Aodh Macs Blog

What is a syllable? What is a Syllable? Introduction: The concept of there being syllables  is extremely important, when it comes to the correct pronunciation of Latin and Ancient Greek. In the restored pronunciation of Latin and Greek, one’s being able to identify syllables will aid his ability to correctly accentuate words in his vocabulary. Body: Let us examine the etymology of the term, ‘syllable.’ Etymology: The English term: ‘syllable’ is derived from the Ancient-Greek prefix: συν- or, when transliterated: ‘sun-’ , which means: ‘together’ ...

The Etymology of ‘gamma’ in Ancient Greek. Figure 1:   A capital ‘gamma’ on the left, and a small ‘gamma’ on the right. In Classical Greek, the third letter of the alphabet is: or: or: γάμμα or: ‘gámma’ or: ‘gamma’ .  This Ancient-Greek letter is said to be cognate with the Hebrew letter: Gimmel Hebrew Letter ...

Classical Hebrew Vowels and their Pronunciation (Tiberian Pronunciation)      Figure 1:    אָ֣לֶפ The Aleph.  This is the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.  It has a numerical value of 1 . אָ = Alef, Qamats = /a/ אָה = Alef, Qamats Hay = /aː/ אַ = Alef, Patach = /ɑ/ אֵ = Alef, tsērē = /e/ אֵה = Alef, tsērē hay = /eː/ אֵי = Alef, tsērē yod = /eː/ (/eːɪ/ /eɪ/) אֶ = Alef, segol = /ɛ/ אֶה = Aleph, segol, hay = /ɛː/ אִ = Aleph, Chiriq = /ɪ/ אִי = Aleph, Chiriq, Yod = /i/ /i...

As regards Formal Logic and Set theory, what is a dichotomy? As Regards Formal Logic and Set Theory, what is a Dichotomy? Introduction: The mathematical term: ‘dichotomy’ is employed in common parlance, usually as a component of the phrase: a false dichotomy .  When we refer to: a false dichotomy in common English, we generally refer to two competing ideologies that might seem, at first glance, to have nothing in common; no shared elements; but, upon further inspection, actually have a lot of elements in common. The Term ‘Dichotomy’ in Mathematics and Logic: The purpose of this blogpost is to examine what the term: ...

Pseudo-random numbers in C Pseudo-random numbers in C: Introduction: In Ancient Greek, the adjective: ψευδής [1] . or, when transliterated: ‘pseudḗs’ means: ‘lying,’ ‘false,’ ‘fictitious,’ ‘sham’ [2] . . A classical computer is a deterministic machine, and, in and of itself, cannot generate a truly random number.  A classical computer, in and of itself, can only generate a pseudo-random number. [3] . A pseudo-random number is not a true random number – its having been g...

The Ancient-Greek Alphabet: The Ancient-Greek Alphabet comprises 24 letters: one letter for each hour of the day. The Ancient-Greek Alphabet: Uppercase: Lowercase: Ancient-Greek Letter Name: Ancient-Greek Letter Name Transliterated: I.P.A. Symbol: Α α άλφα álpha short = /ɑ/ ; long = /aː/ ; /ɑː/ ...

    Figure 1:   A tongue that I quickly sketched, and then edited in photoshop. The Ancient-Greek 1st-and-2nd-declension adjective: πολύς, πολλή, πολύ , or, when transliterated: ‘polús, pollḗ, polú,’ means: ‘many,’ .  The Ancient-Greek 1 st -declension feminine noun: ἡ γλῶσσα, τῆϛ γλώσσης, or, when transliterated: ‘hē glȭssa, tē̃s glṓssēs’ means: ‘the tongue’ .  In the Attic dialect, the spelling of: ‘hē glȭssa,’ is: ἡ γλῶττα, τῆϛ γλώττης , or, when transliterated: ‘hē glȭtta, tē̃s glṓttēs’ . We derive our English noun: ‘polyglot,’ , which is a speaker of many languages, from our combining of the Ancient-Greek adjective: ‘polús,’ which means: ‘many’ , with the Ancient-Greek noun: ‘glȭtta’ , which means: ‘tongue’ .

Figure 1:  I drew this pencil sketch of Aristotle. I consider Aristotle to be the great grandfather of computer Science.  To elaborate upon this is beyond the scope of this blogpost.  However, I consider this to be a huge motivating factor for my learning Greek:  should I ever complete a PhD in Computer Science, then this could make for an excellent subject for a thesis.  I hope to be able to read Aristotle in the original Greek, one day. I have read the philosophical novel, Atlas Shrugged  (1957) by Ayn Rand.  There is an Aristotelian theme running through the book.  Chapters are named after ideas from this philosopher. The Book is divided into three parts.  Part III is entitled: A is A .  This is a reference to the law of identity.  I believe that the law of identity, were it to be expressed in the Greek of Aristotle, would be: ἄλφα ἔστιν ἄλφα , or, when transliterated: álpha éstin...