Learn greek (2 of 7) - The greek alphabet, part II.pdf - język grecki - Mistra

The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet

2.0 Introduction listen

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 listen

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.

listen ab, ad, at, atik, av, ba, bat, bob

listen ti, di, te, de, to, do, ta, da, tad, dad

listen ki, ke, ko, ka, ku, kuk, kuj, kut, kub

listen ot, ob, od, kak, kakoj, deka, okt

listen tote, tode, tij, kata, ek, eka, dot

listen id, did, dat, eka, eba, bik, bid, bit

listen kij, kit, kat, did, bid, bad, tak

listen kot, kakoj, tut, tutoj, batoj

LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 23

2.2 The Six Deceptive Greek Letters listen

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 listen

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.

listen ga, gak, Gad, dag, bag, get, getto

listen Gab, gab, geb, Guj, ge, gu, degaj

listen ag, age, agen, guk, gukoj, got, git

LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 24

2.2.2 ETA listen

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.

listen h, hta, dh, adh, hdh, gh, gohv, akh

listen H, Hta, dik, dikh, akoh, hg, ht, th

listen hj, thj, kh, kakh, hte, hti, tith, thde

2.2.3 NU listen

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.

listen nu, nun, en, ten, tin, ana, kana, genoj

listen agen, agin, tan, tanh, kidon, kenh

listen gen, genna, gad, Gadna, genh, ban

listen ghn, genoj, Gnonta, Gonu, gunh, thn

LESSON 2: The Greek Alphabet: Sight and Sounds of Greek Letters (Part 2) Page 25

2.2.4 RHO listen

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.

listen ar, gar, tar, kar, er, ergon, oroj

listen eri, erij, kart, dart, bart, baraj

listen Dark, dran, dhr, krina, truk, trij

2.2.5 CHI listen

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.

listen xi, xa, xara, xaran, xro, xronoj

listen xh, doxh, Xarran, xarij, xarhte

listen Trixaj, hxoj, exarh, exei, xar

listen dexhta, didaxh, enoxoj, exidna

Learn greek (2 of 7) - The greek alphabet, part II.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: