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The Greek Alphabet Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A) The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet Phonology (Part 1)

Lesson One Overview §1.0

Introduction, 1

§1.1

The Greek Alphabet, 6

§1.2

The Greek Small Letters, 16

§1.3

The Greek Capital Letters, 18

§1.4

The Greek Alphabet Charted, 19

§1.5

Further Information, 20

Study Guide, 22

§1.0 Introduction As might be expected, the Greek alphabet is introduced first. The Greek alphabet has twenty-four letters. letters. Each letter is represented by both a small and capital letter. The difference between the small and capital letters is no different from the small and capital letters in English. Seven alphabetical letters are vowels, and the remaining letters consonants. It is vital to learn the names of these letters, the form of both the small and capital letters, and the proper pronunciation of each. This will not be as difficult as expected, since many English and Greek alphabetical characters are very similar. The forming and pronunciation of the twenty-four Greek letters are introduced in this this lesson. Mastering the sight and sounds of the alphabet will lay the cornerstone for learning the sight and sounds of Greek words in all subsequent lessons. The first and single most important step in learning Greek Greek is to memorize the sight and sounds of the alphabet. Those who do not thoroughly learn the Greek alphabet are sowing the seed for future failure. Before introducing the Greek letters, a few preliminary comments are necessary about the different types of Greek letters, their phonemic pronunciation, the Greek typeface used in this course, and its deployment on the Internet.

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LESSON 1: The Greek Alphabet Page 2 Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A) ______________________________________________________________________

§1.01 The types of of Greek letters in the alphabet. alphabet. As with the English alphabet, two major types of speech sounds constitute constitute the Greek alphabet. The open sounds with “free” breath are called vowel letters. vowel letters. The closed sounds with with restricted breath are called consonant letters. consonant letters. The Greek alphabet contains seven distinct vowels and seventeen consonants.

When one says “ah” for the doctor, an open sound is made with free passage of breath. The sound may be made as long as there is breath. This sound is a vowel, as are all the other open and freely breathed sounds in speech. speech. The various vowel sounds are are enunciated by modification of the shape of the oral chamber, and by movements of the tongue and lips. There are seven vowel letters in the Greek alphabet. The open quality of vowels distinguishes them from another type of letter, the consonant. Simply stated, a consonant is any single letter that is not a vowel. The consonant letters are pronounced with the breath totally or partly blocked. This hindering of sound is done by the tongue, teeth, or lips. There are seventeen consonant letters in the Greek alphabet. §1.02 The Greek alphabetical letters and sounds. sounds. A sound sufficiently sufficiently distinct distinct from other sounds as to differentiate meaning is a phoneme a phoneme.. Each phoneme is represented in writing by a unique alphabetical letter. For example, the words “pat” and “bat” have different meanings; this indicates in English the two letters, The term “phoneme” is pronounced “p” and “b” are separate phonemes. as f  nm. The twenty-four Greek alphabetical characters represent Although the forming of these two letters twenty-four different phonemes. by the lips is identical, the vocal cords are used with “b” and not with “p”. /

