph. In the 1950s as my national (military) service was coming to an...
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    • Graham: Good point! I wasn’t considering such compounds.
    • Laura Nass: also “stronghold” and “bighearted”
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    • Graham: Mink – I’m sure you’re right. Your phrase “phonetic overgeneralisation” is what...
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    • Graham: Paul – I did have my suspicions, but didn’t like to ask the young lady who answered the door...
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    • Graham: Bernard Shaw (and before him, Oscar Wilde) once said that the UK and the USA were two countries divided by a...

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