Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Basics

2008-11-07T20:33:06Z

92.4.102.179:

Learning a different alphabet may seem daunting at first, but Greek characters are very similar to the Latin ones English speakers are used to. Greek evolved from the Phoenicians who were the first recorded civilization to create an alphabet, and Latin similarly developed from Greek and other languages. The name alphabet itself comes from the words Alpha and Beta.

It's a lot to take in at one go so don't feel bad if you fail to remember all of these immediately. You will have plenty of time to get these characters under your belt. When you feel ready, try to convert some Greek into English and some English into Greek below.

== The Letters, Greek orthography ==

{| class="wikitable"
!Greek !!Name !!English equivalent !!Notes
|-
|Α α|| alpha|| a|| pronounced like 'a' in 'father'
|-
|Β β|| beta|| b|| like 'b' in 'book'
|-
|Γ γ || gamma|| g || normally 'g' as in 'graph', but when followed by other palatal consonants (γ, κ, χ, etc.), the resulting diphthong is pronounced like "ng."
|-
|Δ δ || delta || d|| like 'd' in 'demography'
|-
|Ε ε || epsilon|| e|| like 'e' in 'epigraphy'
|-
|Ζ ζ || zeta || z || pronounced like 'sd' or 'ds' (as in 'glazed' or 'adze')
|-
|Η η || eta || ē || pronounced like "a" in "hate."
|-
|Θ θ || theta || th|| like 'th' in 'theatric' (never 'th' as in 'that')
|-
|Ι ι || iota || i|| like 'i' in 'policeman'
|-
|Κ κ || kappa || k|| like 'k' in 'kinetic'
|-
|Λ λ || lambda || l|| like 'l' in 'look'
|-
|Μ μ || mu || m|| like 'm' in 'meter'
|-
|Ν ν || nu || n|| like 'n' in 'noon'
|-
|Ξ ξ || xi || x|| like 'x' in 'axe'
|-
|Ο ο || omicron || o|| more of an 'aw' sound, like 'o' in 'optic'
|-
|Π π || pi || p|| like 'p' in 'port'
|-
|Ρ ρ || rho || r|| trilled, like Spanish 'r'
|-
|Σ σ or ς || sigma || s|| like 's' in 'seed'; ς (final sigma) is used at the end of a word
|-
|Τ τ || tau || t|| like 't' in 'tactile'
|-
|Υ υ || upsilon || u|| pronounced like French 'tu', comparable to 'oo' in 'wood' when short; when long, more like 'oo' in 'food' or 'u' in French 'sur'
|-
|Φ φ || phi || ph|| like 'ph' in 'Philip'
|-
|Χ χ || chi || ch|| like 'ch' in 'loch'
|-
|Ψ ψ || psi || ps|| like 'ps' in 'lapse'
|-
|Ω ω || omega || ō|| like 'o' in 'ode'
|}

Notes

1.Capital letters are used at the beginning of names but not at the beginning of sentences unless the sentence begins a paragraph or quotation.

2.The letters ψ, ξ, and ζ are called double consonants; θ, φ, and χ are called aspirated consonants.

3.ε and ο are always short, and η and ω are always long. α, ι, and υ can be long or short.

4.Sometimes ι is written beneath α, η, and ω. This is known as an iota subscript, which is not pronounced. If an iota subscript is written with a capital letter, it is written on the line but still not pronounced.

eg - ᾳ, ῳ, ῃ and AI, ΩΙ, ΗΙ

ῳκει, ῳδη, ζῳον - iota subscript not pronounced

== Diphthongs ==

The word diphthong comes from Greek - δι, meaning "double" and φθογγος, meaning "sound, voice". A diphthong is made up of two vowel sounds combined in succession to make up one sound; compare 'I' in English to the sounds 'a' followed by 'i'. 'I' is pronounced much quicker, so as to have one sound. Because Ancient Greek was spoken over a long period of time, the pronunciation of the diphthongs changed over time. Initially, the partial diphthongs were proper in that they were pronounced as diphthongs. Over time, they came to be pronounced as the first vowel, and only the orthography showed the diphthongization.

