Yesterday, there was some disagreement as to how to pronounce a particular word we were encountering in World Lit. The word was Mycenaean.
I have always loved language and the picky details of it (though, granted, I have not always been as persnickety about finding the correct answer as I have about winning an argument--usually with my son at the dinner table). Still, if I'm teaching a subject, I like to try to be correct, and I'm willing to sacrifice pride for accuracy. With my son as the challenger, I have learned the lesson of humility.
I took the question of "Mycenaean" to the dinner table. My son also did not know if it was My-sin-EE-an (as I pronounced it), or My-SIN-ee-an (as it is apparently pronounced in History class). The mystery deepened!
My rule of thumb in pronouncing Latin or Greek is generally to pronounce every letter (except in the case of digraphs), but that doesn't help with figuring out what syllable receives the emphasis, so we had to resort to our friend Google. Even then, concerning the "correct" pronunciation, there is room for variety!
Here's what we found: Audio pronunciation Mycenaean
However, my personal opinion is that the other way is fine also.
ADDITIONALLY:
Here's some help with Greek names that may be encountered in the Iliad: Greek Pronunciation Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment