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Monarch
01-28-2006, 14:46
I was just wondering how you pronounce Ptolemaic?

Also Seleucid, I alwayd pronounced it Sel-u-sid but that's probably not correct?

Craterus
01-28-2006, 16:16
It's a silent P.

I've always pronounced Seleucid in the same way as you.

Mouzafphaerre
01-28-2006, 16:42
.
Pto-lo-ma-yik (softish p like a b)
Se-le-wkid

Have to wait t see my pronounciation guide again until they deliver my HD from the recovery though.
.

Sjakihata
01-28-2006, 18:23
eu together in greek has a special prounciation. I cant really type it, but in danish there is a letter for eu which ø. Eu is like euw said quickly.

KukriKhan
01-28-2006, 19:03
http://www.answers.com/seleucid&r=67

Has a little speaker icon for sound-pronunciation. Turns out I've been mis-pronouncing it for years (copying some guy on the History Channel).

Sjakihata
01-28-2006, 20:27
To my best understanding, that is not the right pronounciation. Maybe it is special for anglosaxon, like latin words sound completely wrong when a brit or american speaks it.

L'Impresario
01-28-2006, 21:43
Well, that's the correct pronounciation for english, I gather that you 're comparing them with the original greek ones, which are indeed different.

Monarch
01-28-2006, 22:16
http://www.answers.com/seleucid&r=67

Has a little speaker icon for sound-pronunciation. Turns out I've been mis-pronouncing it for years (copying some guy on the History Channel).

Ok. According to that I prounounce Seleucid just about right.

Also according to answers ptolemaic= Tol-e-may-ick

Rodion Romanovich
01-28-2006, 22:47
I've always wondered how to pronounce vae victis...

Craterus
01-28-2006, 23:50
Also according to answers ptolemaic= Tol-e-may-ick

That's how I say it. I think that's the common anglicised pronunciation.

Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
01-28-2006, 23:52
"way wictis?" or maybe "wey wictis?"

We English Latinize Greek words and then pronounce them as though in English. Very silly.

Mouzafphaerre
01-29-2006, 00:26
I've always wondered how to pronounce vae victis...
.
Vay viktis, ay identical to German ei or English I.
.

Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
01-29-2006, 00:46
except there's no V is Latin, its pronounced W. Sorry I couldn't remember it ae was A or E.

BDC
01-29-2006, 00:51
Phalanx?

Kagemusha
01-29-2006, 04:01
You indo europeans have strange problems.~D We Finns pronounce everything like its written.:burnout:

Samurai Waki
01-29-2006, 07:30
Vae Victus is pronounced W-eye- W-ict-us the ae sounds like eye in english.

Phalanx I'm pretty sure it sounds exactley how its spelled F-al-anks

LeftEyeNine
01-29-2006, 07:41
You indo europeans have strange problems.~D We Finns pronounce everything like its written.:burnout:

Same here ~:)

:bow:

Ironside
01-29-2006, 10:13
You indo europeans have strange problems.~D We Finns pronounce everything like its written.:burnout:

But then, this is the way you write... ~;)

Suomen pääkaupunki, yliopistokaupunki

Tapahtuu
Tapahtumat, uutiset ja
ajankohtaiset asiat

Liikenne, kartat ja sää
Aikataulut, reittikartat, opaskartta, sää

Yliopistokampukset
Helsingin yliopisto, opiskelijavalinta, muut yliopistot ja ammattikorkeakoulut

Helsingin seutu ja Suomi
Pääkaupunkiseudun palveluja, tietoa Suomesta

Kaupungin palvelut
Koulutus-, terveys- ja sosiaalipalvelut, yrityspalvelut ja muut palvelut, palveluhakemistot

Matkailu
Matkailupalvelut, kongressit, nähtävää ja koettavaa, panoraamakierros

Avaintietoa
Kaupunki ja yliopisto tänään, tilastoja, historiaa

From the homepage about Helsinki.

But, removing the problems of separate spelling from the spoken word is always good :2thumbsup: , no though and tough to worry about.

Monarch
01-29-2006, 11:34
Phalanx?

On Time Commanders the TV show that uses the RTW engine, when refering to phanxes the experts always said: Fal-anks

Atilius
01-29-2006, 11:51
A few rules for pronunciation of Latin consonants:


The letter "c" is always pronounced as if it were a "k" - this means that Cicero is pronounced KIH-keh-roh.

The letter "g" always sounds like the g in "gap", never like the g in "age".

The letter "s" always sounds like the s in "set", never like the s in "cars". (So in the phrase "Ars gratia artis", both letters "s" have the same sound.)

When "j" is used before a vowel, it's pronounced like the y in "yellow".

