Emiuggion

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Emiuggion grece semuncia scribitur emiuggion sed non legitur sic nam semper .g. littera ante aliud .g. transit in sonum .n.


Apparatus:

Emiuggion AC | Emiungion (-ũgiõ B) B f | Emiugion ms. e | Emugeon j | Eminugion p
littera om. j
semuncia (semũcia + attempt to write ἡμιοὑγγιον /hēmioúngion/ in Greek p) AC p | semiũcia (-õcia B) B f | semu͞cia ms. e | semiũtia j
scribitur | g g scribit~ j
{scribitur} emiuggion AC | emiggion p | emiugion ms. e | emiungion f | eminggion (emĩggiõ B) B j
aliud AC | aliuʒ (aliũ ep) ejp | illud B f
{sonum .n.} lr͞e {= littere} add. j


Translation:

Emiuggion is Greek for Latin semuncia {"half-ounce"}, it is written emiuggion but not pronounced like that, because the letter "g" before another letter "g" turns into {= "represents"} the sound /n/.


Commentary:

Emiuggion:
Greek ἡμιοὑγκιον /hēmioúnkion/ with its collateral form ἡμιοὑγγιον /hēmioúngion/ "half ounce" is an adoption of Latin semuncia < semi + uncia. The Greek form is a calque from Latin consisting of ἡμι- /hēmi- {"half"} + -οὑγκιον /-oúnkion/ spelt "-oúgkion" or -οὑγγιον /-oúngion/ spelt "-oúgkion" {"ounce"} < οὐγκία /ounkía/ < Latin uncia, corresponding roughly to 14 grammes in metric measurement. In later and medieval Latin the form sem-i-uncia, found in some of Simon's witnesses, did indeed occur.

In this entry Simon offers a true transliteration rather than his usual more or less phonetic transcription, where he explains the use of the letter gamma γ "g" to indicate a {velar} nasal {i.e. the "n sound" at then end of Southern English "sing", IPA [ŋ]}. This assimilatory process occurs in Greek – as it does in fact in English - before any velar {or "guttural"} sound. It seems that witnesses B efj copied this entry without really understanding that it had to be –uggion. The entry’s original wording was most likely: Emiungion grece semuncia scribitur emiuggion sed non legitur sic ….

N.b. the velars of Greek are written with the letters γ, κ, ξ, χ {= /g, k, "x"=ks, kh/}.


WilfGunther 10:33, 12 March 2015 (UTC)


See also: G littera (commentary section)


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