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− | R littera est eadem apud arabes et apud grecos ut apud nos: nisi quod apud grecos est aspiratum a principio dictionis, unde semper in grecis dictionibus rite cum aspiratione scriberetur, ut rhoda rhetorica et similia. | + | R littera est eadem apud arabes et apud grecos ut apud nos: nisi quia apud grecos est aspiratum in principio dictionis unde semper in grecis dictionibus rite cum aspiratione scriberetur ut rhoda rhetorica et similia. |
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| <span style="color:#3CB371">Commentary:</span> | | <span style="color:#3CB371">Commentary:</span> |
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− | Phonetically it can be assumed that they were all "rolled r's", as is still the case in modern Arabic, Greek and most Latin derived Romance languages. | + | Phonetically it can be assumed that they were all "rolled r's", as is still the case in modern Arabic, Greek and most Romance languages. |
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− | The Arabic alphabet has ﺭ,ﺭﺍﺀ /rāʔ/, Greek has Ρ,ρ ῥῶ /rhô/ and Latin has R,r. All of these are most likely ultimately derived from the same source, a Sinaitic Semitic proto-alphabet that developed around the first half of the second millennium BC. | + | The Arabic alphabet has ﺭ,ﺭﺍﺀ /rāʔ/, Greek has Ρ,ρ ῥῶ /rhô/ and Latin has 'R,r'. All of these are most likely ultimately derived from the same source, a Sinaitic Semitic proto-alphabet that developed around the first half of the second millennium BC. |
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− | Greek word-initial aspiration of 'r', phonetically a devoicing of the sound, was already lost in the Koine period of Greek, i.e. 300 BC – 300 AD, so it had long ceased to be pronounced in Simon's time, but was kept on as a purely conservative spelling habit. Thus Simon did never hear an aspirated 'r', but his pronouncement must be judged as a purely orthographic statement, because until quite recently the distinction between spoken sound and written letter was blurred. | + | Greek word-initial aspiration of /r/, phonetically a devoicing of the sound, was already lost in the Koine period of Greek, i.e. 300 BC – 300 AD, so it had long ceased to be pronounced in Simon's time, but was kept on as a purely conservative spelling habit. Thus Simon did never hear an aspirated 'r', but his pronouncement must be judged as a purely orthographic statement, because until quite recently the distinction between spoken sound and written letter was blurred. |
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