How do you pronounce Minotaur? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

How do you pronounce Minotaur?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Apr 24, 2004 17:50:24 As a kid I always said "MIN-oh-tar" but switched over to "MIN-oh-tore" once I started gaming with a new group in high school that pronounced it that way.

So how do you say it?
#2
talinthas
Apr 24, 2004 17:58:27 well, i say MY-no-tar, but following greek convention, you'd probably want to say MI-noh-tawr.
#3
daedavias_dup
Apr 24, 2004 18:59:49 I pronounce it Minnow(like the fish or the boat from Gilligan's Island)-tar(like a road).
#4
cam_banks
Apr 24, 2004 20:00:03
Originally posted by Kai Lord
As a kid I always said "MIN-oh-tar" but switched over to "MIN-oh-tore" once I started gaming with a new group in high school that pronounced it that way.

So how do you say it?

The latter. -taur should never rhyme with car or jar, but soar or roar. I have a New Zealand accent, mind you, but that doesn't affect it one way or another. Ditto centaur, which shouldn't be pronounced "sen-tar" but "sen-tor".

Cheers,
Cam
#5
Dragonhelm
Apr 24, 2004 20:21:32
Originally posted by Cam Banks
The latter. -taur should never rhyme with car or jar, but soar or roar. I have a New Zealand accent, mind you, but that doesn't affect it one way or another. Ditto centaur, which shouldn't be pronounced "sen-tar" but "sen-tor".

Cheers,
Cam

Ah, but my New Zealand friend, I am an American, and as such, I have the inalienable right to bastardize any piece of language I come across. :D

Y'all come back now, ya hear?
#6
zombiegleemax
Apr 26, 2004 14:49:20 I pronounce it punk.

~~~
#7
daedavias_dup
Apr 26, 2004 17:39:56
Originally posted by Dragonhelm
Ah, but my New Zealand friend, I am an American, and as such, I have the inalienable right to bastardize any piece of language I come across. :D

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

That's in the Constitution, right? Like third sentence in.
#8
Dragonhelm
Apr 26, 2004 17:54:23
Originally posted by Daedavias
That's in the Constitution, right? Like third sentence in.

Actually, it's in the first amendment. Freedom of speech. ;)

Sorry, Cam, just messin' with ya. :D
#9
daedavias_dup
Apr 26, 2004 17:57:18
Originally posted by Dragonhelm
Actually, it's in the first amendment. Freedom of speech. ;)

Sorry, Cam, just messin' with ya. :D

I coulda sworn there was something like "...and we shall misspell, mispronounce, and misrepresent anything and everything we say."
#10
Dragonhelm
Apr 26, 2004 19:08:53
Originally posted by Daedavias
I coulda sworn there was something like "...and we shall misspell, mispronounce, and misrepresent anything and everything we say."

That's in there too. Shhh..... ;)
#11
zombiegleemax
Apr 26, 2004 19:25:34
Originally posted by Dragonhelm
Y'all come back now, ya hear?

You dirty thief!!!
#12
zombiegleemax
Apr 26, 2004 19:40:01 Crikey!!! 'Ave a go at the size of that minnatoor. He's a big fella!! Beauuuuutiful!
#13
eaglos
Apr 26, 2004 20:05:57 Since I am am greek I would spell it like this (theoritically speaking since I use the greek word):

"Mi" = me (You and me)
"No" = no (Imagine "awe" with an "n". Like the spanish "No")
"Taur" = tar (Like tar, car...)
#14
cam_banks
Apr 26, 2004 21:46:34
Originally posted by Eaglos
Since I am am greek I would spell it like this (theoritically speaking since I use the greek word):

Yes, but are you Minoan Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos!

Ahem. Getting carried away there.

Back to your regularly scheduled pronunciation thread...

Cheers,
Cam
#15
Dragonhelm
Apr 26, 2004 22:15:04
Originally posted by Cam Banks
Yes, but are you Minoan Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos!

And now you know why Cam and I never play Scrabble.
#16
ferratus
Apr 27, 2004 2:07:01
Originally posted by Cam Banks
Yes, but are you Minoan Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos!

Umm... actually this is incorrect. The residents of Crete spoke Doric Greek, just as the residents of the Peloponnese did during the classical period. The classical Greek we are most familiar with is Ionic (spoken by the Greek residents of what is now the coast of Turkey) and its closely related dialect Attic (around the city of Athens). Since Athens produced the most greek literature we are most familiar with Attic, though Homer's two epics are written in Archaic Ionic. There are other Greek dialects of course, but they didn't write much so aren't very important.

After the time of Alexander the Great, the Greek territories spoke Koine greek, which was based on Attic.

Now if we are talking about the dialect of Minoan Crete itself at the height of the New Palace period, before the Mycenean and Dorian invasions (which really doesn't come into play since the pronunciation of Minotaur would come from classical greece) then we are completely lost.

Possible suspects for what language the inhabitants of Minoan Crete might of spoken include Anatolian (the language of Asia Minor) and Semetic. Both however cannot be proven with success, because we haven't translated Linear A yet.

P.S. Edit: You got me curious on the greek pronunciation of Minotaur, so I looked it up on my Liddel and Scott Lexicon. Failing to find it there, I turned to the WWW and gained access to a more complete dictionary.

http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/chuck/woodhouse_pages.pl?page_num=1017

Now, to pronounce it the way the ancient greeks pronounced it, remember two things:

the w is in fact a long o, as in bone. the au dipthong is pronounced as we would, such as pause or cause. So there you have it.
#17
cam_banks
Apr 27, 2004 6:10:33
Originally posted by Dragonhelm
And now you know why Cam and I never play Scrabble.

Right, because I can pull things out of my rear end and make them sound more or less authentic? It's all true. It's how I won a game last week with Qxnapzjkob (which is a technical term for the confluence of effluential linguistic waste on a discussion forum) on a triple word score.

Cheers,
Cam
#18
zombiegleemax
Apr 27, 2004 13:58:38 How would the different cultures and races of Ansalon pronounce the word? Differently as well I'd imagine. Depending on what NPC/PC you're playing, maybe one could pronounce it different ways. This thread has given me the idea to celebrate the differences in pronunciation of minotaur (and other words) and bring them into my DL campaign to highlight cultural/racial differences.

BTW I grew up in the UK and pronounce it MY-nuh-tor

Simon Collins

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Apr 24, 2004 17:50:24	As a kid I always said "MIN-oh-tar" but switched over to "MIN-oh-tore" once I started gaming with a new group in high school that pronounced it that way. So how do you say it?
#2 talinthas Apr 24, 2004 17:58:27	well, i say MY-no-tar, but following greek convention, you'd probably want to say MI-noh-tawr.
#3 daedavias_dup Apr 24, 2004 18:59:49	I pronounce it Minnow(like the fish or the boat from Gilligan's Island)-tar(like a road).
#4 cam_banks Apr 24, 2004 20:00:03	Originally posted by Kai Lord As a kid I always said "MIN-oh-tar" but switched over to "MIN-oh-tore" once I started gaming with a new group in high school that pronounced it that way. So how do you say it? The latter. -taur should never rhyme with car or jar, but soar or roar. I have a New Zealand accent, mind you, but that doesn't affect it one way or another. Ditto centaur, which shouldn't be pronounced "sen-tar" but "sen-tor". Cheers, Cam
