Two Quick Words I should Probably already Know

[Elisha]

What does 'Thanatos' mean and who was Erasmus?  Thanks.  There are two posters by these names on a skydiving message board I hang out on.  Maybe they're Orthodox?

[Αριστοκλής]

'Thanatos' - θανατος - means 'death' in Greek.

And, if I recall correctly, Erasmus was a sixteenth century German humanist.

An Orthodox connection seems doubtful.

[Elisha]

[quote author=Αριστοκλής link=topic=6706.msg87750#msg87750 date=1121904032]
'Thanatos' - θανατος - means 'death' in Greek.

And, if I recall correctly, Erasmus was a sixteenth century German humanist.

An Orthodox connection seems doubtful.
[/quote]

Probably right.  Thanks - I suspected it may not have been the nicer part of "Christos Anesti..."

Ironically, "Thanatos" posted something about cutting himself, getting some blood on his chute and how to get it off.  Someone responded that he may want to leave it on, given his name.  Surprised that someone else seemed to know what the person's name meant.

[ozgeorge]

ÂÂ  Someone responded that he may want to leave it on, given his name.ÂÂ  Surprised that someone else seemed to know what the person's name meant.

In psychology, "Thanatos" is the name given to the "death wish"- which is where the person may have known it if they don't speak greek.

[jlerms]

Does this mean that the skydiver has a death wish? 

[Elisha]

Does this mean that the skydiver has a death wish?ÂÂ  

Maybe?  Seriously though, the vast majority of skydivers just want to go out a have a good time by way of a sporting activity.  It really is becoming mainstream versus 15+ years ago.  I heard someone say that Scuba Diving is more dangerous and fatality statistics certainly show that driving your car is as well.

[GiC]

Erasmus was a late 15th and Early 16th Century Dutch humanist, and contemporary of Martin Luther. He was an advocate of free will and supported compromise between the Catholic Church and the Protestants (though he remained catholic), his most famous work I can think of is 'On Free Will.' His most lasting accomplishments, however, were in the Field of Linguistics, where he determined Classical Pronunciations for Greek and Latin based on Ancient verse.

[Αριστοκλής]

Yes, Erasmus did formulate an artificial system of Greek prounciation. And he did disavow it when it was shown to be in error (to his credit). Problem is...it stuck in the west because it made spelling Greek easier. And this does lead to the impression that Ancient, Koini, and modern Greek are so very different when they are not.

[GiC]

The pronunciation may not be perfect; however, it is the best pronunciation we have for Homeric Verse and other Ancient Poets. The Modern or Koine Pronunciation simply does not work with them; but though his vowel pronunciations have some credibility on that account, consonants are more difficult to judge as they must be measured using less certain linguistic rules.

I do not see how this creates a discrepancy in the evolution of the Greek language, vowel and other pronunciation shifts are found in every language. Grimm's Law is applicable to Indo-European Language be it English, German, Russian, Latin, Persian, Sanskirt, or Greek; and concerning vowel shifts, there is evidence for at least two great vowel shifts (as well as numerous minor one) in English since the norman conquest (not counting the radical linguistic upheval of that period and the next couple centuries). The first was between Chaucer and Modern English, towards the end of the Middle English Era, and the Other has occured within the Modern English Era.

[jmbejdl]

The pronunciation may not be perfect; however, it is the best pronunciation we have for Homeric Verse and other Ancient Poets. The Modern or Koine Pronunciation simply does not work with them; but though his vowel pronunciations have some credibility on that account, consonants are more difficult to judge as they must be measured using less certain linguistic rules.

I do not see how this creates a discrepancy in the evolution of the Greek language, vowel and other pronunciation shifts are found in every language. Grimm's Law is applicable to Indo-European Language be it English, German, Russian, Latin, Persian, Sanskirt, or Greek; and concerning vowel shifts, there is evidence for at least two great vowel shifts (as well as numerous minor one) in English since the norman conquest (not counting the radical linguistic upheval of that period and the next couple centuries). The first was between Chaucer and Modern English, towards the end of the Middle English Era, and the Other has occured within the Modern English Era.

True, although the latter only affected southern and 'official' English. In the north the purer, more European vowel sounds hung on and are still used today. That's why I have to chuckle when I hear Americans talk of British accents and doing either a 'mockney' or 'plumby' accent - the vast majority of Britons don't speak at all like that. Oh, and American vowels have also shifted away from even standard British ones - the difference in pronunciation of words like 'hot' and 'caught' being the most obvious (American hot sounds more like British hat and caught almost like cart).

James

[FrChris]

This is an aside, but I believe in public praise whenever big strides are made...

The pronunciation may not be perfect; however, it is the best pronunciation we have for Homeric Verse and other Ancient Poets. The Modern or Koine Pronunciation simply does not work with them; but though his vowel pronunciations have some credibility on that account, consonants are more difficult to judge as they must be measured using less certain linguistic rules.

I do not see how this creates a discrepancy in the evolution of the Greek language, vowel and other pronunciation shifts are found in every language. Grimm's Law is applicable to Indo-European Language be it English, German, Russian, Latin, Persian, Sanskirt, or Greek; and concerning vowel shifts, there is evidence for at least two great vowel shifts (as well as numerous minor one) in English since the norman conquest (not counting the radical linguistic upheval of that period and the next couple centuries). The first was between Chaucer and Modern English, towards the end of the Middle English Era, and the Other has occured within the Modern English Era.

GisC, you and I have discussed this previously, and I am very glad to see that you are resisting the temptation of randomly capitalizing words! These paragraphs are as close to Standard English as I have seen you write, and while there are some improvements that can be made, you are definately heading in the right direction!

Now, I do not think your behavior change was done due to my suggestion, but I take progress whenever I can...

[Tags:]

OrthodoxChristianity.net > Moderated Forums > Free-For-All > Religious Topics (Moderator: Carl Kraeff (Second Chance)) > Topic: Two Quick Words I should Probably already Know