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Help[Facts] Greek Names
I'm reading Troy, by Adele Geras, right now, and I don't know how to pronounce a lot of the names. Can anyone help?
Charitomene
Xanthe
Alastor
Theano
Halie
Danae
Astyanax
Andromache
Polyxena
Priam
Iason
Aithre
Charitomene
Xanthe
Alastor
Theano
Halie
Danae
Astyanax
Andromache
Polyxena
Priam
Iason
Aithre
1
Replies
Thanks Christo for putting things so eloquently into perspective!
For anyone interested, here is the native GReek pronounciation
Charitomene = harry-toe-MENy
Xanthe = ksan-THEE (TH pronounced as Sylvester would pronounce thufferin' thuccotash)
Alastor = al-ASS-tor
Theano = the-ann-O (the pronounced again as Sylvester would. O as in Jackie 'O))
Halie = never heard of it as a Greek name
Danae = than-A-ee (th pronounced as in "though")
Astyanax = asti-ANN-ax
Andromache = andro-MA-hi
Polyxena = polly-KSE-ny
Priam = PREE-am-oss
Iason = ee-ASS-on
Aithre = ETH-ree (eth as in ethel)
For anyone interested, here is the native GReek pronounciation
Charitomene = harry-toe-MENy
Xanthe = ksan-THEE (TH pronounced as Sylvester would pronounce thufferin' thuccotash)
Alastor = al-ASS-tor
Theano = the-ann-O (the pronounced again as Sylvester would. O as in Jackie 'O))
Halie = never heard of it as a Greek name
Danae = than-A-ee (th pronounced as in "though")
Astyanax = asti-ANN-ax
Andromache = andro-MA-hi
Polyxena = polly-KSE-ny
Priam = PREE-am-oss
Iason = ee-ASS-on
Aithre = ETH-ree (eth as in ethel)
1
The discussion below is very interesting.
Actually, most references to the term "pronunciation" in this site could be confusing. In any case, it should be specified what kind of pronunciation is being meant.
In this case, at least three meanings are possible:
- the ancient pronunciation in Greek and Latin
- the new Greek pronunciation
- the traditional English pronunciation
My comments are given below. The traditional English pronunciation is excluded from my considerations.
In contrast to modern English, the spelling rules in Greek and Latin are very simple. E.g. final "E"s should be heard.
For the new Greek pronunciation, we are to trust native Greeks.
Greek names are known by their Latin spelling (transliteration). For the ancient pronunciation in Greek and Latin, we can trust native Italians, in greatest degree. Anyway, each letter may usually have just one phonetic value. E.g., "X" is always "ks", never "kz" or "z". Similarly, "S" is always "s", never "z" in the ancient pronunciation. In the new Greek, "S" sometimes is "z" and "X" is "kz" sometimes. There are no such cases in the list of discussed names, however.
There are special Greek letters for "TH" and "CH" whose ancient pronunciation is not feasible to people speaking any modern European languages. Therefore, we have to use the modern Greek and/or English pronunciation. Only the voiceless English "th" (as in "three") should be used for "TH". For "CH", the usually proposed "k" can only be an approximation. Another approximation can be the sound "x" which exists in new Greek, Slavic languages, Hungarian or Turkish. Some people say the same sound should be heard in Scottish "loch".
The stress position is very important for the pronunciation of Greek names. We can rely on Native Greeks about it. In Greek spelling, the stress position is marked.
The length of vowels was also important. Now, it is feasible to native Italians only. For modern Greek, only the length of "E" is of some imortance: the anciant long "e" is pronounced as "i" (English "ee") now.
Greek names have different forms in Nominative and in the other cases. Sometimes, the Nominative form is shorter in the number of syllables.
Actually, most references to the term "pronunciation" in this site could be confusing. In any case, it should be specified what kind of pronunciation is being meant.
In this case, at least three meanings are possible:
- the ancient pronunciation in Greek and Latin
- the new Greek pronunciation
- the traditional English pronunciation
My comments are given below. The traditional English pronunciation is excluded from my considerations.
