[Ansteorra] Pronunciation was Re: "Ansteorran: of or pertaining to the Kingdom of Ansteorra"

[HerrDetlef]

It would help if I signed my name. I'm such a yutz.

DT+LF
Detlef von Marburg
Raven's Fort, Ansteorra

On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 1:07 PM, HerrDetlef <herrdetlef at gmail.com> wrote:

> Your Excellency, the problem with "yore" is that stress is placed on the
> "o" and not on the "e". In Old English diphthongs, stress is placed on the
> first vowel of the cluster, and not on the second vowel. With the "eo"
> diphthong, the "e" is pronounced as a long "e" (thanks to the fifteenth
> century vowel shift, now the long "a", such as in "late"), and then the "o"
> is pronounced as an unstressed schwa, like the "e" in "waiter".
>
> Think again of the name "Beowulf". We don't pronounce it "beh-YO-woolf" but
> as "BAY-uh-woolf". The same pronunciation rule should apply to the "eo" in
> "Ansteorra". I think the dominant pronunciation (stressing the "o" and not
> the "e") is a result of confusing the "eo" in "Beowulf" with the "eo" in
> such Greek derivatives as "geometry".
>
> Much of Old English is not music to anybody's modern ears...at least, until
> you've had a chance to hear a lot of it. Then it becomes quite melodious.
> Old English is even more gutteral than Modern High German. If you've ever
> had a chance to hear the Hildebrandslied read (in Old High German), or
> better yet, "Der Heliand" in Old LOW German, you might get a better taste of
> what those old languages sound like.
>
> As a grad student, I was told I should have no trouble reading Old English
> since I knew German, but Old English isn't even close enough to Modern High
> German to be that easy. Quite a lot of difference separates Old Low German
> from Modern High German.
>
> I had the great fortune in 2005 of hearing part of Beowulf read in Old
> English at Trinity Church in Houston. I believe the performer who read it
> was Benjamin Bagby. As he chanted the Old English text, Modern English
> surtitles were displayed on a screen, but after a while, I quit reading the
> titles and listened to the sound of the language. It's quite beautiful, once
> you've gotten used to it.
>
>   On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 12:48 PM, John Hirling <jhirling at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Correct me if I'm wrong - and I'm centain someone will :) - but if one can
>> pronounce the word 'yore', one should have no trouble with the 'eo'
>> diphthong.  An-STAIR-ra is not music to these ears.
>> ~ihon
>>
>> "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass . . .
>> it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
>>
>> Unknown (but I wish it had been me)
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 10:54 AM, Hugh & Belinda Niewoehner <
>> burgborrendohl at valornet.com> wrote:
>>
>> > HerrDetlef wrote:
>> >
>> >> ...I've even suggested, if the "eo" is too difficult, to look at it as
>> >> "an-STAIR-ra" (since the diphthong represented here by "ai" is very
>> >> similar
>> >> to the OE "eo" diphthong). It's been like talking to a brick wall.
>> Maybe I
>> >> haven't been loud enough.
>> >>
>> >>
>> > I like that and will endeavor to start using it although it will
>> probably
>> > draw some strange looks.  It will also not 'ring' as well in many of the
>> > traditional bardic pieces.  I've enjoyed this discussion not only for
>> its
>> > historical interest (as to the original intent in choosing the name) but
>> > also the linguistic education.  Languages fascinate me although I am far
>> > from an expert on any of them.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > Ismet
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> >
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>
>
>
>  --
> He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
> and what does the LORD require of you
> but to do justice, and to love kindness,
> and to walk humbly with your God?
> --Micah 6:8
>



-- 
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
--Micah 6:8