Greek handwriting | Handwritten Greek letters | How to handwrite in Greek Comment Same as Roman A. The first of the two is the most typical, “the Greek way” of writing an alpha. Some Greeks, however, write it just like a common hand-written version of the Roman a, as shown on the right. If you prefer your writing to look more genuinely Greek, use the first way; but if you like the safety of the familiar, you may use the second way. Same as Roman B. Two ways to draw a beta, differing only in the starting point of the strokes. The first way yields a more squarish beta at the top, and is done in two strokes. The second way yields a more roundish top, and is done in a single stroke (but starts a bit awkwardly at the bottom). Use whatever seems more convenient to you. Note: many non-native writers tend to put a little vertical tail at the end of the second stroke, seeing it in printed forms of this letter ( Γ ). Thats a serif! It does not belong to the basic form of gamma any more than the serifs at the end of the horizontal bar of a capital T belong to it.

When we write, we usually do not mark the serifs. Not really different, the two ways depend on where you make the crossing point. Making it higher than the notebook line (first way) is more convenient in handwriting. Making it right at the line (second way) is more like the printed letter. An alternative order to draw the strokes is just as in A, with the horizontal line (3rd stroke) being the base of the triangle. When written quickly, the angle at the top-left usually comes out as a curve. Same as Roman E. An alternative way to draw this letter is like a c with a horizontal line in the middle (like this: є, or just as the math symbol for “belongs” — for whomever is familiar with that — but in small size). Same as Roman Z. The length of the top horizontal line doesn’t matter. Also, that line is sometimes slightly curved like a wide-open bowl. The hook at the bottom can be more closed or more open. Same as Roman H (but note that this is the Greek vowel eta). The first form is less common, but more consistent with Greek-style hand-writing.

The second form is more common, and appears more familiar to non-Greeks, since it’s identical to the Roman letter n. Like an O with a horizontal bar bisecting it. The first form is thinner than its corresponding capital letter. The second form is cursive. Same as Roman I. Same as Roman i without the dot. Same as Roman K. The second form (which looks like the Roman u) is cursive but quite common — perhaps more common than the first form. Same as an A without the horizontal bar. Sometimes stroke #1 ends with a little hook pointing to the right. Same as Roman M. Drawing the strokes in the given order makes it a bit more cursive (preparing for the next letter). But you can also draw a Roman u first, and then extend the line on the left. Same as Roman N. If you want to distinguish the Greek ν from the Roman v, use the first form. A very rare letter. The second form probably exists so that the letter doesn’t appear discontinuous. Looks complicated, but it’s actually like a lowercase zeta (see it above), the curve of which has acquired an extra spike.

Another way to see it is as a final sigma (or Roman s) on top of which stands a lowercase cursive tau (see it below). Same as Roman O. The second form is cursive, and quite rare. Same as Roman P (but note that this is the Greek rho). Don’t confuse the Greek ρ with the Roman p. The former has a complete circle, whereas the latter is nearly semicircular. The mid-point can sometimes be drawn so that it reaches as far to the right as the upper and lower end-points, but more commonly it stands a little to the left of those. In the first form, the top horizontal line is about as long as 1/2 diameter (or 1 radius) of the circle. The second form is the final sigma only (never use it instead of the mid-word sigma), and is identical to the Roman s. Note: some books written by non-Greek authors might suggest the Byzantine form c instead. Nobody writes a sigma like that today, save for the Greek Orthodox Church. Same as Roman T. The second form is cursive, and perhaps more common than the first one. Same as Roman Y (but note that this is the Greek upsilon).

The hook on the left is optional, but usually present. The circle can sometimes be larger, reaching further down, and sometimes (rarely) all the way to the bottom line. The second form is calligraphic, and quite common. Same as Roman X (but note that this is the Greek chi). The second form is cursive, and not very common. As with Φ (above), the curve can sometimes be larger, reaching further down, but never all the way to the bottom line. The second stroke often starts at the same height as the two end-points of the bowl. Both forms are equally common. Greek Alphabet | billmounce.com Greek Alphabet Free stuff The Greek alphabet has twenty-four letters. (There were several more, but they dropped out of use before the classical period. In some cases their influence can still be felt, especially in verbs.) At first it is only important to learn the English name, small letters, and pronunciation. The transliterations will help. (A transliteration is the equivalent of a letter in another language.

For example, the Greek "beta" [β] is transliterated with the English "b." This does not mean that a similar combination of letters in one language has the same meaning as the same combination in another. κατ does not mean "cat." But the Greek "β" and the English "b" have the same sounds and often similar functions, and therefore it is said that the English "b" is the transliteration of the Greek "beta." In our texts today, capitals are used only for proper names, the first word in a quotation, and the first word in the paragraph. [Originally the Bible was written in all capital letters with no punctuation, accent marks, or spaces between the words. For example, John 1:1 began, ΕΝΑΡΧΗΗΝΟΛΟΓΟΣ. Capital letters, or "majuscules," were used until the later centuries A.D. when cursive script was adopted. Cursive script is like our handwriting where the letters are joined together.

In Greek texts today, John 1:1 begins, ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος] There is some disagreement as to the correct pronunciation of a few of the letters; these are given at the bottom of the chart. We have chosen the standard pronunciations that will help you learn the language the easiest. Notice the many similarities among the Greek and English letters, not only in shape and sound but also in their respective order in the alphabet. The Greek alphabet can be broken down into sections. It will parallel the English for a while, differ, and then begin to parallel again. Try to find these natural divisions. You can download an alphabet worksheet to help you learn, name u as the German u with umlaut Phi o as in tone Notes Zeta. Some pronounce the zeta as the "dz" combination. This helps to differentiate it from the sigma. Wenham (19) says that it is pronounced "dz" unless it is the first letter in the word, in which case it is pronounced "z." Iota. The iota can be either long ("intr_i_gue") or short ("_i_ntrigue").

Listen to how your teacher pronounces the words and you will pick up the differences. Upsilon. Other suggestions are the u in "universe" and the oo in "book." Chi. Loch, pronounced with a decided Scottish accent. Writing the Letters 1. Notice how α β δ ε ι κ ο ς τ and υ look like their English counterparts. 2. In Greek there are five letters that are transliterated by two letters. θ is th; ξ is xs; φ is ph; χ is ch; ψ is ps. These are called double consonants. 3. It is important that you do not confuse the η (eta) with the English "n," the ν (nu) with the "v," the ρ (rho) with the "p," the χ (chi) with the "x," or the ω (omega) with the "w." 4. There are two sigmas in Greek. ς occurs only at the end of the word and σ occurs elsewhere:ἀπόστολος. 5. The vowels in Greek are α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω.