#5 Dragonhelm Apr 24, 2004 20:21:32	Originally posted by Cam Banks The latter. -taur should never rhyme with car or jar, but soar or roar. I have a New Zealand accent, mind you, but that doesn't affect it one way or another. Ditto centaur, which shouldn't be pronounced "sen-tar" but "sen-tor". Cheers, Cam Ah, but my New Zealand friend, I am an American, and as such, I have the inalienable right to bastardize any piece of language I come across. :D Y'all come back now, ya hear?
#6 zombiegleemax Apr 26, 2004 14:49:20	I pronounce it punk. ~~~
#7 daedavias_dup Apr 26, 2004 17:39:56	Originally posted by Dragonhelm Ah, but my New Zealand friend, I am an American, and as such, I have the inalienable right to bastardize any piece of language I come across. :D Y'all come back now, ya hear? That's in the Constitution, right? Like third sentence in.
#8 Dragonhelm Apr 26, 2004 17:54:23	Originally posted by Daedavias That's in the Constitution, right? Like third sentence in. Actually, it's in the first amendment. Freedom of speech. ;) Sorry, Cam, just messin' with ya. :D
#9 daedavias_dup Apr 26, 2004 17:57:18	Originally posted by Dragonhelm Actually, it's in the first amendment. Freedom of speech. ;) Sorry, Cam, just messin' with ya. :D I coulda sworn there was something like "...and we shall misspell, mispronounce, and misrepresent anything and everything we say."
#10 Dragonhelm Apr 26, 2004 19:08:53	Originally posted by Daedavias I coulda sworn there was something like "...and we shall misspell, mispronounce, and misrepresent anything and everything we say." That's in there too. Shhh..... ;)
#11 zombiegleemax Apr 26, 2004 19:25:34	Originally posted by Dragonhelm Y'all come back now, ya hear? You dirty thief!!!
#12 zombiegleemax Apr 26, 2004 19:40:01	Crikey!!! 'Ave a go at the size of that minnatoor. He's a big fella!! Beauuuuutiful!
#13 eaglos Apr 26, 2004 20:05:57	Since I am am greek I would spell it like this (theoritically speaking since I use the greek word): "Mi" = me (You and me) "No" = no (Imagine "awe" with an "n". Like the spanish "No") "Taur" = tar (Like tar, car...)
#14 cam_banks Apr 26, 2004 21:46:34	Originally posted by Eaglos Since I am am greek I would spell it like this (theoritically speaking since I use the greek word): Yes, but are you Minoan Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos! Ahem. Getting carried away there. Back to your regularly scheduled pronunciation thread... Cheers, Cam
#15 Dragonhelm Apr 26, 2004 22:15:04	Originally posted by Cam Banks *Yes, but are you Minoan* Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos!** And now you know why Cam and I never play Scrabble.
#16 ferratus Apr 27, 2004 2:07:01	Originally posted by Cam Banks *Yes, but are you Minoan* Greek? That's the real test, that is. None of this mainland Hellenistic pronunciation for the Minoans, no! No legacy of Akkadia! Remember Sparta, oh sons of Naxos!** Umm... actually this is incorrect. The residents of Crete spoke Doric Greek, just as the residents of the Peloponnese did during the classical period. The classical Greek we are most familiar with is Ionic (spoken by the Greek residents of what is now the coast of Turkey) and its closely related dialect Attic (around the city of Athens). Since Athens produced the most greek literature we are most familiar with Attic, though Homer's two epics are written in Archaic Ionic. There are other Greek dialects of course, but they didn't write much so aren't very important. After the time of Alexander the Great, the Greek territories spoke Koine greek, which was based on Attic. Now if we are talking about the dialect of Minoan Crete itself at the height of the New Palace period, before the Mycenean and Dorian invasions (which really doesn't come into play since the pronunciation of Minotaur would come from classical greece) then we are completely lost. Possible suspects for what language the inhabitants of Minoan Crete might of spoken include Anatolian (the language of Asia Minor) and Semetic. Both however cannot be proven with success, because we haven't translated Linear A yet. P.S. Edit: You got me curious on the greek pronunciation of Minotaur, so I looked it up on my Liddel and Scott Lexicon. Failing to find it there, I turned to the WWW and gained access to a more complete dictionary. http://colet.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/chuck/woodhouse_pages.pl?page_num=1017 Now, to pronounce it the way the ancient greeks pronounced it, remember two things: the w is in fact a long o, as in bone. the au dipthong is pronounced as we would, such as pause or cause. So there you have it.
#17 cam_banks Apr 27, 2004 6:10:33	Originally posted by Dragonhelm And now you know why Cam and I never play Scrabble. Right, because I can pull things out of my rear end and make them sound more or less authentic? It's all true. It's how I won a game last week with Qxnapzjkob (which is a technical term for the confluence of effluential linguistic waste on a discussion forum) on a triple word score. Cheers, Cam
#18 zombiegleemax Apr 27, 2004 13:58:38	How would the different cultures and races of Ansalon pronounce the word? Differently as well I'd imagine. Depending on what NPC/PC you're playing, maybe one could pronounce it different ways. This thread has given me the idea to celebrate the differences in pronunciation of minotaur (and other words) and bring them into my DL campaign to highlight cultural/racial differences. BTW I grew up in the UK and pronounce it MY-nuh-tor Simon Collins