Sunday, July 08, 2012
Important individuals who have set the standards for languages
I have a friend whose family name is Goldstein. Like most Americans with similar names she pronounces the name as "gold-steen." Having studied German myself and having some familiarity with the language, my pronunciation is "gold-stine," which is as close to the German pronunciation as I can achieve. I know that the English cognate for the name is Goldstone. That is, German gold = English gold, and German stein = English stone. The American argument in favor of the "goldsteen" pronunciation is that the digraph "ei" is often pronounced as "ee" in English words. Some examples are receive, conceive, deceive, and so on. There are many examples of "ei" in which the digraph denotes some other sound. Examples are vein, veil, their, heir, eight, and height. I remember a spelling rule regarding the digraph ei: "I before E except after C or when sounded like A as in neighbor and weigh. There is no C in Goldstein. Based on the spelling rule I just wrote, the American pronunciation should be "gold-stane" or "gold-stain."
I can continue this rant until the cows come home and you will stop reading it. However, the "ee" or "i" pronunciation leads me to remember a bit of history. King George II was the Elector (or Kurfuerst) of Hanover as well as King of England. He spoke English with a rather pronounced German accent and he mispronounced a lot of words. One of the words he mispronounced was "either." In German the digraph "ei" always denotes the diphthong sound heard in English words mine, high, aisle, fight, and so on. Hence, he pronounced the word as "I-ther" or "eyether." However, he was the King and nobody in the court wanted to correct him. So, they all politely mispronounced either, neither, and other words as he mispronounced them. This manner of speech was called "the King's English." I suspect that another common word he mispronounced in this way is "eye." Historically, in the changes in pronunciation that have occurred in our language since the time of King Alfred, this word should be pronounced as if written "ee." In fact, it is so pronounced in the Scottish dialect of the poet Robert Burns. However, "ey" has the same pronunciation in German as "ei," and thus it was so pronounced in the King's English.
By now you must be tired of Goldstein, either, and King George. I must turn to other influential individuals. The poet Dante wrote his great epics in the dialect of Florence, the city of his birth. The effect was that the Florentine dialect became the standard Italian language. Citizens of Florence need to learn only one language. Citizens of Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, and other cities and regions of Italy need to learn both the local dialect (Milanese, Venetian, Roman, Neapolitan, etc.) and standard Italian (i.e., Florentine). Martin Luther had a similar effect on German. He translated the Bible into his own dialect of German. That dialect became the standard of the language. In England, France, and Spain the language of the royal court became the standard for the country. Italy and Germany were not united until the latter half of the nineteenth century.
I can continue this rant until the cows come home and you will stop reading it. However, the "ee" or "i" pronunciation leads me to remember a bit of history. King George II was the Elector (or Kurfuerst) of Hanover as well as King of England. He spoke English with a rather pronounced German accent and he mispronounced a lot of words. One of the words he mispronounced was "either." In German the digraph "ei" always denotes the diphthong sound heard in English words mine, high, aisle, fight, and so on. Hence, he pronounced the word as "I-ther" or "eyether." However, he was the King and nobody in the court wanted to correct him. So, they all politely mispronounced either, neither, and other words as he mispronounced them. This manner of speech was called "the King's English." I suspect that another common word he mispronounced in this way is "eye." Historically, in the changes in pronunciation that have occurred in our language since the time of King Alfred, this word should be pronounced as if written "ee." In fact, it is so pronounced in the Scottish dialect of the poet Robert Burns. However, "ey" has the same pronunciation in German as "ei," and thus it was so pronounced in the King's English.
By now you must be tired of Goldstein, either, and King George. I must turn to other influential individuals. The poet Dante wrote his great epics in the dialect of Florence, the city of his birth. The effect was that the Florentine dialect became the standard Italian language. Citizens of Florence need to learn only one language. Citizens of Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples, and other cities and regions of Italy need to learn both the local dialect (Milanese, Venetian, Roman, Neapolitan, etc.) and standard Italian (i.e., Florentine). Martin Luther had a similar effect on German. He translated the Bible into his own dialect of German. That dialect became the standard of the language. In England, France, and Spain the language of the royal court became the standard for the country. Italy and Germany were not united until the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Labels: Dante, George II, Martin Luther, standard languages
Sunday, September 28, 2008
An Amateur's Comments about Theology
I read something about the life and work of Martin Luther recently in the New Yorker magazine. Brother Martin (he was a Dominican monk, later defrocked) asserted that faith was essential for salvation. Good Works aren't enough. I don't know what present-day Lutherans believe, but some "born-again" Christians seem to believe that faith is the necessary and sufficient condition for salvation.