Pronouncing the Letters 1. You will learn the alphabet best by pronouncing the letters out loud as you write them, over and over. 2. The name of a consonant is formed with the help of a vowel, but the sound of the consonant does not include that vowel. For example, m is the letter "mu," but when mu appears in the word, there is no "u" sound. 3. The following letters sound just like their English counterparts: α β γ δ ε ι κ λ μ ν ο π ρ σ ς τ. 4. Gamma (γ) usually has a hard "g" sound, as in "get." However, when it is immediately followed by γ, κ, χ, or ξ, it is pronounced as a "n." For example, the word ἄγγελος is pronounced "angelos," from which we get our word "angel." The gamma pronounced like a "n" is called a gamma nasal. [Most are formed from the γγ combination.] 5. Alpha and iota can be either long or short. Iota may have changed its sound (cf.

"intr_i_gue", "_i_ntrigue"); alpha may not have. [There is much discussion on this type of issue among scholars. The long alpha (e.g., "father") would have taken longer to say than the short alpha. (e.g., "cat").] Epsilon and omicron are always short while eta and omega are always long. "Long" and "short" refer to the relative length of time it requires to pronounce the vowel (e.g., "father" and "cat"). 6. Greek also has two breathing marks. Every word beginning with a vowel and all words beginning with a rho have a breathing mark. The rough breathing is a ῾ placed over the first vowel and adds an "h" sound to the word. ὑπέρ is pronounced "huper." Every word that begins with a rho or upsilon takes a rough breathing. The smooth breathing is a ᾽ placed over the first vowel and is not pronounced.

ὐπέρ (which is not a real Greek word) would be pronounced "uper." ἀπόστολος is pronounced "α πό στο λος." SB The Greek Alphabet Number 116 THE GREEK ALPHABET It is cause for thanksgiving that in the providence of God the language barrier that once stood between the common man and the truth of God has been broken. The New Testament was written in the common Greek of the first century, usually called koine Greek, and for centuries many of the vital facts of divine revelation were hidden from the average man. He had to rely on fallible human authorities in a realm where accuracy and certainty were most vital. He had no means of verifying the correctness of a translation. Now, all this has been changed, so that any person of ordinary intelligence who will apply himself to the task can discover for himself what God has actually said. All he needs to do is make use of the tools that men of God have made available.

By "tools" I refer to such monumental works as * Young's Analytical Concordance; * The Englishman's Greek Concordance by George Wigram; * The Greekï¿½-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Thayer; * The Englishman's Greek New Testament (an interlinear by Bagster); * The Analytical Greek Lexicon (Bagster). The last mentioned contains an alphabetical arrangement of every inflexion of every word in the Greek New Testament with a grammatical analysis of each word. However, if the student wants to use these books speedily and effectively he must know the Greek alphabet, and be able to transpose upon sight the Greek characters into their English equivalents. For example, when he comes upon the word.avOpwIIo ( sorry, computer limitations ï¿½ O is Theta, II is Pi, Ed.), he should be able on sight to change this into anthropos. There are twenty-four letters in the koine Greek alphabet. Each letter has a name, and it is these names that should first be memorized. Then we must learn its sign and how it was constructed, both as to capitals and small letters.

In the koine period only capitals were used, but it is the lower-case letters in which we are most interested. These will now be displayed for some visual training. There are numerous helps that will aid the student in handling the Greek alphabet. It can be divided into six groups of four letters each, learning the first four names, then advancing to the second group. The first letter is named alpha. I assume every Bible student is familiar with the passage wherein the Lord says: "I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." If so, you have the first and last letters of the alphabet already with only twenty-two more to go. And since you are learning the alphabet, you have the first and second letters, alpha and beta. The third letter gamma should be easy since it is used in many English words such as gamma-ray and gamma-globulin. The fourth letter delta should be very easy since we have brought it into English to describe the formation made by the mouth of a river, which is shaped somewhat like the Greek letter 1::..Now we have alpha, beta, gamma, delta - the first four - and omega, the last letter, so only nineteen more to go.

The student should learn to write the Greek letters with careful attention being given to the small ones. Alpha is made the same as our letter a, both small and capital letters. It is pronounced aas in cat and ah as in father. Beta is made the same as our capital B. In writing the small letter begin with an upward stroke a little below the line. Gamma in its capital looks like a gallows, and the small letter resembles our y. If the top were closed it would look like our g. It is a letter that varies in sound so when it is followed by another gamma (yy), a kappa (YK), an xi (y_) it is pronounced as an n. Thus aggelos becomes angelos when pronounced. Delta is an easy letter to make. The capital is a simple triangle, but in making the small letter be sure to get the curl at the top. Epsilon is the short e, made the same as in English in the capital, but the small letter is a semicircle with a horizontal mark in the middle. Zeta is pronounced as if it had a D in front of it. In making the small letter be sure to add the little mark on the top and the hook on the bottom.

Etais the long e. It could be somewhat confusing since the capital is made like an H, and the small letter like an n. In making it be sure the rightï¿½hand stroke comes below the line, and in transliterating it put a mark over it so it will not be confused with the short e. Theta is a circle with a bar across the middle, and the small letter is an upright oval with the same bar. Iota is the smallest of all the characters and is used figuratively to signify something insignificant. Kappa is easy since it is made the same as our letter K. Lambda is pecular since the capital looks line an inverted V. An oddity about the small letter will make it easy to remember. Notice the leaning right-hand stroke with the little bar on the left to keep it from falling backward. . Muhas a long left-hand stroke, a shorter right-hand stroke, and a sagging bridge that ties them together. Nuis the same as our N, but the small letter looks like our v. It should be made with a slight outward curve to the right-hand stroke. Xi (pronounced ksee) demands close scrutiny. The capital is three horizontal lines, the middle line being a little shorter.

This is not the same as our letter X, even though it is made like it. You can remember its distinctive character from the trade name Xerox (Kseerox). The small letter is made like a backward number 3, and it should have the small mark at the top and the curved tail at the bottom, a little below the line. Omicron is the short 0 and is pronounced as in box. Pi is familiar to all who have studied geometry, but the pronunciation is pee, not pie.ï¿½ Rhoshould be given close attention since it looks like the English letter P. Sigma can be difficult. The capital is easy to recognize, but the small letter looks like an 0, so it must have the short horizontal stroke at the top in order to distinbuish it from omicron. When sigma occurs at the end of a word, it is made like the letter S, but the lower curve should be about half the size of the upper. Tauis simple, corresponding to our letter T. Upsilon in the small letter is the same as our U, but the capital should be given that slight palm-tree effect. The last four letters form an interesting quartet.

