GREEK PRONUNCIATION 12 (Aspirate H, h)

This video explains why the so-called "rough breathing mark" symbol in Greek should not be pronounced. The presentation provides a brief historical background of aspirate H (h), explains the aspirate's status during the Classical Greek period, and gives a synopsis of its evolution into what in modern print looks like a raised inverted comma. The video also explains why the aspirate in the form of the letter H (h) in English words from Greek such as Hellenic, history, hypothesis, etc. is pronounced thanks to erroneous Erasmian concepts regarding the role of aspirate in Classical Greek.

[@fannyon9960]

thank again for the lesson

[@PhilemonZachariou]

You are welcome! -PZ

[@georgew1751]

Thanks for another great video Dr. Zachariou! I shall need to watch it several times and add it to my collection. I am becoming less and less impressed with the scholarship of Erasmus. I am wondering why, if the monks needed a method of pronunciation, they did not make a pilgrimage to Greece and talk with the monks and scholars there

[@PhilemonZachariou]

Hello, George. Your kind comments are reassuring. Thanks to social media such as KZbin, today many deserving inquiring minds can reap the benefits of the readily available historical evidence regarding the connection between Classical Attic, NT Greek, and Neohellenic pronunciation. Best regards. -PZ

[@learnbiblicalgreek316]

This is an interesting video. I agree that the h should not be pronounced whether it's a rough or smooth breathing. Why do Erasmians insist on introducing an intrusive h when many languages have a tendency to drop the “h”, a phenomenon which goes back centuries in the English language? There is evidence of h-dropping in writings from the 13th century onwards. It may have arisen through contact with the Normans, where h-dropping also occurred. Jokes which rely on the possible omission of the /h/ sound can be found in plays by Shakespeare and others. NT scribes and editors couldn’t make up their minds on whether certain words should have a smooth or rough breathing. Variant readings have the following words with rough and smooth breathings: Ἅννα / Ἄννα [Anna / Hanna]; Ἱεροσόλυμα, Ἰεροσόλυμα, Ἱεροσάλημα, Ἰερουσαλήμ and Ἱερουσαλήμ [Jerusalem]. Then there’s the word ἁλληλουϊά with a rough breathing which sometimes gets transliterated as “Hallelujah” and other times as “Alleluia” (see KJV Rev 19:1). The word ὁδός has a rough breathing which normally requires an “h” when transliterated into English but “odometer” is the more common spelling compared to “hodometer”. You mention the word “hemorrhoid”. An older form of the word is “emerod” without an “h”, and is found in the KJV 1 Sam 5:6. Do French and Spanish Erasmian supporters insist on pronouncing the rough breathing? If so, why don’t they pronounce the “h” in their own languages.

[@PhilemonZachariou]

Totally agreed. Thank you for pitching in with insightful tips. -PZ

[@unquietthoughts]

Is it okay to aspirate rough breathing in Attic greek?

[@PhilemonZachariou]

Thank you for your question. If by "aspirating" you mean audibly pronouncing the symbol H you see in Attic inscriptions or the breath mark ( ῾ ) in modern print as "h" in "have" or "hello," then you are following the tradition of the uninformed (or the well-informed-but-die-hard) Erasmian or some other associate; hence, it would be wise to cease that practice. But if you simply mean treating the rough breath mark as a silent mark, then that is fine, at least for technical purposes. For example, in so doing, you would be in a position to understand elision forms such as ἀπὸ + οὗ = ἀφ᾽ οὗ, forms that became phonetically standardized earlier on in archaic Greek and eventually reached Classical Attic. Such elision forms were passed on to Hellenistic Greek, and from there to Byzantine and down to Neohellenic (Modern Greek). I am glad that you saw video #12. -PZ

[@Skyfireminecraft]

Hi Dr, do you have digital version of your books?

[@PhilemonZachariou]

Thank you for asking. There is a digital version of the following two books: Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek: Historical Pronunciation versus Erasmian (Wipf & Stock Publishers). Amazon currently lists this as an eBook at the incredibly low price of $2.99. Elsewhere, it is listed at $16.00 or higher. You may have to take time to examine the tables, as a few of the lines may look misaligned. Another one of my books, The Proselytizer, is also listed on Kindle at the lowest price allowable, $2.99. If questions, please contact me at [e-mail]. -PZ