[language] [greek] Learn Greek (2 of 7) - The Greek Alphabet, języki obce, grecki
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2
The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet
2.0 Introduction
Building on the foundation of Lesson One, this lesson continues with learning the
sight and sounds of the Greek letters. This is accomplished by seeing and
hearing common Greek vowel-consonant and consonant-vowel combinations.
By the end of this lesson, the student should feel more confident to pronounce
Greek letters and words, which lays the foundation for Greek phonetics.
The similarities and the dissimilarities between the Greek and English letters will
be examined to aid between what is known (English) and what is new (Greek).
2.1
The Ten Similar Letters
Ten of the twenty-four small Greek letters are easily recognizable because they
are very close in appearance to their English counterparts. These letters are:
English letters:
a b d e i k o s t u
Greek letters:
a b d e i k o j t u
The above letters look similar in appearance; however, they are not exactly the
same. It is important not to adapt Greek letters to make them look like their
English counterparts. Some important differences between these letters are:
•
Thea (
alpha
) should be written as a figure “8” laid on its side and opened
on the right.
•
The Greek letter i (
iota
) is never dotted.
•
Final
sigma
(j) does not sit on the line like the English “s”. The final curve
crosses and drops down below the line.
•
The Greek letter t (
tau
) is never crossed below the top of the vertical line
like the English “t”.
•
Upsilon
is NEVER pronounced like the English “u” as in “but”. It can be
short (in which case it is pronounced like the “u” in “put”) or long (in which
case it is pronounced like the “u” in “lute”).
The Greek Alphabet
Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Part 2)
LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 22
Practice saying these letters aloud in different combinations with the aid of the
drill below. Only the above ten similar Greek-English letters are used. If you
wish to hear the instructor’s pronunciation, click on the speaker icon and repeat
aloud. The variable vowels (a, i, u) may be long or short. Follow the example of
the instructor for proper pronunciation.
ab, ad, at, atik, av, ba, bat, bob
ti, di, te, de, to, do, ta, da, tad, dad
ki, ke, ko, ka, ku, kuk, kuj, kut, kub
ot, ob, od, kak, kakoj, deka, okt
tote, tode, tij, kata, ek, eka, dot
id, did, dat, eka, eba, bik, bid, bit
kij, kit, kat, did, bid, bad, tak
kot, kakoj, tut, tutoj, batoj
© Dr. William D. Ramey
LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 23
2.2
The Six Deceptive Greek Letters
Six Greek letters (four consonants and two vowels) appear to be in form like
English letters, but their appearance is very deceptive. These letters often
confuse beginning Greek students, and therefore they need to be carefully
studied. These “deceptive” Greek letters are g, h, n, r, x and w. Their English
look-alikes are also displayed in the chart below.
Greek:
g h n r x w
English:
y n v p x w
•
The Greek letter,
gamma
(g), looks like the English letter “y”.
•
The Greek letter,
eta
(h), looks like the English letter “n”.
•
The Greek letter,
nu
(n), looks like the English letter “v”.
•
The Greek letter,
rho
(r), looks like the English letter “p”.
•
The Greek letter,
chi
(x), looks like the English letter “x”.
•
The Greek letter,
omega
(w), looks like the English letter “w”.
Each letter will now be examined separately. Special attention should be given
to the proper pronunciation of these letters so that they may not be confused with
their English look-alikes.
2.2.1
GAMMA
The Greek letter,
gamma
(g, capital letter, G), is not to be confused with the
English “y”. G, g is pronounced as the hard “g” as in “
g
o”. It is never pronounced
like the soft “g” as in “gin”. Read the following words aloud and practice
pronouncing each letter separately.
ga, gak, Gad, dag, bag, get, getto
Gab, gab, geb, Guj, ge, gu, degaj
ag, age, agen, guk, gukoj, got, git
© Dr. William D. Ramey
LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 24
2.2.2
ETA
The Greek letter,
eta
(h, capital letter, H), does not correspond to the English “n”,
but is pronounced like the “a” in “g
a
te”. Furthermore, the capital letter (H) must
not be confused with the English capital letter of “h”, “H”. Read the following
words aloud and practice pronouncing each letter separately.
h, hta, dh, adh, hdh, gh, gohv, akh
H, Hta, dik, dikh, akoh, hg, ht, th
hj, thj, kh, kakh, hte, hti, tith, thde
2.2.3
NU
The Greek letter,
nu
(n, capital letter, N), does not correspond to the English “v”,
but is pronounced like the “n” as in “i
n
”. It may be helpful to remember that there
is not an alphabetical Greek letter that corresponds to the English letter “v”.
Read the following words aloud and practice pronouncing each letter separately.
nu, nun, en, ten, tin, ana, kana, genoj
agen, agin, tan, tanh, kidon, kenh
gen, genna, gad, Gadna, genh, ban
ghn, genoj, Gnonta, Gonu, gunh, thn
© Dr. William D. Ramey
LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 25
2.2.4
RHO
The Greek letter,
rho
(r
,
capital letter, R), does not correspond to the English “p”
or “P”, but is pronounced like the “r” as in “
r
oa
r
”.
Rho
was probably trilled in
ancient Greek (as in Modern Greek), but it will suffice for the purpose of these
lessons to pronounce it as suggested. Read the following words aloud and
practice pronouncing each letter separately.
ar, gar, tar, kar, er, ergon, oroj
eri, erij, kart, dart, bart, baraj
Dark, dran, dhr, krina, truk, trij
2.2.5
CHI
The Greek letter,
chi
(x, capital letter, X), does not correspond to the English “x”.
Chi
can be confused with the pronunciation of
kappa
(K, k) unless it is
remembered that the breath is not entirely cut off with
chi
.
Chi
is represented
phonetically in English by two letters, “kh”. Read the following words aloud and
practice pronouncing each letter separately.
xi, xa, xara, xaran, xro, xronoj
xh, doxh, Xarran, xarij, xarhte
Trixaj, hxoj, exarh, exei, xar
dexhta, didaxh, enoxoj, exidna
© Dr. William D. Ramey
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