Skibala
Skibala grecus dicit stercora dura rotunda sed skivala proferunt pro vita nam carent .b. littera latini tranferunt vita in .b.
Apparatus:
grecus AC | grecus B | grece f | grece e
stercora ABC e | scoria f
pro (pro e) vita ef | per vita AC | per uita B
nam AC | naʒ e | nã B | nam vita f
transferunt (-rũt f) AC f | transferũt e | transferũt ul' proferunt B
Translation:
Skibala is what a Greek calls "hard, round excrements/ droppings", but they pronounce it skivala, pronouncing {beta as} vita, because they lack the letter {= "sound"} /b/, but Latin speakers still transcribe {what the Greeks call} vita {as beta} with the letter "b" {and pronounce it with the sound /b/, according to witness B}.
Commentary:
Cf. σκύβαλον /skýbalon/, pl. σκύβαλα /skýbala/, "dung, excrement; manure; refuse, offal". Simon's transcription shows the medieval Greek pronunciation, where the appropriate words had undergone several late Greek sound changes:
σκύβαλα /skýbala/ υ > ι {/y/ > /i/} and /b/ > /v/, resulting in /skívala/.
The same /b/ > /v/ applies to the letter name βῆτα /bêta/, which shows a further sound change η > ι {/ē/ >/i/} resulting in /víta/.
WilfGunther 31/10/12