In contrast to modern English, the spelling rules in Greek and Latin are very simple. E.g. final "E"s should be heard.
For the new Greek pronunciation, we are to trust native Greeks.
Greek names are known by their Latin spelling (transliteration). For the ancient pronunciation in Greek and Latin, we can trust native Italians, in greatest degree. Anyway, each letter may usually have just one phonetic value. E.g., "X" is always "ks", never "kz" or "z". Similarly, "S" is always "s", never "z" in the ancient pronunciation. In the new Greek, "S" sometimes is "z" and "X" is "kz" sometimes. There are no such cases in the list of discussed names, however.
There are special Greek letters for "TH" and "CH" whose ancient pronunciation is not feasible to people speaking any modern European languages. Therefore, we have to use the modern Greek and/or English pronunciation. Only the voiceless English "th" (as in "three") should be used for "TH". For "CH", the usually proposed "k" can only be an approximation. Another approximation can be the sound "x" which exists in new Greek, Slavic languages, Hungarian or Turkish. Some people say the same sound should be heard in Scottish "loch".
The stress position is very important for the pronunciation of Greek names. We can rely on Native Greeks about it. In Greek spelling, the stress position is marked.
The length of vowels was also important. Now, it is feasible to native Italians only. For modern Greek, only the length of "E" is of some imortance: the anciant long "e" is pronounced as "i" (English "ee") now.
Greek names have different forms in Nominative and in the other cases. Sometimes, the Nominative form is shorter in the number of syllables.
1
These are just guesses, since my last lesson on Greek names was nearly 4 years ago!
Charitomene - kar-ih-to-MEE-nee
Xanthe (see Miranda's)
Alastor - AL-a-stor
Theano - TEE-ah-no
Halie - HA-lee (I've never seen that one!)
Danae (see my reply to Miranda's)
Astyanax - ASS-tee-an-ax
Andromache - an-DRO-ma-kee (I know that one for a fact)
Polyxena (see my reply to Miranda's)
Priam (see Miranda's
Iason *I think* YAY-son
Aithre *I think* AY-three
Charitomene - kar-ih-to-MEE-nee
Xanthe (see Miranda's)
Alastor - AL-a-stor
Theano - TEE-ah-no
Halie - HA-lee (I've never seen that one!)
Danae (see my reply to Miranda's)
Astyanax - ASS-tee-an-ax
Andromache - an-DRO-ma-kee (I know that one for a fact)
Polyxena (see my reply to Miranda's)
Priam (see Miranda's
Iason *I think* YAY-son
Aithre *I think* AY-three
1
Thanks, Chrisell
I can tell that Serenity's pronunciations are very wrong. lol.
I was pretty sure about how to pronounce Xanthe, Andromache and some others, but the ones I was having the most trouble with were Astyanax and Iason. I tried out different ways of saying them and none ever sounded right! haha.
I can tell that Serenity's pronunciations are very wrong. lol.
I was pretty sure about how to pronounce Xanthe, Andromache and some others, but the ones I was having the most trouble with were Astyanax and Iason. I tried out different ways of saying them and none ever sounded right! haha.
1
just to bother you for a while
you all use the British/American English way to pronounce it
i mean, the one u are so sure about: andromache
it is not pronounced like that in GREEK or in my language: Dutch
see, the 'ch' in the word 'andromache' is the greek letter CHI and not KAPPA, so it is pronounced like the 'g' in Dutch or the 'j' in Spanish (before letters like the a, e, i, o or u)
you all use the British/American English way to pronounce it
i mean, the one u are so sure about: andromache
it is not pronounced like that in GREEK or in my language: Dutch
see, the 'ch' in the word 'andromache' is the greek letter CHI and not KAPPA, so it is pronounced like the 'g' in Dutch or the 'j' in Spanish (before letters like the a, e, i, o or u)
1