Phi is the equivalent of our ph and is made like an 0 with a perpendicular line through it. Chi is made, both capital and small, like our letter X. However, it is not our X, and it transliterates as ch. It is often used as a shorthand symbol for Christ, as can be seen in our contracted word Xmas. Psi is the equivalent of our ps. As a memory aid, think of it as a little like two lips with a tongue protruding from them. Omega is the long 0 as in home. The capital looks a little like a horseshoe, and the small letter looks like a double O. In transliterating it is identified by the mark over the top (0). The student will find many transliterated words that begin with an H, and this may puzzle him when he sees nothing in the Greek that represents this letter. In all Greek words that begin with a vowel, a mark will be found over them which curves either to the left ( .) or to the right ( , ).

If the hook (not the curve) of this mark is to the right so that it looks like the word could be hung on it, it takes the h sound, and an h should be added to it when transliterating. Remember, you are learning the alphabet only so that you can use the available tools. Furthermore, I do not advise anyone to rush out and buy the six expensive books mentioned earlier in this study. I would recommend that he start with Young's Concordance and then add to this The Englishman's Greek New Testament. Ancient Greek/Alphabet - Wikibooks, open books for an open world Ancient Greek/Alphabet Jump to: navigation , search The Greek alphabet, adopted in Attica in 403 B.C., contained 24 letters, and survives to this day, although, as is natural with most languages, the sounds of the letters have changed. While the Greeks themselves throughout the classical period wrote only in capitals, and without punctuation, this wikibook will use the current convention - that is, to use lower case letters where appropriate, to include accents and other diacritical marks, and to mark punctuation.

Contents ng (king) wherever it precedes γ, κ, ξ, or χ2 Δ δ 1. the letters ι, α, and υ can represent short and long vowels. 2. This is called a gamma nasal. (e.g. αγγελος) 3. the letters ξ, ζ, and ψ all represent double consonant sounds (ks, zd, ps). 4. While many pronounce these characters according to the English sounds "th" (as in thin) and "ph" (as in photo) and the Scottish "ch" (as in loch), scholars suggest that this is not the correct ancient pronunciation. Evidence for this comes to us from Coptic, a language once spoken in Egypt. Coptic, unlike Greek, has a letter that corresponds to the English letter "H", which is ϩ or hori (Greek only has the rough breathing mark). When one word ends with either τ, π, or κ, and the word directly following begins with ϩ , the last letter of the first word will often contract with the first letter of the second word, resulting in θ, φ, and χ, respectively (e.g.

πετ ϩοογ >> πεθοογ). While this affected the spelling it did not affect pronunciation, resulting in two pronounced sounds (t-h, p-h, k-h). The following "H" sound is called aspiration. 5. the letter σ is written ς at the end of words, e.g. βασις (but ΒΑΣΙΣ). This form is called sigma lunate, because it looks like a crescent moon. 6. Due to changes in the English language over time, the terms "long" and "short" are confusing here. The Greek letters epsilon and omicron were short and contrasted with the long eta and omega.

In English, the "long" ā sound in "bait" is actually short when compared to the word "bayed." Similarly, the "short" ĕ sound of "bed" is long when compared to the word "bet." (It's the following consonant that determines the length in English.) In Ancient Greek, short epsilon had the sound of ā in "bait," while long eta had the sound of ĕ in "bed." The story is similar for omicron and omega (but because of variation in the way English is pronounced, it is not easy to find example words). The most important thing to remember, though, is that epsilon and omicron are short, whereas eta and omega are long. 7. Like u in French or ü in German. Can be pronounced by pronouncing ee while pursing the lips as if for the oo in "food." Pronunciation[ edit ] It is difficult, but not impossible, to reconstruct the pronunciation of an ancient language. Through various methods, particularly by comparison with other languages, and observation of sounds that are confused, we can form good estimates. However, please note that scholars do not agree on the pronunciation of Ancient Greek. The following pronunciation guide is simply one reconstruction.

If you ever take a formal class in Ancient Greek, you may find that your professor or teacher pronounces the words differently depending upon the reconstructed model which they learned in school. Also, just as English pronunciation has changed over time and is different in different regions of the English speaking world, Ancient Greek pronunciation was dependent both on era and dialect. Many dialectical changes are reflected in the spelling of words (so it is not necessary to explain those here), however, it is important to note that there are differences between the pronunciation of Homeric Greek and Classical Greek. In addition to the table above, some particular points need to be raised over pronunciation. Normally, γ is pronounced with a 'hard' g sound. However, before κ, χ, γ, it is pronounced as a nasal [ŋ]. ι is normally a separate vowel. However, in certain circumstances, it is possible to pronounce it as a semivowel [j] (like English y). Generally, the effect is the same. [oː] soon Notice the short line under the long vowels α, η, ω in three instances: this is the iota subscript. It indicates that there was originally an iota after the vowel, i.e. ῳ = ωι.

Some texts simply print an iota after the vowel: this is known as an iota adscript, and some texts mix the two, using a subscript with lowercase letters, and an adscript for capitals (Ωιομην for ῳομην). By Classical times, these had become monophthongs (one vowel sound) equivalent to their non-iotized counterparts, and can simply be pronounced as such. Note that when alpha takes the iota subscript, one can infer that the alpha was originally long, whereas the diphthong αι is formed from short alpha. Aspirates[ edit ] The letters θ, φ, χ are not fricatives: they are not the same as the sounds th, f, ch in thin, foot, and loch (although these are the sounds they have become in Modern Greek). These letters have hard sounds, but are pronounced with an exhalation, like an h sound. Listen hard to your voice when you pronounce the examples above: you'll find that there is a difference between the p in pot and in spot.

Don't worry if you have too much difficulty making this distinction; many teachers and students prefer to use the fricative versions (th, f, kh) so that they are easier to distinguish for speakers and listeners. Diacritical Marks[ edit ] You will notice that many Greek letters have marks over them, and you will likely recognise the more common accents from other languages. In Greek, the accent does not mark stress (as in Spanish) or a change in vowel quality (as in French), but the pitch. Do not worry about remembering accents to begin with - it is quite possible to have a degree in Classics with only the vaguest knowledge of accents. Greek has three accents: the acute or oxytone accent, written ´, and indicating a rise in pitch, the grave accent, `, indicating either a fall in pitch or a normal pitch (no one knows for sure), and a circumflex, or a perispomenon, ῀, which indicates a rise, followed by a fall. In some texts this appears as a rounded carat, like the sign ^, in others, like a tilde, ~. Accents only appear on vowels. If a diphthong is accented, the accent appears on the second character.

