Re: CHAT: Multi-Lingos

regarding pronunciation of Sacred Languages (Hierolangs?):

Dan Sulani wrote:

"Here in Israel, I run into the exact opposite problem: I have parents
bring me their children for therapy precisely _because_ they speak like
everybody else around them! [...] But some ethnic groups here  _do_
maintain the difference in their speech, and what's more, they're extremely
proud of it."

    This seems rather apropos of Steg Belsky's comment that certain people
of various different jewish subcultures claim that their pronounciation is
more authentic.  This debate also occurs in academia, where some schools
prefer to teach Hebrew as it is pronounced in Israel, and others prefer to
teach the "scientific" pronunciation of Hebrew (whatever that may be).  At
the local divinity school, which is rather liberal, students are permitted
to pronounce Hebrew whichever way they wanted.  This results in a sort of
mini-Bavel.

    I was a bit surprised that the Klezmatics chose to render the Hebrew
bits on their albums with the traditional Ashkenazic pronunciation (Hinokh
yafo rayosi, hinokh eynayikh yoynim...").  I've never thought of the
Ashkenazic pronunciation as being especially musical, but it works rather
well on their album "Possessed."

-Chollie
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