Proper diphthongs:

αυ - ow as in English ''house''

ευ - ew as in English ''ewe''

υι - we as in English ''queen''

ει - ei as in English ''eight''

ου - oo as in Enlish ''food''

οι - oi as in English ''coin''

αι - ai as in English ''aisle''

ηυ - η followed by υ

== Latinization ==

Through history Greek names have been translated according to a Latin form, which English typically uses.

υ to y

κ to c

αι to ae

οι to oe

In order to stay true to the original Greek, however, we will not concern ourselves with the latinized, transliterated forms. We will deal exclusively in Greek, and however those letters get transposed to English will be inconsequential.

== Activities ==

Convert these English words to Greek characters.

Ping 
Dig 
Philadelphia 
Below 
Telephone 
Relay 

Convert these Greek words to English.

Δελφι 
Μιδας 
Ξερξης 
Λεωνιδας 
Θερμοπυλη 
κυκλοψ 
κυδος 

[[fr:Alphabet/Grec ancien]]
[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek Language]]

Introductory Ancient Greek Language

2008-11-07T20:31:44Z

92.4.102.179:

{{RightTOC}}
[[Image:Zeus_Altemps_Inv8635.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Zeus]]
Welcome to the course Introductory Ancient Greek Language.

Greek was the ''lingua franca'' of the Mediterranean world from the rise of the Hellenic states after the Persian War until the rise of Rome. Its basis as the uniting factor of the Greek city-states makes knowledge of the language and its history vital to an understanding of the rise of Greek culture in the Western World.

This course will prepare students to read Classical Greek texts by building a solid foundation in rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, as well as give a broad overview of its history. It will begin on a very basic level, so if you have some experience you may choose to move on to a more advanced course, or assist in lesson plans with this one. However, even a seasoned reader of Greek may benefit from a basic review.

If you're coming here with no experience of the Ancient Greek Language then congratulations on your choice to begin learning it! You are in for an exciting adventure that will not only give you knowledge of a new language, but a new way of thinking.

The course will be divided into several important divisions each one hopefully no longer than four lessons followed by a review. The goal is to prepare the student with a foundation in Classical Greek, on which he or she can later build a higher fluency.

== Student Questions ==
Student questions may be addressed to either [[User:JManning|JManning]] 17:17, 15 October 2006 (UTC), [[User:PoBoy321|PoBoy321]] 19:46, 20 May 2008 (UTC), or [[User:prothmes|prothmes]] 7-17-08.

If you happen to become stumped or just have a general question out of curiosity, then feel free to message any active member involved in creating this course. I plan to create "sandbox" areas at the bottom of each lesson plan, so if someone wants they can edit the question directly into the appropriate place and an answer may be given there for all to see for future reference.

== Alphabet, Breathings, Accents ==
After having completed these first four lessons hopefully the student will be able to read and write with Greek characters. Some vocabulary will be introduced but the goal will be to familiarize yourself with understanding the alphabet in order to begin learning the language.
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 1|Lesson 1]] - Alphabet
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 2|Lesson 2]] - Breathings and Accents
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 3|Lesson 3]] - Definite Articles
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 4|Lesson 4]] - Basic Sentences
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Review|Review]]

== Introduction to Verbs and Nouns ==
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 5|Lesson 5]] - Present, Active, Indicative
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 6|Lesson 6]] - First Noun Declinsion
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 7|Lesson 7]] - Basic Prepositions, Negation
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 8|Lesson 8]] - Present Indicative of "To Be"
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Review|Review]]

== Verb Forms of the Present Active Indicative ==
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 9|Lesson 9]] - Future, Active, Indicative
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 10|Lesson 10]] - Aorist, Active, Indicative
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 11|Lesson 11]] - Perfect, Active, Indicative
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 12|Lesson 12]] - Pluperfect, Active, Indicative
:[[Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Review|Review]]

This is about the middle point of this course. After this there are two more noun declensions, and various other syntax related concepts such as relative pronouns and compound verbs and such.

The remainder of the course will be written after these first three lesson plans have been completed.

[[Category:Introductions]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek Language]]
[[Category:Languages]]

[[el:Τμήμα:Αρχαία Ελληνικά]]

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Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Basics

Introductory Ancient Greek Language