The diaeresis, ¨, is not strictly an accent, nor is it an umlaut, as used in German. It is mainly found on iotas to indicate that the letter should be pronounced separately from the vowel before it. For example, Verdi's opera Aïda is not pronounced 'eye-da', but 'a-yee-da'. Likewise, whereas αι is a diphthong, αϊ is two separate vowels. More important than accents are the breathing marks. Breathings normally occur only at the beginning of a word, though they will, at times, be present in the middle - where two words have been joined together. Greek has two types of breathing, the smooth breathing, ᾿, and the rough breathing, ῾. Unlike accents, these are quite important, and you should try to learn them. A word that begins with a rough breathing on a vowel should be pronounced with an 'h'. So the Greek word ὅρος, meaning 'boundary', should be read 'horos', while ὄρος, a mountain, should be read 'oros'.

Be careful never to confuse breathings with quotation marks or accents; when you write or quote Greek, the breathings should look like half-rings to clearly distinguish them from other marks. When rho occurs at the beginning of a word, it too takes a rough breathing mark and is transliterated rh, whereas when two rhos occur consecutively, the first takes a smooth breathing and the second a rough, although these breathing marks are not always indicated. Whenever upsilon occurs at the beginning of a word, it takes a rough breathing, except in the name of the letter itself. As with accent marks, breathing marks are written on the second of the two characters of a diphthong. Accents and breathings are usually written to the left of capital letters: Ἇ for ἇ. Vowel length[ edit ] In Ancient Greek, vowels may be long or short. The vowels ε and ο are always short, whereas η and ω are always long. The vowels α, ι, and υ, on the other hand, may be either short or long.

It is often taught in grade school that, e.g., the "a" in "rat" is short, whereas the "a" in "rate" is long. This is not at all like vowel length in Ancient Greek. In Ancient Greek, a long vowel is literally "longer" than a short vowel, that is, its sound lasts for twice as long as the sound of a short vowel. Originally, this was the only difference between short and long vowels, but as the language evolved, the short and long vowels began to differ not only in quantity (length) but also in quality (kind). It is not always possible to tell whether an alpha, iota, or upsilon is short or long. In dictionaries and textbooks, as here, long alphas, iotas, and upsilons are marked with a macron (¯), whereas short vowels are usually unmarked, but occasionally marked with a breve (˘). If an alpha, iota, or upsilon takes a circumflex, one may conclude that it is definitely long (see the following section), so it is not marked with a macron.

If an alpha, iota, or upsilon takes an acute or a grave and it is long, there are typographic difficulties and thus it might not carry a macron even though it is supposed to (although one might occasionally see an attempt, e.g., ἀγορᾱ́, which might not render correctly in your browser). In practice, alpha, iota, and upsilon are usually short in the word stems of Classical Greek (although the same might not be true of all Ancient Greek dialects); most long alphas in Classical Greek occur in grammatical endings, which makes it easier for the learner to remember which vowels are short and which are long. Developing a habit of pronouncing Ancient Greek words, in reading and in memorization, with full attention to vowel length, will aid the learner in remembering vowel length as well. Accents and Morae[ edit ] Ancient Greek was a language that distinguished between long and short syllables. Recall that the letters omicron and epsilon always denote short vowels for the purposes of accentuation (length can be determined differently for the sake of meter). Alpha, iota, and upsilon (α, ι, υ) can denote either short or long.

but the letters eta and omega are always long, and all the diphthongs (αι, οι, ει, υι, αυ, ευ, ου) and vowels with an iota subscript (ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ) are long, except that αι and οι are usually short at the end of a word (exceptions will be noted). αι and οι are long when (1) they are not at the end of a word, (2) they end a verb in the optative mood, (3) they end noun in the locative, e.g οἴκοι (4) they end certain adverbs, e.g. αἰαῖ. The basic unit of meter is a mora. The difference between long and short vowel is the number of morae (singular: mora) it contains. A short vowel counts as one mora, and a long vowel counts as two. Rules for Accentuation[ edit ] Almost every Ancient Greek word has an accent, and the accent will always fall on one of the last three syllables.

[1] Examples: ποταμός (river; accent on the ultima), ἵππος (horse; accent on the penult) ἰπποπόταμος (hippopotamus; accent on the antepenult). [2] The rules for accents vary based on the type of word being accented, e.g. nouns and verbs [3] are accented differently. Recessive Accents (Verbs)[ edit ] Most verbs have recessive accents (they go as close to the beginning of the word as possible), except infinitives and participles (which have persistent accents) and forms of a few verbs like εἰμί which have enclitic forms. Recessive accents always appear over the antepenult or penult. They appear over the antepenult if the last syllable is short, and over the penult if the last syllable is long.

In the optative, αι and οι are long at the end of a word Contract Verbs (and other contract words) have accents that reflect the uncontracted form of the words If the accented syllable is not the one that contracts, there is no effect on the accent. If the accented vowel is the first of the two vowels that contract, the resulting vowel will have a circumflex If the accented vowel is the second vowel in the contracted pair, it will have an acute accent. Consider the example of παιδευσαι: παίδευσαι 2nd person singular aorist middle imperative, (αι is short) παιδεύσαι 2nd person singular aorist active optative (αι is long), παιδεῦσαι aorist active infinitive (accent is persistent). Persistent Accents (Nouns and Adjectives)[ edit ] 1.

Nouns by default have persistent accent: that is to say, the accent (whichever it is) remains, as the same accent, on the same syllable (given by the principal parts of the noun) regardless of the declensional endings it might take on, unless prohibited by a rule of accentuation. Accent Pronunciation[ edit ] When a short vowel takes the acute accent, its pitch is rising. When a long vowel takes the acute, its second mora has a rising pitch. The mora immediately following has a falling pitch, even if it is on the next word. A circumflex can occur only over a long vowel. It indicates that the first mora has a rising pitch and the second a falling pitch. It is only allowed to occur on the last two syllables. The pronunciation of the grave accent is not precisely known. An acute accent on the last syllable (the ultima) changes into a grave unless the word stands last in its clause. The grave does not occur under any other circumstances. Example: ὁρ-ῶ αὐ-τό, but αὐ-τὸ ὁ-ρῶ.

If the last syllable is long, the accent will not fall on the third last syllable (the antepenult). (This rule has exceptions, but don't worry about them right now.) If the second last syllable (the penult) is long and it takes the accent: The accent will be an acute if and only if the ultima is long. Examples: βαί-νω, σῴ-ζω The accent will be a circumflex if and only if the ultima is short. Examples: βαῖ-νε, σῷ-ζε Punctuation[ edit ] Ancient Greek is generally punctuated in texts for the reader's convenience. Full stops and commas are used in roughly the same way as English. However, there is no exclamation mark, and the Greek question mark is used—it looks like a semicolon ( ; ). Instead of colons and semicolons, Greek texts have a raised dot ( · ). Notes[ edit ] ↑ Words that do not have accents are called enclitics. These tend to be small particles. They are also explained below. ↑ Betts, Gavin and Alan Henry. Teach Yourself Ancient Greek.

