LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (05) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 28 April 2008 - Volume 05
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From: Tom Carty <cartyweb at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (03) [E]

In Hiberno Englsih, the herb is basil, a soft "S", where the name is bazil a
hard "z"

Think of Basil Fawlty...

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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (03) [E]

*> Subject:* LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (03) [E]
> ... name: Bay-zil

Baziel was the subject of jokes told by Guido Depraetere on VTM TV for many
years.
Some of them are also on CD as wel as reproduced in comics books (I have 3
of them).
The language is Dutch with a strong coloration of West-Flemish of Bruges.
Best illustrated on the CDs, but I cannot find them momentarily.

I scanned the cover and one joke from one of the comics strip album:
http://www.euro-support.be/temp/baziel1.jpg
http://www.euro-support.be/temp/baziel2.jpg

Regards,
Roger

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From: Stan Levinson <stlev99 at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (03) [E]

OMY... I mean the exact opposite!!!

From: Stan Levinson <stlev99 at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Names" 2008.04.28 (01) [E]

I'm pretty sure "Standard American" is
name: Bay-zil
herb: bazzle
That's how I've always heard it.
Stan

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From: Fonken, Gael M. [foga0301 at stcloudstate.edu]
Subject: Names--Basil

Dear listers,

   I'm a devotee of early Orthodox saints, and St. Basil the Great is on the
top of that list. After studying theology with real scholars who studied
original texts in Greek, Aramaic, and Syrian, etc, I'm very comfortable
saying "Bazzle" since that is the proper way to pronounce that name.  Among
monks here in the US, it is still used and carefully pronounced correctly,
but in the context of larger society I tend to read it incorrectly as
"BAY-zl"…going with the flow.

   You're right, though, it doesn't seem proper to confuse these two items
(the person and the herb), even if Basil may have put basil in his stew. St.
Basil is credited for developing the first hospitals, but he is more famous
for his ascetic writings and the pressure he put on rich citizens to share
horded food stashes with those who were starving in the streets during a
famine. His thinking was really basic—eat to live, not live to eat. He
himself almost starved to death living out in the hills by himself doing the
things monks do.  I don't associate his name with food at all, except in its
absence.

Gael Fonken
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Names

Hi, Gael!

"Proper" and "incorrect" ... hmm ... OK, so "Bazzle" is the
*preferred*pronunciation in English-speaking
* *Orthodox and Catholic monastic circles, but the "BAY-zil" pronunciation
is considered standard in many other circles. I don't think there's a
"proper" for the entire English language. Of course, those to whom the
ecclesiastic contention is important the "Bazzle" pronunciation may seem
superior.

After all, "Bazzle" is a far cry from the original Greek Βασίλειος (*
Vasíleios*). More "proper" or "correct" would be something like *Vasily or
even better *Vasiley (with a sharp "s" and the main stress on the second
syllable), thus similar to the Russian pronunciation. Almost all imported
names, especially Greek-rooted ones, are "mispronounced" in English, or
anywhere else. But they are standard anyway, and some have more than one
standard pronunciation, this being one of them. Which one is better would be
up to dialect and to personal preference.

Stan:

OMY... I mean the exact opposite!!!

But we love you anyway. So there!

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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