Hellenistic Greek 2008, 2015

Lesson 1: The Alphabet (Lower Case Letters)

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Lesson at a Glance
Recognize
You will learn to recognize the lower case Greek letters.
Pronounce
You will begin the process of learning to pronounce Greek words.
Write
You will learn to write the lower case letters of the Greek alphabet.

Pronunciation and Recognition

This lesson introduces you to most of the sounds and letters necessary to read Hellenistic Greek.
Only the lower case letters are included in the chart below. The upper case (capital) letters will be introduced in the next lesson. In class you should repeat the sound associated with each letter following
the example of your instructor.
In the table below two pronunciation systems are provided. The first is the pronunciation used by Modern Greek speakers. The second is the artificial (Erasmian) pronunciation used in many Biblical
Greek classes.
While Modern Greek pronunciation is actually closer to the way Greek speakers spoke in the Hellenistic period, the artificial pronunciation has some value for classroom use. It is included here only for
purposes of comparison. The discussion that follows focusses on the Modern pronunciation.

The Lower Case Greek Letters, Their Names and Pronunciations

Lower Case
Letter

Name

Modern Pronunciation

Erasmian Pronunciation

Alpha

/a:/ as in father

/a:/ as in father or sometimes // as cat

Beta

/v/ as in vat

/b/ as in bat

Gamma

/g/ as in go but /y/ as in yet before /i/ or /e/ sounds

/g/ as in go

Delta

// (th) as in then but not // as in thin (Contrast below.)

/d/ as in dog

Epsilon

/e/ as in set

/e/ as in set

Zeta

/z/ as in daze

/z/ as in daze

Eta

/i/ as in machine and "seen"

/e/ as in daze and "weight"

Theta

// as in thin but not // as in then (Contrast above.)

// as in thin but not // as in then

Iota

/i/ as in machine and "seen"

/i/ as in machine (long) or // as in fit (short)

Kappa /k/ as in kitchen

/k/ as in kitchen

Lambda

/l/ as in little

/l/ as in little

Mu

/m/ as in me

/m/ as in me

Nu

/n/ as in knee

/n/ as in knee

Xi

/ks/ as in kicks or x as in ax

/ks/ as in kicks or x as in ax

Omicron

/o/ as in tote or boat

// as in not or cot

Pi

/p/ as in pan

/p/ as in pan

Rho

/R/ more like the Spanish trilled r than English r.

/r/ as in read.

Sigma

/s/ as in sister

/s/ as in sister

Tau

unaspirated /t/ as in stop (but unlike top)

/t/ as in stop or top

Upsilon

/y/ like German

/y/ like German , or sometimes /u/ as in rule or even //

as in hook

Phi

/f/ as in fan or phone

/f/ as in fan or phone

Chi

// Not found in English (unless you pronounce the ch in "loch" like some Canadians do!).
Much like Spanish j

// Not found in English. Much like Spanish j

Psi

/ps/ as in lips

/ps/ as in lips

Omega

/o/ as in tote

/o/ as in tote

Forms of Sigma
Notice that there are two forms of lower case sigma. One () is used only as the final letter in a word and is thus called final sigma. The other () may be used anywhere else. Some examples are:
(body), (church), (sun).
Diphthongs and Digraphs
Several common combinations of two vowel letters have traditionally been called diphthongs. By the Hellenistic period, they were no longer pronounced as true diphthongs, however (two vowel sounds
slurred together into one continuous, yet shifting sound). Several would more properly be called digraphs (two letters used together to represent a single sound). Others represent the combination of one
vowel sound with a consonantal sound. In this course we will use the traditional terminology, calling these groups of letters diphthongs.
The traditional diphthongs are as follows.
Representing a single vowel sound in the Hellenistic Period:
Letter
Combination

Modern Pronunciation

Erasmian Pronunciation

Greek Example

/e/ as in bet

/a/ as in aisle

(request, demand)

/i/ as in machine

/e/as in eight

(peace)

/i/ as in machine

/o/ as in oil

(house, home)

/u/ as in boot or soup

/u/ as in boot or soup

(heaven, sky)

Representing a semivowel plus a vowel in the Hellenistic Period:

Letter
Combination

Modern Pronunciation

Erasmian Pronunciation

/y/ as in yet

Greek Example

/u/ as in suite

(child, descendant, son)