A word’s phonetic pronunciation is produced by the quick succession of its individual letter phonemes. In “bat”, the combined phonemic sound of each alphabetical letter (“b” + “a” + “t”) yields the word’s total phonetic sound. However, only context determines the meaning of the word (“bat” as a stout wooden stick or club; “bat” as a nocturnal flying mammal; or “bat” as to move the eyelids quickly). This lesson introduces both the phoneme of each Greek alphabetical character, as well as the pronunciation of each Greek alphabetical letter. §1.03 The phonemic phonemic system used used in this course. course. The Greek letter sounds for this course are designed to provide a practical and consistent system of pronunciation. No authoritative source exists in determining how Greek was pronounced during New Testament times. However, as an aid to vocabulary © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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memorization, the Erasmian standardized system of pronunciation has been adopted that is widely used in universities, Bible colleges, seminaries, and in numerous modern New Testament Greek grammars. g rammars. Three major approaches are available for learning the pronunciation of New Testament Greek. Greek. It would seem natural to learn the standardized pronunciation used today in Greece. However, unless Greek is spoken on a daily basis, a serious draw back exists. Several different phonemes have identical sounds, and some phonemes have multiple sounds, causing confusion between how a word is spoken and actually written. This is no different in Desiderius Erasmus English where the letter “c” may sound very different, such 1466 A.D.?-1539 A.D. as the “c” in “cat”, “circle”, or “cube”, or the difference in meaning between the two words, “cubical” and “cubicle”, being pronounced identically. The native speaker knows the difference because they are absorbed in the language—very different from a non-native learning to read the Greek New Testament. Furthermore, as with all languages, the pronunciation used in Modern Greek has evolved over the years. Therefore, Modern Greek is not necessarily a proper reflection how Greek was spoken during the New Testament Era, as English spoken today is to Elizabethan English. A second approach to pronunciation is to learn “reconstructed New Testament Greek”. Scholars, primarily in the last century, have reconstructed what is believed to be the actual pronunciation of Greek during the New Testament Era based upon linguistic guidelines. Even so, with the variety of Greek dialects spoken during that era because of geographical isolation, there was divergence primarily with certain vowels sounds. This is also true how English is spoken differently today in Australia, Great Britain, and a nd the United States. The final pronunciation approach is the Erasmian system. Desiderius Erasmus was a Renaissance Latin and Greek scholar who developed a system for nonnative speakers to learn Greek easily. His system diverged from from how Greek was spoken during his day in that he assigned different phonemes to the vowels and consonants, differentiating them when spoken. His method greatly enhanced a copyist to duplicate accurately accurately the Greek New Testament. In addition, his approach allowed non-natives to learn to read rapidly the Greek New Testament. Erasmus’ pronunciation gained a foothold in 1588 A.D. when two British professors at Cambridge began to use his method in their Greek classes. The classes were such a success that the approach spread rapidly to other schools, including Bible colleges, universities, and seminaries, both in Great Britain and © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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eventually the United States. Erasmus’ pronunciation method proliferated when many New Testament Greek professors also used his pronunciation in their grammars. It was not until the the middle of 1800 A.D., however, that the terms, “Erasmic Greek” or “Erasmian Greek” became commonplace and denoted the pronunciation method set forth by Erasmus. Erasmian Greek is not how Modern Greek is pronounced, nor how Greek was pronounced during the New Testament Era; it is somewhere in between the two. It is a practical method for non-native Greek speakers to learn quickly a consistent system of pronunciation. Even if a non-native attempts to learn Modern Greek pronunciation, they will never be able to reproduce the phonemic sounds as a native without living in the country and speaking the language for many years. The Erasmian approach is a viable alternative to Modern Greek pronunciation for several reasons. First, the beginner quickly learns to differentiate between the seven vowel and seventeen consonant sounds, as well as the binary diphthong vowel sounds. This leads to rapid learning of Greek vocabulary, and eventual reading of the Greek New Testament. Second, most institutions outside of Greece teach New Testament Greek using the Erasmian Erasmian pronunciation method. Unless one plans to move to Greece and speak the language, Modern Greek pronunciation in the end is disadvantageous for those who plan to read only the Greek New Testament and communicate to those who learned Erasmian Greek— who are in the the majority. Finally, after learning New Testament Greek vocabulary using the Erasmian pronunciation, one can attempt to learn Modern Greek pronunciation, thereby not being initially confused with identical Modern Greek phonemic sounds. If Erasmian Greek pronunciation is so good to learn Greek, why did not Greece eventually adopt it? Whereas Erasmian Greek Greek is a wonderful learning tool, it is caustic to the ear when compared to Modern Greek lyrical sounds. If one compares the seemingly musical sounds of Modern Greek, Erasmian Greek sounds barbaric—even intolerable to the native speaker! However, most nonnative students are not interested investing the time to achieve these lyrical sounds; they are more interested in being able to read the Greek New Testament, and as rapidly as possible. With the foregoing rationale set forth for using the Erasmian Greek pronunciation, let us move on to another matter: the Greek font used in this course.


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§1.04 The Greek font used in this this course. course . The Greek SPIonic font has been chosen for this grammar for several reasons. First, the SPIonic font is compatible for both the Macintosh © and Windows © platforms, utilizing the same character and keyboard maps. The font is also designed to follow the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae encoding scheme. Second, it is a public domain font, meaning that the font may be

downloaded and used without copyright restrictions. Finally, the SPIonic font is an easy to read typeface similarly found in modern printed texts of the Greek New Testament, a Greek typeface dating from the middle ages. Unless the SPIonic font has been downloaded and installed in the font folder of your computer, the Greek characters will not be displayed or print properly. Instructions how to install the SPIonic font may be found here here.. If the font in the the right-hand column below appears similar as the graphic image in the left-hand column, the SPIonic font is already installed in your font folder. No further action is necessary to view and print the course materials. Graphic SPIonic Font

SPIonic Font

0En En a)rxh= rxh= | h]n o9 lo/goj goj §1.05 Course deployment on the Internet. Internet . All course lessons are offered in Adobe © Acrobat format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader software is free and allows all major computer platforms to view and print the lesson materials. If you wish to listen to the lessons' accompanying MP3 audio files (highly recommended), a MP3 player is required. If you do not have a MP3 player, you may download without cost cost © © © RealPlayer , Winamp , or the Microsoft MediaPlayer . All materials for this New Testament Greek course are distributed on the World Wide Web from InTheBeginning.org web site and are copyrighted by the author. However, they may be freely distributed without prior permission from Dr. William D. Ramey, if two conditions are met: (1) the material in the lessons is n ot altered in any manner, including the copyright at the bottom of the page remains intact; and (2) the transmission and distribution of all course materials are done without cost. Finally, NTGreek forum is available for students with a special question or need concerning the course work. Please post the question or comment under the respective lesson. You will need to join the board in order to post, but not to read what others have posted. We are now ready to begin one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime: the study of the New Testament in its original language. © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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§1.1 The Greek Alphabet The approach in learning the Greek alphabet will be by first seeing, then correctly pronouncing, and finally writing the individual capital and small letters in their alphabetical order. Memorizing them in this order from the beginning will prove helpful later Remember, the first and single when using a Greek-English lexicon. A lexicon most important step in learning is more than a dictionary, for it also cites actual Greek is to memorize the sight and sounds of the alphabet. usages of a word within a document(s). The suggested procedure for learning the alphabet is straightforward. straightforward. Use the provided practice Greek alphabet practice pages on pages twenty-two thru twenty-six. Proper penmanship in forming forming the Greek letters is an essential step in learning Greek. Possible confusion between Greek letters is avoided from the start if bad habits are not learned! Next, use the animated on-line tutorial link provided below each Greek alphabetical letter both to see how to form properly the character and to hear its phoneme and letter is pronounced. On your practice sheets, sheets, practice writing both the capital and small Greek letters while listening to the letter’s pronunciation. As you listen to how an alphabetical character is pronounced, remember that the pronunciation of a letter’s phoneme is learned by proper pronunciation of its alphabetical name. For example, the second letter in the Greek alphabet is b, and ta). b is pronounced as the first letter in its alphabetical name, bhta bhta (bta). Therefore, knowing how to pronounce the character’s alphabetical name is to know how to pronounce the Greek letter’s letter’s phoneme. This is also true for all the remaining letters in the alphabet. A Greek Greek letter’s phoneme has the same pronunciation A Greek letter’s phoneme has as does the opening sound of its alphabetical the same pronunciation as letter’s name. does the opening sound of its alphabetical letter’s name. As stated before, the twenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet are divided into two types: seven are vowels and the remaining seventeen are consonants. Their order, beginning on page eight, does not reflect these separate categories, but rather their alphabetical sequence. Moreover, each of the twenty-four twenty-four Greek letters is represented by two forms. The first letter illustrates the capital letter (or upper case), and then its corresponding small letter (or lower case) follows. The capital letters should be studied along © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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with their matching small small letters. The letters should be pronounced aloud several times while practicing writing them. The human eye must not carry the entire burden of learning and memorizing the alphabetical order of the Greek alphabet. The arrow accompanying each case letter indicates the starting point and direction of flow when forming a Greek Greek character. Greek is read from left to right like English. Therefore, if possible, a Greek letter should be written so that the final stroke ends to the furthest right where the next letter’s stroke begins. The Greek names for the lower case letters are spelled on the following pages with accompanying accents and breathing marks. Whereas these are for future reference, for the time being, these accents and breathing marks may be disregarded. You will learn these in Lesson Five. Alphabetical Order

Greek Upper Case Spelling

English Spelling

1st letter | Alpha | Alpha

Classification Information

Greek Lower Case Spelling

ALFA, a!lfa lfa [variable—voiced] vowel 1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be long or short. If long, the phoneme is as a in “f ather”; if short, as a in “da “dad”. The vowel is never pronounced like the long a in English (i.e., (i.e., “age”).

a < ahl – fah >

2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure “8” laid on its side and opened on the right.

Hear and See

3. A,

a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.

Relative Size Reference Helpful Information On-Line Pronunciation and Formation Aids

Pronunciation Guide


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1st letter | Alpha | Alpha

ALFA, a!lfa lfa [variable—voiced] vowel 1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be long or short. If long, the phoneme is as a in “f ather”; if short, as a in “da “dad”. The vowel is never pronounced like the long a in English (i.e., (i.e., “age”).

a < ahl – fah >

2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure “8” laid on its side and opened on the right.

Hear and See

3. A,

a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.

BHTA, bh=ta ta [labial—voiced] consonant

2nd letter | Bta

1. Bta is a labial consonant. Its phoneme is pronounced by the closure of the lips and the vocal cords vibrate when pronouncing the the phoneme. Its phoneme is as the b in “b “ball”. more 2. The upper case letter is identical to its English counterpart. The lower case case letter looks similar to its upper case letter, except that it has a tail dropping below the base line. Begin the letter with an upward stroke below the line.

< bay – tah > Hear and See

3. 3rd letter | Gamma

B, b is transliterated as “B”, “b” into English.

GAMMA, ga&mmma ma [palatal—voiced] consonant 1. Gamma is a palatal consonant, formed in the back of the throat by the closure of the tongue against the soft palate. Vocal cords vibrate. Its phoneme is as the g in “g “got”—never as the g in “g “gin”. more

g

2. The lower case case letter’s “tail” drops below the base line. The lower and upper case letters letters look very different from each other.

< gahm – ma > Hear and See

3.

G, g is transliterated as “G”, “g” into English.


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4th letter | Delta

DELTA, de/lta lta [dental—voiced] consonant 1. Delta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth. The vocal cords vibrate. vibrate. Its phoneme is as the d in “d “dog”. more

2. The lower and upper case letters look very different. Both case letters may be completed in a single stroke.

< dell – tah > Hear and See

3.

5th letter | Eps lon lon

D, d is transliterated as “D”, “d” into English.

EYILON, e2 yilo/n [short—voiced] vowel; long i ta 1. Eps( lon lon is a short vowel. It is always pronounced short. Its phoneme is as the e in “ne “net”. The vowel is always short and is never pronounced like the English long e as in “e “equal”. Its corresponding long phoneme is ta (HTA).

e < eh – pseeh – lawn > Hear and See

2. Be sure to differentiate between the lower case English “e” and the Greek “e” when written. 3.

6th letter | Z ta

E, e is transliterated as “E”, “e” into English.

ZHTA, zh=ta ta [compound—continuant] consonant 1. Z ta is a compound consonant. Its phoneme is a combination of d + [unvoiced] s, or d + [voiced] s. Respectively, its initial phoneme is as the z in “gaz “gaze”, and its medial phoneme as d z in “adz “adz”. ”. 2. The lower and upper case letters look different. The small letter’s “tail” curls and drops below the base line.

< zay – tah >

3.

Hear and See

Z, z is transliterated as “Z”, “z” into English.


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HTA, h]ta ta [long—voiced] vowel

7th letter |  ta ta

h < ay – tah >

1. * ta ta is a long vowel. It is always pronounced long. Its phoneme is as a in “ga “gate” or e or e in “obe “obey”. Its corresponding short phoneme is eps( lon. lon. 2. The lower case letter looks like an English “n”. However, it is pronounced very very differently! The stroke ends below the base line. 3.

Hear and See

H, h is transliterated as “ P”, “Q” into English. Always employ the macron mark above ta to differentiate it from the short vowel eps( lon. lon.

8th letter | Thta

QHTA ta [dental—aspirate] consonant QHTA, HTA, qh=ta 1. Thta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth, with its sound accompanied with a strong emission of breath. Its phoneme is as the th in “th “thing”—never ing”—never as th in “this”. this”. more

< thay – tah >

2. The lower case letter may be written written without lifting the pen.

Hear and See

3.

Q, q is transliterated by two consonants into English, “Th”, “th”.

IWTA, i0w~ w~ta ta [variable—voiced] vowel

9th letter | I ta

1. I ta is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be pronounced long or short. If long, the phoneme is as i in “machi “machine”; if short, as i in “hi “hit”. I ta is never pronounced like the English long “i” (i.e. ( i.e.,, “kite”).

i < yi – oh - tah >

2. The lower case letter is never dotted dotted as the English “i”. 3. I, i is transliterated as “I”, “i” into English.

Hear and See


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10th letter | Kappa

KAPPA KAPPA, ka&ppa [palatal—unvoiced] consonant 1. Kappa is a palatal consonant, formed in the back of the throat by the closure of the tongue against the soft palate. The vocal cords do not vibrate. Its phoneme is as the k in “k “kin”. more

k < kap – pah >

2. Both case letters are formed like their English counterparts.

Hear and See

3.

11th letter | Lambda

K, k is transliterated as “K”, “k” into English.

LAMBDA mbda [liquid—continuant] consonant LAMBDA, la&mbda 1. Lambda is a liquid consonant. Air is allowed to pass through the oral cavity while its phoneme is pronounced. Its phoneme is as the l in “l “lot”. more

< lahm – dah >

2. The lower case letter has a hook at the top that slants to the left. The upper case letter looks like delta, delta, except that there is not a base line stroke. 3.

Hear and See

L, l is transliterated as “L”, “l” into English.

12th letter | M 

MU, mu= [nasal labial—voiced continuant] consonant

m

1. M / / is a nasal labial consonant. Its phoneme is formed by the rounding of the lips, with most of the sound allowed to pass through the nasal cavity instead of the mouth. The vocal cords vibrate. Its phoneme is as the the m in “m “man”. more

< mew >

2. The lower and upper case letters look different. The lower case case letter has a tail. Sufficient tail helps distinguish it from ups( lon. lon.

Hear and See

3.

M, m is transliterated as “M”, “m” into English.


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NU, nu= [nasal dental—voiced continuant] consonant

13th letter | N 

1. N / / is a nasal dental continuant consonant. The tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge with its sound forced up through the nasal cavity while the air is not complete stopped. The vocal cords vibrate. Its phoneme is as the n in “n “new”. more

n < new >

2. The lower case case letter must not be confused with the English letter “v”. N / lon are often / and ups( lon confused. Write n/ pointed at the bottom and turn the right upward stroke inward at the top.

Hear and See

3. 14th letter | Xs | Xs

N, n is transliterated as “N”, “n” into English.

CCII, ci= [compound—unvoiced continuant] consonant 1. Xs( is a compound consonant. Its phoneme is a combination of k + [unvoiced] s. Its phoneme is approximate to x in “ax “axe” or in “six “six”. more 2. The lower and upper case letters are very different. The lower case letter is distinctive with a curl stroke at the top and bottom.

< x – see >

3.

Hear and See

15th letter | Om kron kron

o < au – me – krahn >

OMIKRON OMIKRON, o2 mikro/n [short—voiced] vowel 1. Om( kron kron is a short vowel. It is always pronounced short. Its phoneme is as the the o in “po “pot”. The corresponding long phoneme is mega. mega. 2. Both case letters are written like their English counterparts. The alphabetical character’s name may be spelled as om( kron kron or om or om( cron. cron. 3.

Hear and See

C, c is transliterated “Xs”, “xs” or “X”, “x” in English.

O, o is transliterated into English as “O”, “o”.


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16th letter | P  

p < pee >

P I , p =i = [labial—unvoiced] consonant 1. P ( ( is a labial consonant. The phoneme is formed by the closing the lips. The vocal cords do not vibrate. Its phoneme is as the p in “p “party”. more 2. Both lower and upper case letters letters are written written with three strokes. The two support strokes may be written first, with the “shelf” stroke last.

P, p is transliterated as “P”,“p” into English.

3.

Hear and See

17th letter | Rh

RW, r9w w~ ~~ [liquid—continuant] consonant 1. Rh is a liquid consonant. Air is allowed to pass through the oral cavity while its phoneme is pronounced. Its phoneme is as the r in r in “r “r ed”. ed”. Whenever rh Whenever rh begins a word, it is aspirated. As the spelling of its name indicates (r (r h), a flow of breath accompanies the letter. more

r < hrow >

2. The lower case letter has a tail that drops below the base line. Be careful! Do not confuse confuse this letter with the English “p”.

Hear and See

3. 18th letter | Sigma

R, r is transliterated into English as “R”, “r”.

SIGMA, si/gma gma [sibilant—continuant] consonant 1. Sigma is the only pure sibilant consonant. Its phoneme (unvoiced) is as the s in “sit” or as “is “i s” (voiced). more

s

j

2. When sigma occurs as the final letter in a word, it is written as j, otherwise, lower case is s (i.e., i.e., seismoj). Final sigma is a convention of printing and is not found in any ancient manuscripts.

< sig – mah > Hear and See

3.

S, s, j is transliterated into English as “S”, “s”.


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19th letter | Tau

TAU TAU, tau= [dental—unvoiced] consonant 1. Tau is Tau is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth. teeth. Its phoneme is as the t in “t “talk”. more

t

2. The lower case letter never has the top stroke below its top like the English “t”.

< tau >

3.

T, t is transliterated into English as “T”, “t”.

Hear and See

20th letter | Ups lon lon

u < ew – pseeh - lawn > Hear and See

UYILON UYILON, YILON, u] yilo/n [variable—voiced] vowel 1. Ups( lon lon is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be pronounced long or short. If long, the phoneme is as the u in “lu “lute”; if short u as in “pu “put”. The phoneme is never pronounced as the English long “u” (i.e. (i.e.,, “u “use”). 2. Ups( lon lon and n/ may be confused when written. Form ups( lon lon with a rounded bottom with the right upward stroke turned outward. 3.

21st letter | Ph

f < fee >

F I , f =i = [labial—aspirate] consonant 1. Ph( is a labial aspirate consonant. consonant. Its phoneme is pronounced by the near closing of the lips and an emission of breath. Its phoneme is as the ph in “phone” phone” or the f as f as in “f “f at”. at”. more 2. The lower case letter’s tail extends below the base line. The letter is often written as one stroke. 3.

Hear and See

U, u is transliterated into English as “Y”, “y”, or as “U”, “u” when a, e, h, or o precede ups( lon. lon.

F, f is transliterated by two consonants into English, “Ph”, “ph”.


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22nd letter | Ch

x < khey >

XI, xi= [palatal—aspirate] consonant 1. Ch( is a palatal aspirate consonant. It is formed in the throat by the closure of the tongue against the soft palate while allowing air to pass. Its phoneme is as the ch in “ch “chemist”, emist”, or the k in “k “kiosk”. The phoneme may be easily confused with kappa unless it is remembered that the breath is not entirely cut off with ch( . more 2.

Hear and See

X, x is transliterated by two consonants into English, “Ch”, “ch”.

23rd letter | Ps

y < psee >

YI, yi yi= =i = [compound—unvoiced continuant] consonant YI, y 1. Ps( is a compound consonant. The phoneme is a combination of p + [unvoiced] s. Initial phoneme is as the ps in “ps “psalms”, alms”, and its medial or final phoneme is as the ps in “lips “lips”” or “taps “taps”. ”. more 2. The lower case letter’s stem drops below the the base line. 3. Y, y is transliterated by two consonants into English, “Ps”, “ps”.

Hear and See

24th letter | . mega mega

w < oh – may – gah >

WMEGA, w}me/ me/ga ga [long—voiced] vowel 1. 6mega is a long vowel. Its phoneme is always pronounced long. Phoneme is as o in “no “note”. 2. Do not confuse the lower case letter with the English “w”. 2.

W, w is transliterated as “T”, “U” into English. Always employ the macron mark above mega to differentiate it from the short vowel om( kron. kron.

Hear and See


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§1.1.1 Memorizing the Greek alphabet alphabet.. Many similarities exist between the Greek and English alphabetical letters. letters. These similarities are in form and sound (phoneme). The Greek alphabetical order parallels the English for a while, then differs, and then begins to parallel again. It is recommended that the Greek alphabet be memorized in five groups of letters, each beginning with a familiar looking English corresponding vowel: a (alpha), alpha), e (eps( lon), lon), i (i ta), ta), o (om( kron), kron), and u (ups( lon). lon). These suggested groupings follow. Listen

Aa Ee Ii Oo Uu

Bb Zz Kk Pp Ff

Gg Hh Ll Rr Xx

Dd Qq Mm Ssj sj Yy

Nn Tt Ww

Cc

§1.2 The Greek Small Letters §1.2.1 Eleven of the Greek lower case letters do not extend below the line, and are approximately as wide as they are high. The height of these lower case letters are one-half of the height of their corresponding upper case letters. Listen

a e i k n o p s t u w 1

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

2

3,4

5

5

3

a (alpha) alpha) should be written as a figure 8 laid on its side and opened on the right, and not as the English “a”. The i (i ta) ta) is never dotted. The letters n (n/ ) and u (ups( lon) lon) are easily confused. confused. Write n pointed at the bottom and turn the right upward u pward stroke outward at the top; u is written rounded at the bottom with the right straight upward stroke. N, n (n/ ) should not be confused with the English “v”. The English “v” has no Greek Greek counterpart. Furthermore, never say say “n” for for n. There is another pair of letters other than n and u which may be confused except for a small, but a very important difference: om( kron kron (o) and sigma (s). Notice that sigma wears a "hat" whereas om( kron kron does not.


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§1.2.2 Eight Greek lower case letters rest on the line and extend below it, and are as high as those in §1.2.1. None of their corresponding upper case letters drop below the line. Listen Final Sigma

g h 1

m

2

3

r j 4

2,5

x f 1

6

y

6

1. Both g (gamma) gamma) and x (ch( ) may be written crossing the line. 2. h (ta) ta) and j (final sigma) sigma) are not usually made to extend as far below the line as the others in this group do. 3. A sufficient stem on m (m/ ) distinguishes it from u (ups( lon). lon). Notice these distinctions in the following word pairs: ko/smou smou - ko/smon, smon, tu/pou pou - tu/pon pon. 4. R, r (rh) must not be confused with “P/p” in English, nor w (mega) mega) with the English “w”. 5. There is one sigma with two forms. It is written s at the beginning or in the middle of a word, and j at the end. Examples: so/j, j, no/soj, soj, seismo/j. 6. The stems of f ( ph ph( ) and y ( ps ps( ) extend above the middle line. §1.2.3 Three of the Greek lower case letters rest on the line, but are twice as high as in §1.2.1 above. These letters letters are delta, delta, thta, ta, and lambda. lambda. These lower case letters’ height corresponds to their upper case letters. Listen

d q l §1.2.4 Three of the lower case letters extend above and below the line. These letters are bta, ta, zta, ta, and xs and xs X . Listen

b z c Below are all of the lower case letters in their alphabetical order. This may prove helpful, because it illustrates their respective height when written together. Listen

abgdezhqiklmncoprstufxyw


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§1.3 The Greek Capital Letters All of the capital letters letters are of uniform height and rest on the base line. They should be learned in conjunction with their corresponding small letters. When practicing, aim at simplicity, clarity, and ease of recognition. Use the animated examples on-line or those given below to learn how to form the characters. Every student will develop their own writing style, and slight variations from the printed forms below will not generally cause confusion.

