On Fri, 31 Aug 2001, Allan Rae wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Aug 2001, John O'Gorman wrote:
>
> > Not so
> >
> > The letter y is not Latin at all. It was introduced into the Latin
> > language (along with z) to render Greek words.
> >
> > Lyric is a Greek word, not Latin.
>
> I'll consult with my local linguistic guru about other possibilities but I
> think you're right about the origin of y. You haven't said how to
> pronounce it though.
According to Russell the friendly linguist:
In English pronunciation "y" follows the same rules as "i."
Followed by two consonants it is short: x resolves into two
consonants (ks). Therefore, the y in LyX must be short.
The analogy is pyx -- this is a cup in a church.
Russell also says:
The "y" in LyX proves that it is not Latin but it doesn't prove it
is Greek.
> > If, as you say, the upercase X of LyX is to echo the X of LaTeX, does
> > that not strengthen my case?
>
> It would if it weren't for the fact that the X was meant to reflect the X
> in X-Windows. At least that is what I was told when I first joined the
> team about 5 years ago.
>
> > The argument is not really whether LyX is Latin or Greek - the y make
> > it Greek. The nub of the matter is whether the x is a Xi or a Chi. The
> > uppercase X is the clincher that indicates Chi.
>
> So is the X in X-Windows an X, a Xi, a Chi or the mark of a very drunk
> Zorro?
Further thoughts from the grand-master linguist Russell:
X never represents the Greek letter chi; this very word shows that
the Greek X is represented in English by "ch." If this X
represents a Greek letter it must be Xi. Unfortunately, there is
no word "lyx" in Greek.
After showing Russell "The TeXbook" by Donald Knuth which explains
Donald's thoughts on the derivation of "TeX" he had the following to say:
[what he meant to say: "What a load of bollocks!"]
The final X does not represent simple chi but rather "ch"
pronounced hard (ie. like "k") plus "s" perhaps to indicate a
wider field by the plural. Or alternatively to resemble words
like physics.
Even in ancient Greek "chi" ceased to be pronounced like the
Spanish "j" and become homophonous with "k". This is the
situation with modern Greek and greek words in western European
languages. That is why we say karacter and not character.
Allan. (ARRae) and Russell a.k.a. #:|
