How do you say Aether? (Poll)

[xyan]

but the poll says ay-ther.

anyways, according to the fact that it is a diphthong, it should be closer to ay-ee-ther with ay-ee not broken into 2 syllables.

[antiaverage]

but the poll says ay-ther.

What? The poll says several things. If you're talking about ay-ther being the top vote at the moment, I attribute that to the poor teaching that an e following a preceding vowel sound makes that preceding vowel a long vowel. This is bad teaching.

anyways, according to the fact that it is a diphthong, it should be closer to ay-ee-ther with ay-ee not broken into 2 syllables.

I understand what you're saying with relation to the gliding nature of a diphthong, but the ae ligature is used as a grapheme. Historically I haven't learned it as having much of a glide at all. When learning Latin, it was pretty much just a long 'i' sound as in "sigh." See here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Latin

[Higurashi]

Dictionary says:
|ˈēTHər|

so that's "Ee - ther (sounds like Key)" according to your poll

I can understand people saying "Ay - ther (sounds like Hay)" but here, read this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86

Swedish has nothing to do with this word, although they did adopt the Latin diphthong. I took 5 years of Latin, we were always taught to pronounce that diphthong as rhyming with "eye." So I can understand people choosing to say eye-thur or "Ie - ther (sounds like Pie)" in this poll. The word spelled as "aether" originally comes from Latin and is translated as "the upper pure, bright air." The Greeks spelled it as aither and translated it basically the same way. Both the Latin and Greek would pronounce it as "Ie - ther (sounds like Pie)" according to this poll.

However, I don't agree with Higarushi in that meaning or context is lost through a change in pronunciation. Old French borrowed the word "aether" from Latin, changed the spelling to "ether" and as it transitioned to being used in the English language, it took on the pronunciation of "Ee - ther (sounds like Key)" according to this poll. Languages evolve and I think it's important to be comfortable with that. But, I strongly agree with her about reading accounts/stories in their original language. Much is lost in translation.

For eljoemo who said Caesar is pronounced "See-sar," that is what we say in English, but being that it was Latin it is originally pronounced "kai-sar" where "kai" rhymes with "eye." The 'c' in Latin was always a hard 'c' sounding like 'k.' In German, the word became "Kaiser," so you can see how the pronunciation actually followed pretty well. It is said to be the earliest loan word from Latin to German.

Er, no. I have something to do with Swedish. I'm Swedish.
The fact that we use the original pronounciation is just because we tend to. We're fairly in touch with both the latin and the germanic foundation in languages, and meanings in different contexts can definitely become lost. For instance, in some languages there's no way to indicate a question besides inflection. That doesn't mean I oppose the general public anglicizing it though; it's understandable for someone who doesn't work with languages anyway. Sometimes though, I have to say it goes too far... not just in English but all languages.

btw, it's Higurashi, not Higarushi. You used to spell it right, then suddenly started doing it wrong x)

[antiaverage]

Er, no. I have something to do with Swedish. I'm Swedish.

Still getting to know people, thank you for the explanation. I saw the flag in your profile, but since Elements is an English card game I didn't see how Swedish pronunciation would apply to this game other than as a side point. I really enjoy the Swedish language and wish I had more time with it.

meanings in different contexts can definitely become lost.

For instance, in some languages there's no way to indicate a question besides inflection.

Certainly, but the evolution of the changing pronunciation of aether/ether has not affected issues in understanding the meaning. It hasn't changed the context, and inflection can still play its proper role. I also enjoy the study of language, and I can certainly conjure examples where what you're saying is very important. I just can't see a way that it needs to be applied to aether/ether.

btw, it's Higurashi, not Higarushi. You used to spell it right, then suddenly started doing it wrong x)

*facepalm* Fixed I remember working hard to remember not to swap those vowels, and yet somehow it still escapes me here and there. My apologies.

[yee]

I pronuonce it as it is writen "Aether" - A (like in Hay) + e (as in Key) + ther.
Probably the German "Ätherr" is the closest.
(Estonian word for aether is "Eeter")

[Youpla]

dimshield

 

I pronounce it "Ah et Terre ?" sounds like euh... I don't know in english, but the nearest one is Hay.

[Jenkar]

dimshield

 

I pronounce it "Ah et Terre ?" sounds like euh... I don't know in english, but the nearest one is Hay.

Don't think there's a sound that sounds like Terre in english. Something like "T-er" maybe? That heavy french accent tho x)
Personally "Ah é fur", eh.

[ShrivelTwitch]

I pronounce it like a-thur. Like if I wanted to say aether's, it would sound like "a Thursday" without the "day" part.

[Xyzdragon138]

I always thought it was pronounced ay-ther. I've only heard it pronounced ay-ther and ee-ther but I just assumed people who pronounced it ee-ther were just wrong... I guess my ignorance is showing through

[Captain Scibra]

II used to say Eh-ther, but that was when I first encountered it spelled 'Ether'.  Ever since I played Elements, I always pronounced it Ee-ther.

[EmeraldTiger]

For those that may not know, the the word used to look like Æther or æther.

Edit: for reference. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86

[Higurashi]

meanings in different contexts can definitely become lost.

For instance, in some languages there's no way to indicate a question besides inflection.

Certainly, but the evolution of the changing pronunciation of aether/ether has not affected issues in understanding the meaning. It hasn't changed the context, and inflection can still play its proper role. I also enjoy the study of language, and I can certainly conjure examples where what you're saying is very important. I just can't see a way that it needs to be applied to aether/ether.

Here's the issue: we don't know if it has affected the meaning. Different pronounciations and spelling may have gotten lost during history. The Greeks may have even gotten the word from someone else; if they did or not hangs on whether they considered this principle of preservation. That's why we can now make a decision to do so, for the sake of future linguistics, because we have the knowledge and experience of countless meanings lost over the course of history. Modern linguists think like you do as well, and it's a fatal mistake. Another modern theory is that languages develop through use, not through introducing rules. This only serves to highlight the importance of preservation.

The only way to prevent casualties is through a principle. Not dealing with a word at a time. That's what I mean about preventing loss; not really specific to aether.