Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Basics

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

The letters of the Greek alphabet look like this: αβγδεζηθικ...

Here is more information about the letters

Alpha Α α

Short or long A pronounced like the English a in drama.

Beta Β β

b

Gamma Γ γ

g

When followed by γ, κ, χ, or ξ it is pronounced like /ng/.

Delta Δ δ

d

Epsilon Ε ε

Short e pronounced like the e in bed.

Zeta Ζ ζ

Commonly pronounced like z, however, it is more correctly the combination of a separate d sound, followed by a z sound as in the word wisdom, with the sd sound reversed.

Eta Η η

Long a, e pronounced like hate.

Theta Θ θ

Pronounced like th in thin.

Iota Ι ι

This letter's name is pronounced as yota (not ee-ota or 'eye-ota' as is common). Pronounced as short or long English /i/.

Kappa Κ κ

k

Lambda Λ λ

l. The proper pronounciation in Greek is a nasalized l. Contrast the l in elm to the l in leg. In English, the l in elm is sometimes pronounced with air passing through the nose because the following m sound is nasalized.

Mu Μ μ

m

Nu Ν ν

n

Xi Ξ ξ

ks or x

Omicron Ο ο

Short o. The name itself means little o, mikron being the Greek word for small.

Pi Π π

p

Rho Ρ ρ

r. In Greek ρ is nasalized.

Sigma Σ σ,ς

s. It is written as σ when in the middle of a word, but as ς when at the end.

Taf Τ τ

t

Ypsilon Υ υ

y

Pronounced as in French tu or German über

Phi Φ φ

f

Chi Χ χ

Pronounced as in German Bach. If this is not possible, k will suffice.

Psi Ψ ψ

ps

Omega Ω ω

Long o. The name means big "o" since mega is Greek for large.

Diphthongs

Ancient Greek has 9 proper diphthongs, and 3 partial 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 pronounciation 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 soup οι - oi as in English coin αι - ai as in English I ηυ - η followed by υ ωυ - ω followed by υ

Partial diphthongs: Template:Unicode - initially pronounced as long α followed by short ι, eventually pronounced as long α Template:Unicode - initially pronounced as long η followed by short ι, eventually pronounced as long η Template:Unicode - initially pronounced as long ω followed by short ι, eventually pronounced as long ω

Short and Long Syllables

Ancient Greek has short and long syllables. It is important to know which is which in order to understand some points about accents (lesson 2). Long syllables are held for approximately twice as long as short syllables.

Long syllables: α, υ, ι, η, ω, αυ, ευ, ηυ, υι, ει, ου, οι, αι

Short syllables: α, υ, ι, ε, ο

NB: αι and οι are considered short when at the end of a word. α, υ, and ι can be long or short depending on the context.

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

Activities

Convert these English words to Greek characters.

Sparta Spartans philosopher museum nectar genesis angel mētropolis thōrax critērion

Convert these Greek words to English.

Δελφι Μιδας Ξερξης Λεωνιδας Θερμοπυλη κυκλοψ κυδος