Elkenah et al.

[maklelan]

David,

It sounds like you're just saying that there are limits to the vocalizations that we can choose, not that there are strict scientific rules for obtaining the "correct" vocalization in every case. I don't deny that there are some rules we have to follow. And obviously I would make every effort to incorporate those rules into my study.

The method you attributed to David Wright is one of the approaches to the subject that I've been toying with. I have a couple other methods I'd like to try as well. None of them would be easy, obviously. But I'm convinced such an assessment is possible, and I strongly suspect that it would illustrate that "guessing" authentically ancient Hebrew names is rather less difficult than one might think.

I think you'll be surprised.

[Brent Metcalfe]

Hi Will,

Have I, now?

I just love it when you make these broad, sweeping allegations (... you've misrepresented

[USU78]

Anybody else annoyed at the attempted threadjack?

[USU78]

I don't know. Historically, a long "a" in an open, unaccented syllable is just not going to go to an "e" vowel.

Of course, if the 2nd 'e' in Elkenah is pronounced as a schwa, which is how I pronounce it, it's entirely consistent with how the 'a' in Elkanah is pronounced in American English. Both [e] and [a] will reduce to schwa.

If this is the case, then the only problem is how the name in the original language [presumably Hebrew] is to be represented in Latin characters to an American English audience.

If reduced to schwa [a] = reduced to schwa [e], then it doesn't much matter which letter you use. Unless, that is, you're trying to give clues to researchers 175 years later.

[Ron Beron]

I hate to play the role of the irritating three year old, but can anyone give me an answer as to whether Elkenah could be a conflation of two gods such as El and Kenah which is in the same vein as Amun-Re?

[William Schryver]

Metcalfe:

Sigla has a multifaceted use in manuscript studies, involving both scribes and editors. At the risk of oversimplifying, here are two examples...