Ontario, Canada: McGraw-Hill, 2009. p.5 ↑ The notes on recessive accents are taken from Platonic Psychology summarized from Eleanor Dickey's unpublished Greek Prose Composition The Greek Alphabet ﻿ The Greek Alphabet The alphabet is among the few linguistic elements that have remained essentially unchanged between the Ancient and Modern Greek languages. Before listing the letters, let us make a brief comment on the pronunciation of the language, as it evolved through the millennia. Pronunciation How close is the sound of Modern Greek to that of Classic Greek? Phonetically, Classic Greek would sound rather alien to contemporary Greeks, but don’t ever say this to them! It is an issue that most Greeks, even educated ones, ignore. (1) I suspect it is because the alphabet has stayed unchanged, so Greeks can read classic texts with no trouble at all (pronouncing in Modern Greek). After all, it all looks Greek to them! If any (non-Greek) scholar attempts to pronounce classic texts in the reconstructed (2) pronunciation, that, to Greeks is tantamount to sacrilege.

As a contemporary Greek myself , I can give you my personal feeling for how the reconstructed pronunciation sounds: it is as if a barbarian is trying to speak Greek. (3) For example, take the word “barbarian” itself (which is of Greek origin): in Classic Greek it would be pronounced [bár·ba·ros]. In Modern Greek, it is [vár·va·ros]. In general, the second letter of the alphabet, beta, was pronounced as [b] in Plato’s time, but was changed to [v] by the time the Gospels were written. Now, to the modern Greek ear, [v] is a soft sound (a “fricative” in linguistics), sort of smooth and gentle, while [b] is a hard one (a “plosive”), kind of rough and crass. The same can be said about the letter delta, which was pronounced as [d] by Plato, and as [ð] (as in this) since around Christ’s time; and the letter gamma ([g] in Classic Greek, [γ] later the latter sound is a “voiced velar fricative”; click here to see the full repertoire of Modern Greek sounds).

Greek readers of this text who do not believe that Plato, Socrates, etc., were sounding so barbaric, may take a clue from this very word: “barbaros” was coined after somebody who, as a non-native speaker of Greek would produce incomprehensible speech, which sounded like... well, what? Could it be “var-var-var”? Wouldn’t it sound more barbaric if it were like “bar-bar-bar”? Besides this word, direct evidence for beta comes from a fragment of Attic comedy where it is said that the voice of the sheep is BH-BH. (4) In Modern Greek this would read as “vi-vi”, rather un-sheepish-like; while in the reconstructed way it would be “beeh-beeh”, exactly the sound that we, contemporary Greeks, attribute to the animal. (If the reader would like to make a comment on the above issues, email to me , and let me know what you think; but please make sure to have first read the links that say “Evidence” on the rightmost column of the table, below.) However, the truth is when non-Greek scholars attempt to pronounce Classic Greek in the reconstructed way, they think they pronounce accurately.

To me, American scholars sound distinctly American (like Platos with spurs and cowboy hats), Germans sound German, etc. Probably nobody can reproduce exactly the Classic Greek pronunciation: we might know the rules of the reconstructed system, but when it comes to moving our jaws, tongue, and lips, something different comes out of our mouths. As native speakers of this or that language we necessarily carry over our native phonology. Finally, let it be noted that Classic Greek used pitch to differentiate vowels in words, while nearly all modern European languages (including Modern Greek) use stress instead. (5) The Alphabet (Click on the speaker icon, next to the letter name, to hear the pronunciation in Modern Greek) 1 Alpha [a], as in “father”. Same as [a] in Spanish and Italian. Phonetically, this sound is: open, central, and unrounded. As in Modern Greek 2 Beta [v], as in “vet”; a voiced labiodental fricative. [b], as in “bet”; a voiced bilabial plosive. Evidence 3 Gamma [γ], a sound that does not exist in English.

If followed by the sound [u] then it sounds almost like the initial sound in “woman”, but with the back of the tongue touching more to the back (soft) palate. To pronounce [γa], try to isolate “w” from “what” without rounding your lips, and then say [a]. In Castilian Spanish this sound exists in “amiga”. Same is true for [γo]: try eliminating the [u] sound from “water”. (C. Spanish: “amigo”.) On the other hand, due to a phonetic phenomenon called palatalization , [γe] sounds a bit like “ye” in “yes”, and [γi] sounds a bit like “yi” in “yield”. Phonetically, gamma is a voiced velar fricative. (Its palatalized version is a voiced palatal fricative.) [g], as in “got”; a voiced velar plosive. Evidence 4 Delta [th], as in “this”; a voiced dental fricative. [d], as in “do”; a voiced alveolar plosive.

Evidence 5 Epsilon [e] as in “pet”, except that the [e] in “pet” (and other similar English words) is lax, whereas in Greek it is tense. To pronounce a tense [e] pull the edges of your lips to the sides a bit more than when you say “pet”. (We pull the edges of our lips to the sides when we smile; but I don’t mean you need to smile every time you pronounce the Greek epsilon, OK? ) As in Modern Greek 6 Zeta [z], as in “zone”, a voiced alveolar fricative. Actually, the remark for sigma (see below) applies to zeta as well (it is shifted a bit toward [ʒ], as in “pleasure”). Read the remark for sigma to understand why, and how to pronounce it. [zd], as in “Mazda”. Also: [z], and even: [dz]. Evidence 7 Eta [i], as in “meet”, but shorter, not so long. This is one of the three [i]’s in the Greek alphabet; they all have identical pronunciation. The reason for this redundancy has to do with Classic Greek, where they were not redundant.

long open mid-[e], as in “thread” (but long). Evidence 8 Theta [θ], as in “think”; a voiceless dental fricative. In Castilian Spanish: “zorro”. [th], as in “top”, but more aspirated. Evidence 9 Iota [i], exactly like eta (see above). The name of the letter is pronounced “yota” in Modern Greek. (The reason for the y-sound in front of the letter’s name is due to the phonetic transformation of [io] into [yo]). As in Modern Greek 10 Kappa [k], as in “skip”. Notice that in English [k] is aspirated if it appears word-initially; Greek makes no such distinction. When followed by the vowels [e] or [i] it becomes palatalized — for the exact pronunciation please check the page on palatalization . Phonetically, it is a voiceless velar plosive. (Its palatalized version is a voiceless palatal plosive.) As in Modern Greek 11 Lambda [l] as in “lap”.

