The Sounds of Greek

#greek #classicalgreek #pronounciation #sounds #moderngreek

I like to start the year with something to do with the Greek ABC
so some thoughts and information on

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

I have tried to explain these sounds in a way that will make sense to people who havn't studied linguistics. If you do want a more formal explanation check out the excellent Wikipedia sites on Greek Phonology and language.

A α Alpha The vowel in Archon or cAlm or cUp or Italian Amare.

Note that in Modern Greek the Diphthongs αυ ευ are pronounced av and ev or af and ef depending on the following consonant. So Αυγά is avga in Demotic and αυτός is aftos.

B β Beta The B in Biology or Bed.

However in Modern Greek this is V as in Voice! V in OVER would be written as οβερ.

Classical Greek wrote W and V sounds as OU so Latin names like Valerius were written with ου. The B sound in Modern Greek is written as μπ but note that this is pronounced as “mb” in the middle of a word.

Γ γ Gamma The G in Graph or Gang or Got.

 It's a HARD G in Classical Greek!

Modern Greek has a j / y or a sound like the G in German sagen or jager

or the g in Spanish fuego or English Yield or Gem or suGar.

The G sound in English Get is written as γκ. A double gamma is used to represent the “ng” sound in Angle and Angel in Classical Greek hence New Testament and Classical aggelos which became Angelus in Latin and Angel in English.

Gamma before κ χ and γ is nk or ng.

Δ δ Delta D in Democracy or Deed or Dot

Modern Greek Delta has become “dh” the soft sound in English THis or breadTH or faTHer. D as a sound is now written as ντ which also represents “nd” in the middle of a Greek word. Dachshunds are Dogs becomes something like νταχσουντ αρ ντογξ!

Ε ε Epsilon E in Epigram or the vowel in pEt or French é

Ζ ζ Zeta was a zd or sometimes dz sound as in Zeus like English aDZe, glaZeD or wiSDom. Modern Greek Zeta is Z as in English laZy! Τζ in Modern Greek is a ts dz type sound.

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 in Classical greek is an aspirated T as in the beginning of Tin or Tare or the sound in the middle of hot-house however it later became 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.

* IMPORTANT  

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

Ι ι Iota I in machIne or bIn.

These letters are ALL pronounced IOTA in Modern Greek.

However NOTE that 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.

Ν ν Nu in Naxos or Net

Ξ ξ Xi usually a ks sound as in Sphinx sphinks or boX boks

The letters Ξ ξ and Ψ ψ are used in both Classical and Modern Greek to represent double consonants also known as digraphs. This was a sensible innovation as Greek verbs add s to their stems in the Future and Aorist.

Ο ο Omicron O in Optic or pOt

but in Modern Greek the sound in bOUght or tAUt  and note our u sound would have been written as ου!

Π π Pi in Perimeter or sPin

Ρ ρ Rho Rhinoceros or Run or thRee was more like the Scots Rolled R.

Σ ς σ Sigma Stasis or Sign and sTick

A medial double sigma as in thalassa is 2 S sounds NOT Z.

In Modern Greek s before a Voiced Consonant becomes Z.

Τ τ Tau Tactics or Time or sTand

Υ υ Upsilon IPA [y] 

The French U in Tu or the German ü or the Y in the form of Welsh that pronounces it as U. This sound tends to change to i and is pronounced as I in Modern Greek just as some Modern Welsh speakers use i for the sound spelt “Y” instead of the “u” and also explains Greek sun in sunthesis becoming sinthesis in English.

Φ φ Phi Aspirated P 

at the beginning of words like Phobos in Classical Greek and in English words Pin or Pool or moP-Handle. Modern Greek however pronounces it as F as in Fat. Latin speakers lacked this sound and wrote Greek loan words starting with this sound with an F. Hence Phantasia becoming Fantasia.

Χ χ Chi An Aspirated K as in English Cat or Cool.

In Modern Greek it's a Fricative like the sound in the Gaelic (NOT the English) pronunciation of Loch or the ch in German words like Machen

This sound is also often transliterated as “h” as in Hue as it becomes ç before i and e but English speakers tend to hear it as a H so Classical Greek Metokhee is pronounced metohi in modern Greek.

Ψ ψ Psi Ps Pi plus Sigma as in EcliPSe or English caPS

Ω ω Omega the BIG O Ode Ocean like English sAW

About H

There is NO H in Classical Greek. Aspirated letters have their own symbols.

Theta for Th Phi for Phi Chi for Kh.

These are NOT Fricatives in Classical Greek! However there is what scholars call a rough breathing. Its not exactly the same as English H but is written as a h.

̒ ἁ ἑ ἡ ἱ ὁ ὑ ὡ are ha he hee hi ho hu hoo

In classical Greek Ὀρος is oros but ὁρος is horos. Ῥήτωρ is rheetoor.

Although the historical rough breathing is used in written forms in many Modern Greek texts the “h” is NOT spoken and you will often see the breathing symbol omitted.

The dictionary form Holos ὅλος all becomes όλος olos.

Teachers and Students let me know if a different line spacing or layout would leave more room for your notes?

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I try to update it regularly for beginners.

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