Representing a vowel sound plus a consonantal sound in the Hellenistic Period:

Letter
Combination

Modern Pronunciation

Erasmian Pronunciation

Greek Example

/av/ as in of before s, voiced consonants (b,g,d,z,l,m,n,r), or any vowel; /af/ as in prof

(short for professor) before all other letters

/au/ as in "out" or "house"

(he, she, it)

/ev/ as in ever or /ef/ as in effort following the same rule as for

/u/ as in feud

(immediately)

Diaeresis. A diaeresis () is placed over the second letter of a pair of vowels which would otherwise form a diphthong to indicate that they do not form a diphthong and are to be pronounced individually.
Example: (Isaiah).
Double Consonants. Several combinations of two consonant letters are worth special attention. These are as follows:
Letter
Combination

Modern Pronunciation

Erasmian Pronunciation

Greek Example

// as in anger or sing

// as in anger or sing

(angel) is pronounced as angelos.

/k/ as in ink

/k/ as in ink

(arm) is pronounedankali.

// Not found in English. You may substitute

/k/ as ink or anchor

// Not found in English. You may substitute

/k/ as ink or anchor

(I annoint) may be pronouncedenkrio.

/mb/ in the middle of words. /b/ elsewhere

/mp/ (no change from the separate letters)

(I send) is pronouncepembo in Modern Greek,

but pempo in the Erasmian system.

/nd/ in the middle of words. /d/ elsewhere

/nt/ (no change from the separate letters

(Antipas) is pronounced andipas in Modern Greek,

but antipas in the Erasmian system.

Tips for Learning the Alphabet.

Learn to pronounce the name of each letter. In pronouncing the name you also say the sound the letter represents.
A few lower case Greek letters look like, but are not pronounced like some English letters. These should be learned carefully to avoid confusion. They are:
should not be confused with an English n.
is NOT pronounced like an English u.
should not be confused with the English v. It is pronounced like an English n.
should be carefully distinguished from English p. It is pronounced similar to an r.
must be distinguished from English x. It is pronounced like a Spanish j.
must be differentiated from English w.
resembles an upper case English B, but sounds more like an English v in Modern Greek.
resembles the English d, but in Modern Greek it is pronounced more like the th in then.
resembles an English y but is pronounced like one only when it appears before certain vowels (those that sound like the i in machine or e in bet). In most other places it is
pronounced like the English g in go.
Learn these letters especially well.
Some other letters resemble English letters and are pronounced similarly to their English counterparts. , , , , and , for example, should pose few problems.

The rest of the letters, while not causing special confusion, must simply be memorized. , , , , , and bear no particular resemblance to English letters. Look at each one and
pronounce it several times. Learn the name for each letter.

Exercises
Exercise 1

Practice Reading Words

Read each Greek word. Can you tell what the English equivalent would be? (to be shown as flashcards with the meaning behind)

scorpion

David

me

large, big

Rome

Corinth

Corinthian

Cornelius

Joseph

Levi

Amos

Jacob

Isaac

Abraham

Maria, or Mary

apostle

word (logos)

God, or god

Exercise 2

The words in the following exercise may be entirely unfamiliar to you, but in each case we have an English word that is in some sense derived from the Greek word you will see. The
words in parenthesis do not represent the meaning of the Greek word, but may help you remember the correct meaning.
Read More Words (Letter-Sound Correspondence Practice)

Read each Greek word. Try to think of an English word that sounds similar to the Greek word, then click "Turn" to flip the card and see what the Greek word actually means. When a thought bubble
appears in the upper right corner of the card, click it to get a hint or a little extra information. (to be shown as flashcards with the meaning behind)

law, decree

eye

beginning, first

god, or God

life

writing, something written

place, position

Look at the letters on the pdf file for writing practice. Note the relationship of each one to the solid line below it and the dotted line above. Some letters extend below the solid line.
While most lower-case letters fit neatly between the solid line and the dotted line, some extend above the dotted line. A few letters both extend below the solid line and above the
dotted line.
Take a piece of paper and practice writing these letters. You should be able to write all but three of them with a single continuous stroke. The three that require two strokes are , ,
and .
If you are learning Greek in a classroom setting, your instructor may ask to see your work. Write as neatly as you can.