In the NYT, Jon Grinspan...

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Mon Aug 13 05:56:21 UTC 2012


On Sun, Aug 12, 2012 at 11:44 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> Latin pronunciation continually evolved over the centuries, making it
> difficult for speakers in one era to know how Latin was spoken in prior
> eras.

Of course, the same can be said of English. How many ordinary speakers
of English either know or care how English was spoken by Alfred the
Great, Chaucer, or Shakespeare? For that matter, younger ordinary
speakers don't know or care how English was spoken fifty years ago,
much to my annoyance. I used to wonder why my grandparents refused to
use "bicycle" and continued to use "wheel," instead. Now, I understand
completely!

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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