Random question: how do you pronounce Trypho (as in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho)?

I've always thought it was pronounced TRI-fo, like "trifle" but with -o at the end. A very tight long 'i' sound (not the extended long 'i' of TRY).

But all three speakers on https://www.howtopronounce.com/trypho/ pronounce it TREE-fo. However that is a user-contribution site, so I'm not considering any of them to be authoritative. I can't find any other written documentation of how it's supposed to be pronounced.

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Mark Smith

No idea, but since the name is Greek, and assuming the 'y' stands in the an eta, the name might be pronounced in Greek as 'Trayfoe'.

Milkman

Same.

I've always thought it was pronounced TRI-fo, like "trifle" but with -o at the end. A very tight long 'i' sound (not the extended long 'i' of TRY).

But all three speakers on https://www.howtopronounce.com/trypho/ pronounce it TREE-fo. However that is a user-contribution site, so I'm not considering any of them to be authoritative. I can't find any other written documentation of how it's supposed to be pronounced.

Rosie Perera

No idea, but since the name is Greek, and assuming the 'y' stands in the an eta, the name might be pronounced in Greek as 'Trayfoe'.

It actually comes from Τρύφων so wouldn't that be TROO-fon? (I don't know Greek pronunciation really, and it's not a biblical word so I can't get Logos to help me).

It's not that big a deal for me to know the answer, but I'm mentioning it as the source of a quote in my sermon tomorrow, and I'd like to be able to pronounce it correctly if possible.

I think the 'y' is from a capital upsilon. His true Greek name would be something like "true-phone-a". I always here people pronounce his name in English, though, as Try-foe.

Mark Smith

I think the 'y' is from a capital upsilon.

You are right. Try-foe would be what it reads like in English, but Troo-foe might at least reflect the upsilon. We are not exactly helping Rosie get to a definitive answer, however.

In cases like this, use a different quote.

Rosie Perera

In cases like this, use a different quote.

Ha ha! Either that or plagiarize without attribution. [;)]

Damian McGrath

In modern greek, the upsilon is pronounced with an "ee" sound. This may account for the user-contributed pronunciation (and where they studied the classics will shape the pronunciation they used).

In classical to koine greek, it was pronounced like the french u or german ü. That is how I learnt it.

In most modern anglophone institutions, the pronunciation of "oo" is taught. This always sounds a bit rough to my ears.