A B G D E Z H Q I K L M N C O P R S T U F X Y W §1.3.1 Nine capital letters do not correspond to their small letters. These capital letters are G, D, Z, H, L, C, S, U and W. Special attention to these upper case letters are required in order to associate them with their lower case letters.

Gg Dd Zz Hh Ll Cc Sssjj Uu Ww The chart in the next section summarizes and highlights what has been presented thus far for all the the Greek letters, which will be helpful as a review. The alphabetical letter names of the three variable vowels, alpha, alpha, i ta, ta, and ups( lon lon should be pronounced long when reciting the alphabet.


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§1.4 The Greek Alphabet Charted The capital and small letters appear in the first column, with their Greek and English spellings in the second and third columns, respectively. Breathing marks and accents have been included where appropriate (these will be introduced in Lesson Five). The fourth column gives an English approximate pronunciation of the Greek letter, and its phonetic value in the fifth column. The sixth column illustrates the English equivalent (transliteration) to the Greek letter. Letter

Greek

English

Sounds As

Phonetic

Trsl.

Aa

a!lfa lfa

YlphY

ahl-fah

a in f ather (long) a in da dad (short)

a

Bb Gg Dd Ee

bh=ta ta ga&mma mma de/lta e2 yilo/n

bQtY

bay-tah

b in ball

b

gYmmY

gahm-mah

g in got

g

dZltY

dell-tah

d in dog

d

Zps X l[n

eh-pseeh-lawn

e in ne net

e

Zz

zh=ta ta

zQtY

zah-tah

dz in adz adz (initial) z in gaz gaze (medial)

z

Hh Qq

h]ta ta qh=ta ta

QtY

ay-tah

e in obe obey

>

thQtY

thay-tah

th in this this

th

Ii

i0w~ w~ta ta

iUtY

yi-oh-tah

i in machi machine (long) i in hi hit (short)

i

Kk Ll Mm Nn Cc Oo Pp

ka&ppa ppa la&mbda mbda mu= nu= ci= o2 mikro/n pi=

k\ppY

kap-pah

k in kin

k

lYmbdY

lahm-dah

l in lot

l

m]

mew

m in man

m

n]

new

n in new

n

xs X

x-see

x in ax axe

x

kron ^m X kron

au-me-krahn

ough in ought ought

o

p X

peeh

p in party

p

Rr

r(w~ w~

rhU

hrow

S s j si/gma

s _ gm gmY

sig-mah

Tt

tau

tau

tau=


r in r in r ide ide rh in rhino rhino (aspirate) s in sit (unvoiced) s in is is (voiced) t in talk

r s t

InTheBeginning.org


Letter

Greek

English

Sounds As

Phonetic

Trsl.

Uu

u] yilo/n

lon ]ps X lon

ew-pseeh-lawn

u in lu lute (long) u in pu put (short

y, u

Ff Xx

fi= xi=

ph X

fee

ph in phone phone

ph

ch X

khey

ch in chemist chemist

ch

Yy

yi=

ps X

psee

ps in psalm psalm (initial) ps in lips lips (medial)

ps

Ww

w} me/ga ga

U m`gY

oh-may-gah

o in no note

@

§1.5 Further Information The word alphabet ( lfa&bhtov bhtov from a!lfa lfa + bh=ta ta) is derived from the first two alphabet (a)lfa& letters of the twenty-four Greek letters commonly used by the Greeks. The consonants employed in the Greek alphabet are for the most part adapted from the Phoenician alphabet. Originally the Greek alphabet had several other letters, but they dropped out of use before the New Testament era. However, their continued influence is still felt, especially in Greek verbs. In addition, the Greeks Greeks added five other letters that were not part of the Phoenician alphabet (u, f, x, y and w, which are the last five letters of the Greek alphabet). The Greek alphabetical letters letters did double duty, serving also as numbers. For example, First John was written as Iwannou A / (A = first letter in the alphabet), Second John was Iwannou B / (B = second letter in the alphabet), and Third John was Iwannou G / (G = third letter in the alphabet). A near full full size reproduction of Acts 1:1-5 from Codex Vaticanus is below. Codex Vaticanus is a fourth-century Greek text. text. In the first column is the Codex Vaticanus. The second column displays the passage transcribed into a modern (SPIonic) type. How many of the letters can you recognize? Notice how some of the the capital letters (or uncials) are differently formed. In this particular Codex, sigma is formed like the English “C”. Also notice the lack of word divisions (!) and the complete absence of accents and breathing marks, and an almost lack of punctuation. There are even some abbreviations used. For example, Ihsouj (“Jesus”) is abbreviated as IS in line four.


