18 MAY 2002, Page 40

Amen to that

From Sonia Krimsky Sir: With reference to the word 'amen' in Dot Wordsworth's column (Mind your language,

11 May), the origin is indeed Hebrew. The pronunciation in Hebrew is `aw-mayn'; this tiny word contains a vowel called the kamatz katan, pronounced caw' in an unaccented closed syllable. It's a heavy burden of grammar for such a small expression, Sonia Krimsky

New York, USA