Random Thoughts Thread

[Montmorency]

Are you sure about the uncertainty argument? As far as I know, there are even academics who sing the epic of Gilgamesh, despite the fact that Akkadian are more obscure than Greek or Latin.

At least in the Hellenistic period, the pronunciation of ancient Greek was similar to the modern version. An easy way, even for a non-expert, to notice this is the epigraphic and papyrological evidence.

Spelling mistakes increase dramatically, because the engravers and scribes, who weren't always very talented at grammar, couldn't discern the difference between υ, ι, η, ει, and oι or between ο and ω or between ε and αι.
Τhey sounded the same since the times of Seleucus, a fact that has created enormous problems for Greek pupils for 2.300 years.
Go to Facebook, follow Golden Dawn accounts who gloat about their links to Pericles and you will observe the exact same mistakes.

IIRC there is textual evidence from Late Antiquity (for Greek and Latin) where authors explicitly discuss how certain words or letters are supposed to sound, or more typically what mistakes they perceive there to be in contemporary pronunciation or spelling.

Also, across time and place we've dug up instructional tablets used in paideia.

[Fragony]

IIRC there is textual evidence from Late Antiquity (for Greek and Latin) where authors explicitly discuss how certain words or letters are supposed to sound, or more typically what mistakes they perceive there to be in contemporary pronunciation or spelling.

Yes that's true