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TONMENPRWTONLOGON EPOIHSAMHNPERIPANTW WQEOFILEWNHRCATO ISPOIEINTEKAIDIDASKEI AXRIHSHMERASENTEILA MENOSTOISAPOSTOLOIS DIAPNEUMATOSAGIOUOUS ECELECATOANELHMFQH: OISKAIPARESTHSENEAU TONZWNTAMETATOPA QEINAUTONENPOLLOIS TEKMHRIOISDIHMERWN TESSERAKONTAOPTANO MENOSAUTOISKAILEGW TAPERITHSBASILEIASTOUQU: KAISUNALIZOMENOSPA RHGGEILENAUTOISAPO IEROSOLUMWNMHXWRI ZESQAIALLAPERIMENEI THNEPAGGELEIANTOU PATROSHNHKOUSATEM OTIIWANNHSMENEBAPTI SENUDATIUMEISDEEN PNEUMATIBAPTISQHSE SQEAGIWOUMETAPOLLAS TAUTASHMERAS OIMEN


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1

STUDY GUIDE Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A) The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet Phonology (Part 1)

The goal of this lesson is to learn to say and write the Greek Greek letters. First practice writing the small letters (lower case letters) with the guide given below, pronouncing each letter every time you write it. If you need added help in forming these Greek letters, an on-line animated tutorial is available. In Exercise 2, you will practice writing the capitals. Exercise 1: Practice forming the Greek small letters

a aaaa b bbbb g gggg d dddd e eeee z zzzz h hhhh q qqqq © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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i iiii k k k k k l llll m mmmm n c o p r s

nnnn cccc oooo pppp rrrr ssss


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j jjjj Final Sigma

t tttt u uuuu f ffff x xxxx y yyyy w wwww Exercise 2: Practice associating the Greek small and capital letters

Practice writing all the capital letters (upper case letters) with their matching small letters in their alphabetical order. This is very important that you do this. As always, pronounce each letter as you write write it. Write and say these letters until you can do so with ease. Do not proceed until you can!

Aa Aa Aa © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

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Bb Bb Bb Gg Gg Gg Dd Dd Dd Ee Ee Ee Zz Zz Zz Hh Hh Hh Qq Qq Qq Ii I i I i Kk Kk Kk Ll Ll Ll Mm Mm Mm Nn Nn Nn © Dr. William D. Ramey Phonology (Part 1) •

InTheBeginning.org


Cc Cc Cc Oo Oo Oo Pp Pp Pp Rr Rr Rr Ssj Ssj Ssj T t Tt Tt Uu Uu Uu F f Ff Ff Xx Xx Xx Yy Yy Yy Ww Ww Ww Final Sigma


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Exercise 3: Writing the Greek alphabetical letters from memory Write both capital and small letters letters of the Greek alphabet from memory. Write the capital letters on the left side of the column and the small letters on the right side. Capital

Small

Capital

Small

Capital

1.

9.

17.

2.

10.

18.

3.

11.

19.

4.

12.

20.

5.

13.

21.

6.

14.

22.

7.

15.

23.

8.

16.

24.

Small

Exercise 4: Fill in the blank with the correct correct answer 1. How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet? _________ 2. There are __________ vowels and _________________ consonants in the Greek alphabet. 3. Eleven Greek small letters do not extend below the line when writing them, and are approximately as wide as they are high. These letters are: ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, and ____. 4. Eight Greek small letters rest on the line and extend below it when writing them. These letters are: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, and ___. 5. Three Greek small letters extend slightly above and below the line. What ones are they? _____, _____, and _____.


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6. All the Greek capital letters are of _________ height and ________ on the base line. 7. Vowels are the basic sound in speech, made by vibrating the ______ _____. Exercise 5: True or False Questions Questions 1. When pronouncing the vowels, all of them are voiced. True

False

2. When pronouncing the consonants, all of them are voiced. True

False

3. Modern Greek is spoken today like Reconstructed New Testament Greek. Greek. True False. 4. Desiderius Erasmus was a pharmacist in the early 1800s. True

False

5. The twenty-four Greek alphabetical characters represent twenty-four different phonemes in Erasmian Greek pronunciation. True False 6. English is spoken identically in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States. True False 7. Modern Greek is not pronounced any differently today than when the Apostle Paul spoke it in the First Century A.D. True False Exercise 6: Practice saying your “AB Gs”

Listen

Aa Bb Gg Dd Ee Zz Hh Qq Ii Kk Ll Mm Nn Cc Oo Pp Rr Ssj Tt Uu Ff Xx Yy Ww For answers to Lesson One Study Guide and more study aids for Lesson One, go here .


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pdf Learn Greek Lesson 1

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