The Sounds of Greek Second in a Series

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

This is part two of a series of 4 blogs over one week.

Η η Eta a LONG e sound like the e in hAIry or French tête

Modern Greek I though or “ee” as in fEEt

Θ θ Theta A aspirated T as in the beginning of Tin or Tare or the sound in the middle of hot-house however it later became a th as in THIN. The lack of the fricative sound in Irish Gaelic is why some speakers of Irish English even those with no knowledge of Gaelic change th in some English words to a t sound. This is declining due to the influence of modern media but if you've ever wondered about the Irish accent jokes in old movies and books well that's the origin of them.

Θ θ Φ φ Χ χ are all aspirated letters in Classical Greek.

Ι ι Iota I in machIne or bIn.

These letters are ALL pronounced IOTA in Modern Greek.

η υ ει οι υι all = ι as in English bEAd IPA [i]

Κ κ Kappa K in Kinetic or Back or sKin

Λ λ Lambda L in Labyrinth or Look

Μ μ M in Metaphor or Seem.