The letter "v" is pronounced as if it were a "w", so "Veni, vedi, vici" is WAY-nee, WEE-dee, WEE-kee.


Sort of odd to dispense pronunciation tips to people I'll never hear.

nokhor
01-29-2006, 13:32
i've read previously, that julius caesar's contemporaries would have pronounced his name Yooleoos Keyssar.

aw89
01-29-2006, 13:36
Isn't it more like Kaisar?

The_Doctor
01-29-2006, 13:43
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

:dizzy2:

Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
01-29-2006, 18:18
ae goes I, thats right. Caesar is Keye-sar. Hence Tsar and Kaisar.

LeftEyeNine
01-29-2006, 19:50
They say "Shah" (Persian) is derived from Caesar as well

Mouzafphaerre
01-30-2006, 08:17
.
I can't proclaim a definitive no but still I don't think it is so. :no:
.

Rosacrux redux
01-30-2006, 08:46
I think Shah is much older than Ceasar... As for the names go, "Ptolemaic" is not an original Greek word, but the anglicised form of "Ptolemaikon" and "Ptolemy" is the A-form of "Ptolemeos"

The "P" is not a "silent" P, but is pronouncedm, in the typical way it goes before "T", like in the Greek word "πτώσις" (ptosis, fall) or "πτύω" (ptyo, spit) or "πτέρυξ" (pteryx, wing).

Seleucid (greek: Seleucides) depends on the school you follow. I pronounce it Seh-leh-f-kee-thes, and afaik it's been pronounced like that in the past c. 2000 years. But the "reconstructed" ancient Greek has it pronounced it like "Seh-lehw-kee-des"

Adrian II
01-30-2006, 09:42
Turns out I always had Ptolomaic right ('To-lo-may-ik') and Seleucid wrong ('Sel-yoo-sit' instead of 'Sel-yoo-sit').

What exactly was the History Channel guy's pronunciation, Kukrikhan?

N.B. I believe nobody knows how Latin words were originally pronounced and we can only make educated guesses. Hence the huge differences in Latin pronunciation between European countries.

I was raised on a diet of Italianised Latin. 'Bene facere potes, si animum modo attendis' would be pronounced 'Bay-nay fa-che-re po-tes, see ah-nee-moom mo-do at-ten-dees'.

Makes me sound like the Pope...

Rosacrux redux
01-30-2006, 11:37
Πτολεμαίος (Ptolemy)
If you want an actual phonetic try "ptoh-leh-meh-os" (and that's irregardles if you use the correct pronounciation or the reconstructed one)

So, Πτολεμαικός Under no circumstances it is "to-lo-may-ik(os)" - try Pto-leh-mae-ee-kohs".

And in Seleucides (in both reconstructed and Greek) the accent is in the last syllable.

Adrian II
01-30-2006, 12:25
Πτολεμαίος (Ptolemy)
If you want an actual phonetic try "ptoh-leh-meh-os" (and that's irregardles if you use the correct pronounciation or the reconstructed one)

So, Πτολεμαικός Under no circumstances it is "to-lo-may-ik(os)" - try Pto-leh-mae-ee-kohs".

And in Seleucides (in both reconstructed and Greek) the accent is in the last syllable.Great, but this is about English pronunciation, not Greek.

Hence 'To-lo-may-ik' and 'sai-ko-lo-gee' instead of 'Pto-lo-may-ik' or 'Psai-ko-lo-gee'.

Rosacrux redux
01-30-2006, 12:40
My bad... I thought some would like to actually know how the names are pronounced :)

Craterus
02-03-2006, 22:41
How do you pronounce Thermopylae?

I was told the right pronunciation, but I can't remember it now. It's one of two in my mind.

Idomeneas
02-05-2006, 02:46
Θερμοπύλαι= Thermopylai in greek were you see the spirit it is the sylabel you have to tone. English ALWAYS tone the words wrong! You propably say Θερμόπυλαι. BTW αι=ε. Its used in plural in ancient πύλη=gate πύλαι=gates

Proletariat
02-05-2006, 02:54
Oh, now I get it.

Craterus
02-08-2006, 19:24
Yeah, I don't speak Greek.

Can you do that pronunciation in English e.g. (un-der-stand)

Thanks.

Monarch
02-08-2006, 21:21
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

:dizzy2:

I take it yuor going for the wonderful welsh railway station?

Use vits shortening: Llanfair PG

Atilius
02-09-2006, 04:44
Yeah, I don't speak Greek.

Can you do that pronunciation in English e.g. (un-der-stand)

Thanks.


He's just saying that English speakers usually stress the wrong syllable. We tend to say ther - MOP - ool - eye; should be ther - mo - POOL - eye.