Re: resha/reisha


Lisa wrote:
> Steve Goldfarb wrote:
> > In <1138687294.108181.86970@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> yacovachi@xxxxxxx writes:
> >
> > >> Which should have been spelled REISHA
> >
> > >Not in Sephardic Hebrew. We do not have dipthongs.
> >
> > What does Sephardic Hebrew have to do with anything? You claimed you were
> > writing an Aramaic word.
>
> We pronounce Aramaic according to our pronunciation of Hebrew, Steven.
> I might say "matnitin", while Moshe might say "masnisin". Jacko might
> say "mathnithin", though I'm not sure.
>
> In any case, I've seen the spellings resha and sefa, and there's
> nothing at all wrong with them, in principle. Yes, using
> transliterations that are different than what most people are used to
> seems like it would defeat the purpose. But you *know* that Jacko
> transliterates differently. It's purely lame to pretend you didn't
> know that.
>
Its clearly the problem with transliteration, and not one we're likely
to solve easily. Nonetheless, in cases where the speaker could
reasonably expect to be misunderstood, wouldn't it be logical to either
follow the majority convention or to explain? While you understand
Jacko's style, and while you may well be right that Steve does as well,
that's not true of the entire universe of readers of this group,
including lurkers. If the purpose of this group is to communicate
ideas, then it behooves each speaker to do so in as clear a manner as
possible.

Nonetheless, the real reason for this post is to say how pleased I am
to see you posting, and that I hope you are doing well.

Karen Elizabeth

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