When followed by the vowel [i] it becomes palatalized, turning to a sound that does not exist in English (check the page on palatalization ). The name of the letter is pronounced [lamða] ([b] is eliminated because it is difficult to pronounce it between [m] and [ð]). A voiced alveolar lateral approximant. As in Modern Greek 12 Mu [m], as in “map”; a voiced bilabial nasal. Notice that the name of the letter is pronounced [mi] (mee), not “mew” as in American English. As in Modern Greek 13 Nu [n], as in “noble”; a voiced alveolar nasal. When followed by the vowed [i] it becomes palatalized, turning to a sound that does not exist in English (but exists in Spanish, written as ñ; see the page on palatalization ). Notice that the name of the letter is pronounced [ni] (ñee), not “new” as in American English. As in Modern Greek 14 Ksi [ks] as in “fox”.

Contrary to the English “x”, the letter ksi does not change pronunciation at the beginning of a word (it does not become a [z]; Greeks have no trouble starting a word with [k]+[s]). For example, in the word ksenofovia (ξενοφοβία = xenophobia) the initial sound [k] is not omitted. Don’t put any aspiration between [k] and [s] when pronouncing this letter. The remark for sigma applies to the [s]-sound of ksi, too. As in Modern Greek 15 Omicron Same like [o] in “got” the way it is pronounced in British English. Notice how the vowel in British “got” is tense, which means that you should really round your lips when you pronounce the Greek [o]. A mid-close back rounded vowel. As in Modern Greek 16 Pi [p], as in “spot”; a voiceless bilabial plosive. Notice that in English [p] is aspirated if it appears word-initially; Greek makes no such distinction.

As in Modern Greek 17 Rho [r]: between vowels it is a sound that exists in American English in the pronunciation of “tt” in “butter” (but not in Brittish English). Sounds like the Spanish [r] in “pero”. (Spanish speakers: in Greek there is no difference in whether you trill your rho as in “perro” or not; but normally Greeks pronounce it more as in “pero” than as in “perro”.) Otherwise it’s a trill, like the Italian [r]. Almost every Greek can pronounce rho as a long trill if they wish (like the Russian [r]), and you will hear it pronounced like that in some Greek songs. Phonetically, it is a voiced alveolar tap (and occasionally a trill). Probably as in Modern Greek when single, and as a trill when double. Word-initially: aspirated: [hr] 18 Sigma [s], as is “soap”; a voiceless alveolar fricative.

Actually, if you listen carefully to native Greek speakers, it sounds a bit like between [s] and [sh] (probably because there is no [sh] in Greek, so the sound is somewhat shifted in the phonological space). However, to the native English ear it sounds much closer to [sh] than to [s], whereas every native Greek speaker would swear they pronounce it exactly like the English [s], unless forced to admit the difference by looking at spectrograms. In reality, you can produce it like this: feel where your tongue is when you say [s]: very close to the front teeth, right? Now feel where it is when you say [sh] (far back). Place it somewhere midway, and you will produce the Greek [s]. You’ll find that you’ll need to make a similar adjustment to the shape of your lips, midway through rounded for [sh] and tense for [s]; in the Greek sigma the lips are relaxed. This is the way “s” is pronounced in Castilian Spanish (as opposed to Latin American Spanish). Notice that the second way of writing the lower case sigma is used exclusively when the letter appears at the end of a word (there is only one capital form).

Probably as in Modern Greek 19 Tau [t], as in “stop”; a voiceless alveolar plosive. Notice that in English [t] is aspirated if it appears word-initially; Greek makes no such distinction. As in Modern Greek 20 Upsilon [i], exactly like eta and iota (see above). The name of the letter is pronounced [ipsilon] (ee-psee-lon), not “yupsilon” as it is called in American English. Rounded [i], as in French “une”. Evidence 21 Phi [f] as in “fat”; a voiceless labiodental fricative. [ph], as in “pit”, but more aspirated. Evidence 22 Chi [x], a sound that does not exist in English (but exists in Scottish, as in “loch”; German: “Bach”; Spanish: “Jorge”). When followed by vowels [e] or [i] it is pronounced as in German “ich”. For the exact pronunciation in this case, please check the page on palatalization . Phonetically, it is a voiceless velar fricative.

(Its palatalized version is a voiceless palatal fricative.) [kh], as in “cut”, but more aspirated. Evidence 23 Psi [ps] as in “lopsided”. Contrary to English, the sound of the letter does not change at the beginning of a word (it does not become a [s]; Greeks have no trouble starting a word with [p]+[s]). For example, in the word psychologia (ψυχολογία = psychology) the initial sound [p] is not omitted. Don’t put any aspiration between [p] and [s] when pronouncing this letter. The remark for sigma applies to the [s]-sound of psi, too. As in Modern Greek 24 Omega [o], exactly like omicron. (Once again, the reason for the redundancy is to be found in Classic Greek.) Long open mid-back [o], as in “law”. Evidence Phonology and Orthography Oops! Twenty-four letters only? Surely some sounds must be missing? That’s correct. There are sounds common in other languages that do not exist in Greek.

Such sounds are all the postalveolar fricatives and postalveolar affricates ([ʃ] as in “shop”, [ʒ] as in “pleasure”, [tʃ] as in “church”, and [dʒ] as in “job”). So what do Greeks do when they want to pronounce foreign words with these sounds? If they are not trained to pronounce correctly, they simply transform these postalveolar sounds to their corresponding alveolar ones: [ʃ] → [s], [ʒ] → [z], [tʃ] → [ts], [dʒ] → [dz]. Ask a Greek to pronounce “fish ’n chips” next time you want to have some linguistic fun. And what about other very common sounds, like [b], [d], [g], etc.? These seem to be missing from the alphabet, too! Are they also missing from the repertoire of the sounds of the language? No! These are existent as sounds in the language. It is just that there are no single letters to denote them.

When Greeks want to write those sounds they write them as two-letter combinations: [b] is written as μπ (mu + pi), [d] as ντ (nu + tau), and [g] as γκ (gamma + kappa), or as γγ (double gamma). Why all this trouble? Remember, as explained in the introductory paragraph on this page, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] used to exist in Classic Greek. Later, probably some time after the New Testament was written in the so-called Koine (common) Greek, these three sounds had shifted in pronunciation to the corresponding “soft” ones ([v], [ð], and [γ]). This left a void in the phonological space. Words that contained combinations like “mp” and “nt” started being pronounced as [mb] and [nd], respectively. So the “plosive” sounds were re-introduced, but pairs of letters were used now to denote them. There is one more sound in the language which is absent from the alphabet: it is [ŋ], the “ingma”, the last consonant in “king”.

