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?
You may come across older or similar versions of this post .
I try to update it regularly for beginners.
More posts of Greek language and grammar can be found on this blog
- check the archives or on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/metousia
