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ArchivesRe: Question about Teopista
in reply to a message by Dorchadas
Wait, so does that mean that Teofista and Teofisto are just modern variants of Teopista? Or are they just the Spanish forms of another name like Theophistos? Does that also mean that Theo- becomes Teo- in English, or is that just the exception? By the way, thank you so much for the information!
This message was edited 7/31/2021, 4:34 PM
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I wouldn't know about modern (depends on which era they were first used in), but Teofista and Teofisto would certainly be variants of respectively Teopista and Teopisto. After all, there is no such thing as Greek names like Θεοφιστος (Theophistos; masculine) and Θεοφιστη (Theophiste; feminine):
https://glg.csic.es/NombresGriegosDePersona/ListasNombres/NombresDePersona_Q.html (in Spanish)
There are not even regular (Ancient) Greek vocabulary words that start with:
• φηστ- (phest-), which becomes fist- in modern Greek: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?type=start&lookup=fhst&lang=greek (in English)
• φιστ- (phist-), which becomes fist- in modern Greek: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?type=start&lookup=fist&lang=greek (in English)
As such, the second element of those non-existent names could never be of Greek origin (at the very least).
No, that is more like a variant. Just like in French, the -h- in Greek Theo- is traditionally preserved in English. I suppose that might possibly even be one of the many French influences on the English language. Θεόδωρος (Theodoros) becomes Theodore in English, Θεοφάνης (Theophanes) becomes Theophan, and so forth.
The cases where Greek Theo- becomes Teo- in English, are non-standard and non-traditional. In medieval times, insufficient literacy was often to blame for such cases, i.e. the Teo- spelling was unintentional. In modern times, the Teo- spelling will in most cases be quite intentional: parents these days are often inclined to seek less traditional spellings in order to make their child "stand out" from the masses.
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Does that mean in English-speaking African countries, Teopista is a variant of Theopista? Again, thanks!
This message was edited 7/31/2021, 7:10 PM
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Whether the form "Teo-" or "Theo-" occurs in English will depend on where the name is borrowed from in that particular instance. English is one of the rare languages where the "th" phoneme occurs. Most other European languages lost it or never had it (not even all Greek dialects used it). Note that in English there was a period where French trained scribes would have avoided it, even if native English speakers still used it in a name.
This message was edited 8/2/2021, 9:17 PM
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Yes, I would say so! :) (edited)
You just edited your message, and put in different question. The message was originally something along the lines of:
To that, I would say so, yes.
Now your message reads:
There might possibly be certain African influences and nuances on the English spoken in the relevant countries on the African continent. If that is indeed the case, then I am not aware of them, but they do make the matter less straightforward. It could then be that the loss of the -h- in Greek Theo- is due to those African influences instead. It's difficult to say. Since I am unlikely to find out anything about that anytime soon, for now I will just err on the side of caution and say that in English in general, Teopista is indeed a variant of Theopista.
You just edited your message, and put in different question. The message was originally something along the lines of:
To that, I would say so, yes.
Now your message reads:
There might possibly be certain African influences and nuances on the English spoken in the relevant countries on the African continent. If that is indeed the case, then I am not aware of them, but they do make the matter less straightforward. It could then be that the loss of the -h- in Greek Theo- is due to those African influences instead. It's difficult to say. Since I am unlikely to find out anything about that anytime soon, for now I will just err on the side of caution and say that in English in general, Teopista is indeed a variant of Theopista.
This message was edited 7/31/2021, 7:42 PM
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Oh, okay! Here is my final thank you:
Thank you!
Thank you!
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