Greek Alphabet on a Bowl

 GREEK ALPHABET ON A BOWL 

#greekalphabet #ceramics 

I was actually looking for examples of early Greek inscriptions and came across this.

Our modern "Classical" forms took an while to become the standard forms of written Greek!

The Sounds of Greek Four

#Greek #classical greek #greekabc #soundsof greek

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

This is part 4 of a series of 4 posts to Metousia.

Τ τ 

Tau Tactics or Time or sTand

Υ υ 

 Upsilon The French U in Tu or the German ü or the Y in the form of Welsh that pronounces it as U. IPA [y] 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 The Aspirated P at the beginning of words like Phobos or English Pin or Pool or mop-handle.

Modern Greek however F as in Fat. Latin speakers lacked this sound and wrote Greek loan words starting with this sound with an F.

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

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

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.

(I am not going to explain Katherousa versus Dhemotika here!

That is a topic for a separate post)

The Sounds of Greek Part One

#greek #classicalgreek #sounds #pronounciation  #greek alphabet

At the beginning of each year I like to review the basics! Starting with the ABC

IF you're a long term follower I have updated this !

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

As the Greek ABC has 24 letters I will be posting this article as a series of 4 blogs over the next fortnight.

Part One Covers the letters from Alpha to Zeta

A Note to Classical scholars planning to visit Greece. Learn the Demotic pronunciation!

Modern Greeks may study some Homer and Classical writers in Secondary School or University but using katherousa even accidentally may be offensive or more importantly just not understood!

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.

B β Beta 

The B in Biology or Bed.

However in Modern Greek this is V as in Voice!

English V in OVER would be written as οβερ.

Classical Greek wrote W and V sounds as OU

so when citing Latin or other non Greek names like Valerius start with ου.

The B sound in Modern Greek is written as μπ

but note that this is “mb” in the middle of a word.

The Greek 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.

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.

It's 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.

Other letters used to represent double consonants also known as digraphs are

Ξ ξ and Ψ ψ. This is a sensible innovation as Greek verbs add s to their stems in the Future and Aorist.

Greek ABC series part4

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

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

Τ τ Tau Tactics or Time or sTand

Υ υ Upsilon The French U in Tu or the German ü or the Y in the form of Welsh that pronounces it as U. IPA [y] This sound tends to change to a 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 coming to be pronounced sinthesis in English.

Φ φ Phi The Aspirated P at the beginning of words like Phobos or English Pin or Pool or mop-handle.

Modern Greek F as in Fat

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 like 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

There is NO H in Classical Greek. Aspirated letters have their own symbols. This has been covered in another post.

Theta for Th Phi for Phi Chi for Kh. These are NOT Fricatives in Classical Greek! See the notes for each letter.

However there is what scholars call a rough breathing.

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.

(I am not going to explain Katherousa versus Dhemotika here!

That is a topic for a separate post)

If you would like to see these notes collected and expanded in  an e-book or print book please let me. I am considering publishing on LuLu.

Greek ABC series part three

This was due out mid week but heat wave followed by storms !

#greekalphabet #classicalgreek #greek #julievaux

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

This is part 3!

As the Greek ABC has 24 letters I will be posting this article as a series of 4 blogs over one week.

Ν ν Nu in Naxos or net

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

Ο ο Omicron O in Optic or pOt but Modern Greek the sound in bOUght or tAUt and spells u 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 a Z.

In Modern Greek s before a Voiced Consonant becomes a Z

An expanded version of this as an ebook may be available on lulu later this year when I get confirmation submitting a pdf is possible and that unlike Amazon Lulu is unicode compliant.

More on Greek ABC

#greek #Greekabc #greekpronounciation #greekalphabet

note to readers there is an older posting of this article

I am reposting the series of 4 this week and next  cos I like to start the newyear with a review of basics

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.

Don't forget to check the first post and the next two !

GREEK ABC Part One

I like to start each New year by reviewing the Basics and whether you're learning #ModernGreek #NewTestament or #ClassicalGreek you have to start with the #alphabet!

THE SOUNDS OF GREEK

How Greek Was and Is Pronounced

Part One Covers the letters from Alpha to Zeta

As the Greek ABC has 24 letters and some of my readers may be viewing it via a mobile I will be posting this article as a series of 4 blogs over one week. Some long sentences have been split for people with smaller older mobile screens

A Note to Classical scholars planning to visit Greece. Learn the Demotic pronunciation!

Modern Greeks may study some Homer and Classical writers in Secondary School or University but using katherousa even accidentally may be offensive or more importantly just not understood!

I have tried to explain this in a way that will make sense to people who have not studied linguistics in College or University. 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.

B β Beta The B in Biology or Bed.

However in Modern Greek this is a V as in Voice!

English V in OVER would be written as οβερ.

Classical Greek wrote W and V sounds as OU

so when citing Latin or other non Greek names like Valerius start with ου.

The b sound in Modern Greek is written as μπ

but note that this is “mb” in the middle of a word.

The Greek 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.

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.

It's 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

or English aDZe, glaZeD or wiSDom

Modern Greek Zeta is Z as in English laZy!

Τζ in Modern Greek is a ts dz type sound.

Other letters used to represent double consonants also known as digraphs are

Ξ ξ and Ψ ψ. This is a sensible innovation as Greek verbs add s to their stems in the Future and Aorist.

Digraphs have been described in a previous post.

Watch for Part Two later this week!

Readers I've noticed I'm getting more likes the last couple of months but please also share the posts with others. 

I just play my health insurance topup to cover stuff not coverd by medicare and other year end bills so please also consider using the paypal link? 

GREEK ABC

Back to Basics for a few posts!

The Greek ABC

#greek #greekabc #greekalphabet