This sound is very rare in Greek, and when it appears (as in “άγχος”: anxiety; “έλεγχος”: checking) it is denoted by the combination gamma + chi, with the gamma pronounced as [ŋ]. All of the above plus much more, including the pervasive phenomenon of palatalization, can be found in this page on the details of Modern Greek pronunciation, which includes sound samples with the author’s voice for all of the presented examples. You may also find useful this page, showing the sounds of Modern Greek against all possible sounds of any language in the world . The tables for consonants and vowels in that page are very familiar to linguists, but you don’t need to be a linguist to understand it. For your convenience, here is a table to use as quick reference, listing the two-letter clusters that result in new sounds, not included in the Greek alphabet: Cluster Further: ΜΠ μπ [b], as in “bee”, at the beginning of words or in loanwords; otherwise: [mb], as in “combat”.

ΝΤ ντ [d], as in “do”, at the beginning of words or in loanwords; otherwise: [nd], as in “fund”. ΓΚ γκ ΓΓ γγ [g], as in “go”, at the beginning of words or in loanwords; otherwise: [ŋg], as in “fungus”. Note: the form γγ never appears at the beginning of words, so it is always [ g], as in “fungus”. ΓΞ γξ In front of χ (chi) the letter γ (gamma) is pronounced as an “ingma”: [ŋ] (king), followed by χ. In front of ξ (ksi) the letter γ (gamma) is pronounced as an “ingma”: [ŋ] (king), followed by ξ. Note: the cluster γξ is too rare; it appears only in uncommon words such as λυγξ (the lynx). Arguably, there are also the following pairs, which do not result in unique sounds but are perceived as “one thing” by native speakers of Greek: Cluster ΤΣ τσ [ts], as in “cuts”, but without separating [t] from [s].

Note: in rare cases where τσ is at the end of a word, the sigma (σ) is written as a final sigma (ς); thus: τς. What about vowels? Is there any similarity with the English vowels, or with those of any other language? Vowels in Greek are easy. That is, if you are not a native speaker of English! That’s because although English is very rich in vowel sounds, still, it lacks almost completely the Greek vowels. The latter are more like the vowels of Italian, Spanish, or Japanese: they are the five sounds [a], [e], [i], [o], and [u] (6) . Now, there are three letters for [i] in the alphabet (eta, iota, and upsilon), pronounced identically, and two letters for [o] (omicron and omega), also pronounced identically. For the sound [u] (as in “loot”) the combination ου (omicron + upsilon) is used. Here are three good rules of thumb for native English speakers: Greek vowels never sound like glides.

That is, English speakers tend to pronounce Greek [e] almost always as [ei] (as in “bay”, “buffet”, “claim”, etc.), a phenomenon known as gliding. In Greek that’s wrong! Try to avoid adding the sound [i] at the end just stay with [e] (almost like “bet”, but notice, that [e] in “bet” is lax; whenever the tense [e] is pronounced in English, it glides and sounds like [ei]). The same is true for [o]: Avoid pronouncing it as [ow] (as in “rope”, “bone”); just stay with [o], as in “awe”, “law”, etc., but make it a bit shorter (and don’t open your mouth as much as is required by “awe”; that’s suitable for omega of the Classic Greek times; Modern Greek [o] is a bit more closed). If you know Spanish, Italian, or Japanese (6) , there is a one-to-one correspondence between the five vowel sounds in these languages and Greek. Trust your knowledge then, and use it.

Greek words often end in [s] (sigma), and when English speakers hear Greeks pronouncing such endings they think they hear “sh”. (For an explanation read the comments of the letter sigma, in the table.) If you can’t reproduce the Greek sigma exactly, simply approximate it with English “s”, as in “boss”. Remember, there is no “sh” in Greek (except in the dialect of Crete, to be accurate), and that’s why hearing “sh” sounds very foreign to the Greek ear. So, sounds simple. Is there anything else about vowels? Not in pronunciation. In writing, however, there is. There are three so-called “diphthongs”, which are not diphthongs anymore, but digraphs.

(A diphthong is a long vowel with more than one part, each of which has a different quality, such as the ou in “loud”, or the oy in “boy”; a digraph is two letters which, when put together, are read as one unit, such as the English th in “think”, or the ph in “graph”.) Here are the Greek digraphs of vowels: Exactly like ε (epsilon, 5th letter, see above) [ai], as in “buy”. Evidence Exactly like ι (iota, 9th letter, see above) [ei], as in “bay”. Evidence Exactly like ι (iota, 9th letter, see above) [oi], as in “boy”. Evidence Exactly like ι (iota, 9th letter, see above; also read comment below) ~[yui]. Evidence [u], already explained in a previous paragraph As in Modern Greek [av] if the following sound is voiced, and [af] if the following sound is unvoiced [au], as in “loud”. Evidence [ev] if the following sound is voiced, and [ef] if the following sound is unvoiced [eu].

Evidence [iv] if the following sound is voiced, and [if] if the following sound is unvoiced ~[e:u]. Evidence Notes: Thus, Archimedes’s famous “eureka!” (εύρηκα) in Modern Greek is pronounced as [évrika] (with the stress on epsilon); but in ancient Greek it should be [éure:ka] (again with the stress on the first vowel of the diphthong, i.e., the [e]). The digraph ηυ (eta + upsilon) is extremely rare in Modern Greek; it appears in three verb-forms only: εφηύρα [efivra] (=“I invented”), απηύδησα [apivthisa] (=“I got fed up”), and απηύθυνα [apifthina] (=“I directed my speech to sb.”); it was much more common in ancient Greek, though.

The digraph υι (upsilon + iota) appears only in a very small number of Modern Greek words: υιός [ios] (=“son”, but this form is obsolete; the modern one is γιος), and its derivatives: υιοθετώ (=“adopt”), υιοθεσία (=“adoption”), υιικός (=“filial”) and a few rare ones, such as άρπυια (~a mythological creature), καθεστηκυία (=“established, prevailing” [fem.]), etc. If you want to know the reason why these weird-looking combinations of letters exist, once again, blame ancient Greek, in which those were true diphthongs. When later the vowel space was flattened to its present five members, and no long vowels existed anymore, the diphthongs were transformed as the table above shows. Does that mean that the sound [ai] (as in “buy”), for example, can never occur in Modern Greek, because if written as αι it would be pronounced [e]?

It is possible to have the letters alpha and iota next to each other and producing the sound [ai], but then we need to show this in writing. We do this by putting a pair of dots, the diaeresis, over the iota, like this: αϊ, as in the word παϊδάκι [paithaki] (=“rib steak”). It is even possible to have the stress together with the diaeresis over the iota: παΐδι [paithi] (=“rib”). The diaeresis can “dismiss” any of the vowel-digraphs: αϊ, εϊ, οϊ, υϊ, οϋ, αϋ, and εϋ (whereas ηϋ does not occur in Modern Greek), in which case the two constituent vowels are pronounced separately. More about the diaeresis in my page on accent marks . What are those short straight lines placed over some vowels in Greek texts? That’s the stress. It shows which syllable should be pronounced slightly higher in pitch and volume than the rest. I suggest that you click here to learn all the details about how to place accent marks to show the stress in Greek.

