Ay-men/Ah-men?

[mercygate]

Detroit Sue:

Sr. Mary Deotima taught me that if you were praying in Latin, Polish, etc, the correct pronounciation would be Ah-men. If you are praying in English, it is Ay-men.

Wow - I had her in the fourth grade and still remember this. That was like 200 years ago!

I have spoken English all my life and worshiped in the United States most of my life, and never until I became Catholic, did I ever hear “ay-men” in Church – at least in the Midwest and Northeast.

 

[SMHW]

I did a Google search on the pronunciation of “Amen”.

In addition to a few somewhat interesting articles on how we honor the Egyption god Amon when we use a non-Hebrew or non-Greek pronunciation , I found a British dictionary site which stated that the normal pronunciation was Ah-men but that the Catholic Church tended to favor the pronunciation Ay-men.

I am wondering what the typical Irish pronunciation of the word is. If I were to guess, I would say that the Ay-men pronunciation of the word comes from the way the word is rapidly tacked on to the end of the Hail Mary when spoken with an Irish/Gaelic accent. (Probably more like Eh-men?) This pronunciation would have been promulgated in Catholic schools which were heavily influenced by the Irish.

 

[Annunciata]

I’ve always said Ah-men…then I was a Baptist, but coming from Massachusetts, it could be just the way we pronounce things? As a previous poster said “…the Lilies of The Field” is the only time I say Ay-men.

 

[J_Chrysostomos]

Sometimes I’ve caught myself saying Ah-meen (the Greek pronunciation!) instead of my usual Ah-men. I’m not much for Ay-men but I’ll do it every now and then.

For those of you who are Eastern Catholic (and I’m assuming some of them still use the Slavonic occasionally) do they do the Latin Ah-men or the Greek Ah-meen?

 

[RomanRyan1088]

Common people, Tomayto, tomahto, it’s really all the same, “I believe”

 

[Funky_Cedars]

J_Chrysostomos:

For those of you who are Eastern Catholic (and I’m assuming some of them still use the Slavonic occasionally) do they do the Latin Ah-men or the Greek Ah-meen?

in my ukie church, we use the latter, but it’s written ‘amin’, yet one more variation which everyone here should enjoy.
thanks for listening love and peace, terry

 

[JimG]

Like Betsy, I always thought that “Ay-men” was English and “Ah-men” was Latin. Having grown up with both languages, that’s the way I was taught.

JimG

 

[chimakuni]

Ay-men…Ay-CHOO! Ah-men…Ah-CHOO! I guess it depends on the sneeze! I actually say both and use both without thinking. I wonder which one I favor, though?

 

[tractarian]

I always say ah-men, probably because of the Latin language influence. My current parish has a lot of people originally from Asian countries, so i hear it pronounced “ah-min” a lot too. Just like the Ukranian Catholics…

 

[Marie]

JimG:

Like Betsy, I always thought that “Ay-men” was English and “Ah-men” was Latin. Having grown up with both languages, that’s the way I was taught.

JimG

Yes, pretty much the same here. US Catholic English Ay-men for speaking and Ah-men for singing Latin. That is how the Dominican Nuns of Kentucky taught us.

 

[mercygate]

Mike C:

aye-men is English, ahh-men is Latin. A left-over from the Latin Mass.

I believe Ay-men may be American. It is definitely not English.

 

[redkim]

What the heck does it matter? Anyway, I say AY-men when speaking and AH-men when singing.

 

[Kotton]

Originally Posted by Marie

Originally Posted by JimG
Like Betsy, I always thought that “Ay-men” was English and “Ah-men” was Latin. Having grown up with both languages, that’s the way I was taught.

JimG

Yes, pretty much the same here. US Catholic English Ay-men for speaking and Ah-men for singing Latin. That is how the Dominican Nuns of Kentucky taught us.

The older you are, the more likely this would be what you remember. My folks taught me Ay-men, and that’s what the nuns also said. When singing the Mass, it was Ah-men, because that was Latin. I live here in the midle of the U.S.A.

I only heard Ah-men at the end of prayers in English from Protestants.

Kotton

 

[Irish_Melkite]

Both Eastern Catholics and Orthodox and Oriental Catholics and Orthodox all tend to the usage “ah- meen”.

 

[guse]

drforjc:

As a convert from Lutheranism this always puzzled me a little too- not to look down on those who use Ay-men or anything- but it just seemed to me that the tradition of liturgical Latin (in which it would have been correctly pronounced “Ah-men”) in the Catholic church would have become ingrained in Catholics.
As I said it doesn’t bother me but just seemed a bit unusual.

I’m also a convert from the Lutheran church (LCMS). I use Ah-men. It’s interesting that in the Lutheran hymnal the Latin titles are used; Angus Dei, Nunc Dimitis, Sanctus. Also, during communion after the minister said “The Lord be with you”, we didn’t say “and also with you”, but “and with your spirit”, which I’ve heard is the correct translation from the Latin. Sometimes I almost say that at Mass. I also have trouble with the Creed. The wording used in the Lutheran church seems to be an older usage.

 

[Minimus]

Kotton:

The older you are, the more likely this would be what you remember. My folks taught me Ay-men, and that’s what the nuns also said. When singing the Mass, it was Ah-men, because that was Latin. I live here in the midle of the U.S.A.

I only heard Ah-men at the end of prayers in English from Protestants.

Kotton

There was an earlier remark about no one over 50 remembering ay-men. However, Kotton is correct as I recall: the pronunciation was ah-men in Latin, ah-mayn in Koinos, ah-meen in most semitic languages and in modern Greek, but ay-men in English. The nuns and priests all used the normative English pronunciation when praying in that language. I specifically remember being taught that ah-men in English was a Protestant pronunciation.

 

[Matthewsmumau]

Personally i always say Ah-men but i just assumed it was an accent thing . Sue.

 

[tom.wineman]

The old ape-recot-ap-recot quandary .

 

[Prometheum_x]

It is a most horrible occasion when “ay-men” is used when singing. . . . . .

 

[SMHW]

Prometheum_x:

It is a most horrible occasion when “ay-men” is used when singing. . . . . .

No self-respecting church singer would use a common long ‘a’ sound in any word, ‘Amen’ or otherwise. :bigyikes: