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Q: William Gaddis ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: William Gaddis
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: greysilver-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 11 Oct 2004 19:56 PDT
Expires: 10 Nov 2004 18:56 PST
Question ID: 413479
I am reading "The Recognitions" by William Gaddis. What is the correct
pronunciation of the name Gwyon?
Answer  
Subject: Re: William Gaddis
Answered By: tutuzdad-ga on 11 Oct 2004 20:42 PDT
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Dear greysilver-ga

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question. 

Interestingly enough is this, purportedly from Gaddis himself, as
quoted by A READER'S GUIDE TO WILLIAM GADDIS'S ?THE RECOGNITIONS?:

?Asked once how to pronounce ?Gwyon?, Gaddis said he didn't know; he
had never said it aloud. It probably should be pronounced as one
syllable, like "Gwynne," its modern form.?

A READER'S GUIDE TO WILLIAM GADDIS'S ?THE RECOGNITIONS?
http://www.williamgaddis.org/recognitions/I1anno1.shtml

This appears to be confirmed by numerous mentions about the original
name GWION, which sounds very similar to Gwynne and could very well
have become Gwynne over the years.

The name Gwyon is a very, very old name and appears in THE MERIONETH
LAY SUBSIDY ROLL for the years 1292-1293, many centuries before Gaddis
was born. This was a tax roll of Welsh people living in northwestern
Wales. A SIMPLE GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTING 13TH CENTURY WELSH NAMES,
relying on the information in this historical tax role, indicates that
the name GWYON is a variation of the original name GWION, both of
which appear to be pronounced: ?GWEE-ON? (in the Welsh languages of
the time ?GWI-? and ?GWY-? were typically pronounced ?GWEE-?)

So as you can see, the name GWION/GWYON in it?s early form would have
been ?GWEE-ON?, but the assumption made by A READER'S GUIDE TO WILLIAM
GADDIS'S ?THE RECOGNITIONS? that the pronunciation of the name is
?GWEN? (similar to the way the name ?GWYNNE? sounds) as Gaddis
surmised is logically correct.


Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

SHIRE OF WINTERMIST
http://www.sca-caid.org/herald/minutes/2002/min0209.html

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTING 13TH CENTURY WELSH NAMES
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/welsh13.html

YULE RITUAL
http://www.muinmound.org/Rituals/Yule_Ritual.htm
(see item #10 on this page)




SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:

GWYON

GWION

GWYNNE

GADDIS

WESLH NAMES

PRONOUNCED
greysilver-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars

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