But if you want only a brief description, perhaps the following two paragraphs would suffice. In Modern Greek, the accent mark is placed only in lowercase writing, and only over the vowel of the stressed syllable. If the vowel is written with a digraph (see above), the accent mark is placed over the second letter of the pair. Monosyllabic words are not shown with stress, since the information would be redundant. In Greek (of all times), only one of the last three syllables of a word can be stressed. Native Greek speakers “internalize” this rule (they also learn it explicitly at school), and tend to apply it even to languages that allow placement of stress on any syllable, such as English. (For example, the word difficulty is often pronounced [dee-`fee-kal-tee] by Greeks who start learning English as a second language.) In Classic Greek there were no lowercase letters, only capitals. So there were no accent marks over the letters. Later, during the Hellenistic times (last three centuries BC) lowercase letters were introduced, and along with them, the accent marks.

However, the situation was quite complex, because there were three marks for the stress, and two “aspiration marks”, placed over the initial vowel of a word, if any. One of the latter two (the “rough breathing mark”, written like a tiny “c”) stood in place of the by-then-obsolete initial letter H, and was pronounced like English [h]. (In Classic times this letter was actually written.) So, words like “history”, “hydrogen”, “hour”, “Hellenic”, and many others, passed into English (filtered first through Latin) with the initial “h” written and pronounced, while the corresponding Greek words were written with the rough breathing mark over the initial vowel. Later, even the pronunciation of this mark was dropped, so one had to learn what breathing mark to put over the initial vowel without having any clue from pronunciation. This situation lasted until fairly recently. (As a child, I had to learn those orthographic rules, too.) In 1982, all breathing marks were officially dropped, and the three types of stress marks were reduced to one and even that one is used only on multisyllabic words. Do Greek letters have some inherent meaning?

(7) What are the dictionary definitions of words like “alpha”, “beta”, etc.? No, there is no meaning in Greek letters. You are probably thinking of Chinese ideograms, or ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which are symbols with some associated meaning. Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc., bear no more meaning in Greek than a, bee, cee, dee, etc., bear in English. Their names are just a bit longer, that’s all, that’s why they might look like meaningful words. Now, there is an English letter the name of which can be said to have some meaning, however trivial: it’s w, which we pronounce “double-u”. The name of this letter is derived from ancient forms of it, when it was written as two U’s, joined like this: UU. Similarly, there are a handful of Greek letters that can be said to have such trivial meanings, associated always with their pronunciation: epsilon (εψιλον) is really e-psilon, meaning “light e”, “bare e”, or “mere e”, a name introduced in Byzantine times, to distinguish it from the other [e], the digraph alpha-iota (see above).

In ancient (e.g., classical) times this distinction was unnecessary, because ε and αι had completely different sounds, so the name of this letter was simply ε. Similarly, upsilon (υψιλον) is really u-psilon, meaning “mere u”, distinguishing it from the other two [i]’s: ι and η; in ancient Greek its name was υ. Finally, omicron (ομικρον) is o-micron, or “little o”, to distinguish it from o-mega (ωμεγα), or “great o”. Again, these names were introduced in later times, when the pronunciations of the two letters had become identical; in ancient times their names were simply ο and ω. That said, it should be mentioned that the origin of the Greek letters, which is the ancient Phoenician alphabet, did assign meaning to each letter. For example, the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet (a close cousin of the Hebrew alphabet, the first three letters of which are aleph, beth, and gimel) was written as an inverted A, a stylized depiction of the triangular head of an ox with its horns.

In Phoenician, the name of the letter was the word for “ox”. Similarly, the letter gamma (Hebrew gimel) is derived from the Phoenician word for “camel”; and so on. But this is not specific to Greek, it is present in Semitic languages. In Greek, the letters are just symbols, devoid of meaning. Footnotes (clicking on the footnote-number, on the left, brings back to the text) (1) . As I was informed recently by a Greek reader of this page, now they do learn at school that the ancient pronunciation was different. Good, that’s progress; in my high school years (late 70’s) we were left in the dark. However, I tested this reader’s information by asking a couple of young Greek students (friends’ children), and found out that just about the only thing they learn is that some vowels, such as the omega and eta, were pronounced differently by the ancients; at least that’s what was registered in those young students’ memory. (2) .

An earlier version of this page referred to the “Erasmian” pronunciation of Greek, after the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466?-1536), who established a pronunciation system for ancient Greek that was geared towards the phonological abilities of speakers of Dutch. Later, his system was adopted by speakers of various other languages, who adjusted it slightly to their own needs. Since today it is not known what exactly one refers to when one mentions “the Erasmian system”, this page refers to the “reconstructed” system of pronunciation, as shown on the rightmost column, “Classic Greek Pronunciation (Attic)”, and as explained if you follow the links that say “Evidence”. (3) . Some readers (esp. fellow Greeks) took this comment to mean that I do not believe the reconstructed pronunciation is right. Wrong! I do believe it is right. However, what I believe or not is totally inconsequential. One should believe their eyes (looking at data, that is) and that is why I have collected the data (which is known to me) under those links that say “Evidence” (last column of the table; you know, those blue underlined things? Click on them!).

I made this comment to explain to non-Greeks what it feels to hear the reconstructed pronunciation if you are a Greek, and if you have been educated thinking that Pericles could have said to his wife, “Ασπασία, τι γκαντεμιά! Εγώ τη ψυλλιάζομαι τη δουλειά, φιρί-φιρί το πάνε να μας την πέσουν οι Λακεδαιμόνιοι. Πρέπει να τους σπάσουμε τον τσαμπουκά!” (4) . Cratinus, in Dionysalexandros: the fool goes about like a sheep saying “ba ba”. (5) . Not really all modern Indo-European languages, though; Serbo-Croatian, for example, uses pitch. There are probably other I-E languages using pitch as well. (6) .

But, English speakers beware: the symbol [e] does not stand for the sound of “ee” as in “meet”, but for the sound of “e” as in “get”. Likewise, [i] stands for a shorter version of “ee” as in “meet”. Also note, since the Japanese language was mentioned: actually the Japanese [u] is unrounded, whereas the Greek [u] is rounded. (7) . Occasionally young people from the U.S.A. who want to establish a new fraternity or sorority ask me this question, because they want to choose “meaningful” Greek letters for their organization. If you are one of those people and are disappointed by the answer of this question, there is still hope. Select two or three English words that are meaningful to you, ask me what the corresponding Greek words are, and choose the initial Greek letters for your fraternity or sorority.

Question: Which letter of the Greek alphabet, when written as a capital, looks like our letter P?
Answer: Rho