I mused, where did such an idea come from? What is the practical use of a religion if it does not teach that good works are necessary and that criminal acts will result in divine punishment, if not in this world then in the next? Perhaps it is a consequence of thinking about the assertion of another religious leader, Calvin. Calvin was a Swiss. He asserted that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. God knows the future as well as the past. Hence, He knows everything that we have done in our lives and everything that we are going to do. He knows if I am going to rob a bank or assault a helpless old woman next week. These things are all pre-determined.
One can use Calvin's idea about an omnipotent and omniscient God to conclude that we poor humans don't have free will. Our Good Works and our Sins are not a result of any conscious decisions we make but they are preordained. When God created the universe, he created the future behavior of all of us.
Now, loss of free will poses a dilemma for religious teachers and pastors. It appears that our salvation or damnation was already determined at the moment the universe was created. Why should we try to be good? Why try to be saved? Why become a supporter of a religious organization?
A way out of the dilemma that reestablishes free will is faith or belief. Those of us who have faith and believe in God and his messages and trust his representatives (i.e., priests and pastors) will be saved. God has predetermined our actions but he has left us free to believe in Him or not. If we believe, we will be rewarded. If not, we will be punished or perhaps just exterminated.
This dilemma does not exist for me. I believe that God created the universe that we can all observe, including Quantum Mechanics. To a physicist, Quantum Mechanics guarantees a certain randomness or uncertainty to the universe. The future can not be foretold precisely. Even God does not override Quantum Theory, because it is one of the most beautiful things in the universe that He created. Hence, He can not know exactly what I am going to do. Predestination is nonsense. The efficacy of good works in earning bonus points toward salvation is restored.
I have rushed into an ancient theological argument that more learned people fear to enter. Obviously I am no angel. Be merciful in your condemnation.
I mused, where did such an idea come from? What is the practical use of a religion if it does not teach that good works are necessary and that criminal acts will result in divine punishment, if not in this world then in the next? Perhaps it is a consequence of thinking about the assertion of another religious leader, Calvin. Calvin was a Swiss. He asserted that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. God knows the future as well as the past. Hence, He knows everything that we have done in our lives and everything that we are going to do. He knows if I am going to rob a bank or assault a helpless old woman next week. These things are all pre-determined.
One can use Calvin's idea about an omnipotent and omniscient God to conclude that we poor humans don't have free will. Our Good Works and our Sins are not a result of any conscious decisions we make but they are preordained. When God created the universe, he created the future behavior of all of us.
Now, loss of free will poses a dilemma for religious teachers and pastors. It appears that our salvation or damnation was already determined at the moment the universe was created. Why should we try to be good? Why try to be saved? Why become a supporter of a religious organization?
A way out of the dilemma that reestablishes free will is faith or belief. Those of us who have faith and believe in God and his messages and trust his representatives (i.e., priests and pastors) will be saved. God has predetermined our actions but he has left us free to believe in Him or not. If we believe, we will be rewarded. If not, we will be punished or perhaps just exterminated.
This dilemma does not exist for me. I believe that God created the universe that we can all observe, including Quantum Mechanics. To a physicist, Quantum Mechanics guarantees a certain randomness or uncertainty to the universe. The future can not be foretold precisely. Even God does not override Quantum Theory, because it is one of the most beautiful things in the universe that He created. Hence, He can not know exactly what I am going to do. Predestination is nonsense. The efficacy of good works in earning bonus points toward salvation is restored.
I have rushed into an ancient theological argument that more learned people fear to enter. Obviously I am no angel. Be merciful in your condemnation.
Labels: Calvin, Free Will, Martin Luther, Predestination, Quantum Mechanics
