[Ancients] How do I pronounce...

tetradrachm is sill-vurr gr-eeek coyn and elagabalus denarius is Row-man sill-vurr coyn ......................ok?

 

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ayup

 

Domitian, dow mih-tee-in or dow-mih-shin. If I go by the history channels pronunciations, both would be right XD.

 

I have only started hearing dram recently. For years I have heard it pronounced too as tetra-dra-kum.

What always got me was Seleucid empire. I remember in school it being pronounced Se-lu-sid.

Greek words are tough but how do you explain to a dealer that you are looking for
Sss-ri-Bra-ha-ma-vas-oo-de-va? You say, "whats up man, you got some Huns?"


A couple of times I have had to explain to people that I am looking for Vi-jie-a-se-na as ra-ja-ma-ka-sa-trap-ah.

 

That's easy for you to say.

 

Seleucid is an anglicization as well. The proper spelling is really with a K. Seleukid, Skythian, and several other should be pronounced with a hard K sound.

 

"Excuse me, miss ..."

"yes, may I help you?"

"Ummm, do you have an antoninianus?"

=> "SECURITY!!"

 

Thanks for straitening that out Ardy.

Tet-ra-dram it is!

 

Gratian: Gray-shen, Gra-ti-ann, or Grat-i-ann? (I think it might be the first pronounciation?)

 

Grah-tea-ah-nus, if you want to speak Latin. Grayshun if you want to be understood at a coin show.

 

and caesar should be as in Kaiser

 

In the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas one of the post-apocalyptic factions was modeled off the Roman army and known as "Caesar's Legion." Non-Legion members always pronounced the name "sea-zer," but Legionnaires inevitably used the classical Latin "Kai-sahr." I particularly liked that touch.

FYI - Legion currency featured silver denarii and gold aurei. The New California Republic, on the other hand, issued severely inflated greenbacks. But the standard trade currency were the countless pre-war bottlecaps.

 

The original "ch" of tetradrachm is the letter "chi" and has a sort of guttural "ck" English sound. But, as with most things, once translated into English a bit of the original (correct) pronunciation is lost.

It's only made worse in this particular case because it's being pronounced by old guys in plaid shirts with mustard stains, and suspenders who stand behind their tables at coin shows and speak with southern drawls.

 

I'll second Ardatirion's pronunciations.

On the Latin/Roman side, many words tend to have "i"s like "ee". I've heard some variety in his name but the consensus I've heard is that Antoninus Pius is "Ahn-toe-knee-noose Pee-us"

 

I just can't let this go without responding. You may be correct about the plaid shirts and suspenders, but I take offense when you say "speak with southern drawls". First, being from the South, I find nothing sweeter than the sound of a Southern accent. And second (and I may be slightly bias), but I believe Southern American English is much closer to the King's English than anything I've heard from the North (New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin accents all grate on me).
I suppose I can take offense by the "old Guys" label as well, but, hey, I am kinda gettin' there.

 

Your fallacy is that you assume people speaking "King's English" would also pronounce the "chi" correctly. They probably butcher it even more than southerners. The "heart" of no-accent American English is considered St. Louis and/or Kansas City. I'm not talking about "country-folk" from Missouri here, I mean metropolitan dwelling people. There's a reason that national newscasters are coached in pronunciation mimicking this "pure American English" (if such a thing can exist).

If you want to take offense, then more power to you. But, I have been in parts of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama where I honestly can't understand a word these people are saying. I live in Minnesota now, but grew up in the wheat belt near Kansas City -- and I definitely know what you mean by some northern accents. But, at least northern accents are intelligible by most other English speakers.

The thrust of my post was that, why would we expect English speakers to pronounce drachm correctly, when they have butchered almost every other borrowed word in the language.

 

PS -- the median age of coin collectors is somewhere between 58 and 64. If you qualify for a senior discount and AARP membership, then I think I can safely use the phrase "old guys". I actually admire most of the old guys in this hobby, so I don't see the negative connotation in that phrase. Again, take offense if you'd like, but it is what it is.

 

I don't want to hijack this thread, so this is all I will say on the matter. It's the connotation used that somehow having a Southern accent butchers the proper pronunciation. If New Yorkers don't butcher the spoken language, then I don't know who does.
I really don't take offense at the age label. I'm above the median age (slightly) and proud of having made it this far. There was a time I would have bet I'd never make it this far.

 

Ummm? ... what's an accent, eh?

 

PUPIENUS