3 ms·

> My trans. "Muriochane/Muiochane Shouldn't that be 'my(r)iochane'? And wouldn't that be ten thousand instead of one?

adrian_b 2y ago
In a Latin transcription, the Greek "u psilon" (simple u) may be written as either "u" or "y", without causing ambiguities. The Greek vowel had been originally pronounced the same as Latin u, so the old borrowings in Latin from Greek write it as "u". Then, by the time from which most classical Greek literature has been preserved, the pronunciation of "u psilon" has been modified in most contexts to become a front rounded vowel, like the French "u" or the German "ü". Because of this, in later Latin the letter "Y" has been created and added to the Latin alphabet, to write the front rounded vowel of the contemporaneous Greek, which had no Latin correspondent. Latin "y" is normally preferable for writing Greek "u psilon", unless the discussion is about older attestations of words (like in Homer) or about the etymology of Greek words, when it is preferable to write "u psilon" as "u", to match the old pronunciation or the vowels of the cognate words.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  > In a Latin transcription, the Greek "u psilon" (simple u) may be written as either "u" or "y", without causing ambiguities. There's no ambiguity if you already know whatever Greek word is at issue. But by that standard, there is also no ambiguity if you represent every Greek word with the spelling "x". If all you know is the transcription, "u" would be expected to correspond to Greek ου. This isn't really an ambiguity, but it will instantly become one if you start using "u" to correspond to υ as well. > Latin "y" is normally preferable for writing Greek "u psilon", unless the discussion is about older attestations of words (like in Homer) or about the etymology of Greek words, when it is preferable to write "u psilon" as "u" Well, the timing here is Hippocrates, who appears to be contemporaneous with "Thucydides". It is an etymological discussion, but writing "muriochane" seems more like an attempt to intentionally obscure the root of "myriad" than an attempt to make it clearer.

In a Latin transcription, the Greek "u psilon" (simple u) may be written as either "u" or "y", without causing ambiguities. The Greek vowel had been originally pronounced the same as Latin u, so the old borrowings in Latin from Greek write it as "u". Then, by the time from which most classical Greek literature has been preserved, the pronunciation of "u psilon" has been modified in most contexts to become a front rounded vowel, like the French "u" or the German "ü". Because of this, in later Latin the letter "Y" has been created and added to the Latin alphabet, to write the front rounded vowel of the contemporaneous Greek, which had no Latin correspondent. Latin "y" is normally preferable for writing Greek "u psilon", unless the discussion is about older attestations of words (like in Homer) or about the etymology of Greek words, when it is preferable to write "u psilon" as "u", to match the old pronunciation or the vowels of the cognate words.

thaumasiotes 2y ago
> In a Latin transcription, the Greek "u psilon" (simple u) may be written as either "u" or "y", without causing ambiguities. There's no ambiguity if you already know whatever Greek word is at issue. But by that standard, there is also no ambiguity if you represent every Greek word with the spelling "x". If all you know is the transcription, "u" would be expected to correspond to Greek ου. This isn't really an ambiguity, but it will instantly become one if you start using "u" to correspond to υ as well. > Latin "y" is normally preferable for writing Greek "u psilon", unless the discussion is about older attestations of words (like in Homer) or about the etymology of Greek words, when it is preferable to write "u psilon" as "u" Well, the timing here is Hippocrates, who appears to be contemporaneous with "Thucydides". It is an etymological discussion, but writing "muriochane" seems more like an attempt to intentionally obscure the root of "myriad" than an attempt to make it clearer.