Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 23/07/2005 15:39, David P Donnelly wrote:

> ...
> What do you think Peter?
>  
> Are  these above three sites telling the truth?
>  

I don't think these sites are telling deliberate lies. But I think they 
are saying more about modern American English pronunciation than ancient 
Latin.

In standard British English words like "Bob" are pronounced with a 
clearly rounded "o" vowel. But in most American dialects this vowel has 
lost its rounding, so that "Bob" sounds like "Bahb" and is 
indistinguishable from "Bub". (This is one of the easiest ways for us 
Brits to spot an American accent - and the British "Mum" and American 
"Mom" are pronounced almost the same.) The traditional pronunciation of 
Latin by English speakers, probably originating in England, identifies 
(rather misleadingly) the Latin long and short "o" with the English long 
and short "o" sounds. And when American speakers follow these 
pronunciation guidelines, they end up with a sound like "ah" for short 
"o". In fact the Latin sounds are much more likely to have sounded like 
the modern Spanish or Italian "o", short and long with similar qualities.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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