[alt-photo] Re: ware cyanotype paper sensitivity

[Christina Anderson]

Tom, 
In deference to Mike, he did mention the etymology of the word, etc.  Here was his reply:



"I don't think there is a 100% answer to that "DUMB question" because the word is transliterated from the Classical Greek - and who knows how they pronounced?

I did consult with a Professor of Greek many years ago: the 'g' could now be sounded soft or hard, although the original Greek word for silver 'arguron' is pronounced hard.

I personally pronounce it with a soft 'g' and long 'y': ah-jire-o-type (like your arJIrotype, maybe?) - by similarity to other -gyro-  containing words."



So just because I am comfortable pronouncing it the way the originator of the process pronounces it (giving credit where credit is due) doesn't mean it is, or he thinks it is cut in stone.

However I do think it is a more important matter than pronouncing tomato as tomayeto or tomahto or Nevada as Nevaaaada or Nevahhhhda (which I do the former and the latter respectively).  It'd be like pronouncing giclee "gickley" instead of "zheeeclay" :)
Chris

Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com




On Jan 11, 2010, at 4:43 PM, Tomas Sobota wrote:

> I don't think that it's so simple as to say "Mike pronounces it that way
> so..." because the root 'argyro-' has been used well before  'argyrotype'
> has been coined, so there is or should be an established way of pronouncing
> it in English as there is in other languages. For example, histologists use
> 'argyrophilia' to denote the affinity of some tissues to be stained by
> silver. This usage goes probably back to the XIX century if not before.
> Just out of curiosity, how is 'argyros'  pronounced in modern Greek? I'm
> familiar with classical Greek pronunciation, but not with modern Greek. Is
> the sound of the gamma similar to the sound of the 'g' in Italian 'argento'?
> BTW you cannot understand English. Only a good memory, a long practice and a
> bit of luck can help you :-)
> 
> Tom Sobota
> Madrid, Spain
>