J. S. Bangs wrote:
> > > there. Young Muke's email had shattered yet another myth I
entertained
> > > about Americans: so the Henninian barbarism have reached there
<sigh>
> >
> > Oh, I severely doubt it... I never learnt Greek pronunciation *from*
anywhere [I
> > don't think I've ever heard anyone speak it at all, even]. I just read
the
>
> See, I have learned Greek here in Leftpondia
Lephthopondía... it looks really like Greek. Rhaitopondía looks fine, too
(or an etymological reconstruction: Rhakhthopondia).
:-)
Luca
> and I certainly never learned
> any silliness about accenting Greek as Latin. We follow the Byzantine
> system (I think) whereby there are three accents: acute, grave, and
> circumflex, all obeying odd and distinctly non-Latinate rules. Our
> teacher even had the decency to mention that they were all originally
> pitch accents, but that being tone-deaf Americans we'd pronounce them as
> stress. Still, it's close enough.