ext_17913 ([identity profile] ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] sovay 2012-11-25 12:33 am (UTC)

Yeah: as I've been reminded the one or two times I've dropped by the local orthodox church (which is a story in itself)

Coolness. I've never done that, although I keep thinking I should at least go to Mass at a Byzantine Rite parish some Sunday.

I'd been aware of the beta to v-sound thing, and some of the vowel changes, but I'd not realised before finding out about Εύβοια that the upsilons had gone to ν. Seems a funny sort of sound change, although I suppose it's no stranger than medial gutterals and suchlike dropping out and ending up with dipthongs. (Which is what happened in Irish--some of those spellings were in use within living memory, although the sound-shifts had been there for centuries, as best I understand it.)

when modern greek needs to express that that a sound is a hard b, they do some very odd diphthongs: thus Μπίρα for Beer.

Interesting! I didn't know that.

I wish I'd been able to take Modern Greek instead of Ancient--I think I'd have learnt it better, and in New England I'd be able to get a great deal of use out of it.

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