Greek Alphabet

Greek Alphabet – An Introduction and Pronunciation Guide

The seemingly ancient and obsolete Greek Alphabet is actually the ancestor of the modern alphabet used by the western world today. In fact, the majority of European languages owes their alphabet directly or indirectly to the Greeks. Needless to say, the Greek Alphabet is something both familiar and something new to anyone who is reading this page. Let us take you to a tour of some facts about the Greek Alphabet.

Greek Alphabet – History Briefer

The Greek Alphabet has Phoenician roots. Legend has it that Cadmus, a Phoenician, introduced the alphabet to Greece. This may have well be true, as the origin of the symbols used in the alphabet are from Phoenician letter forms. The Greek letter forms was made around 1000-800 BC and later on, the symbols were utilized by the Etruscans. To understand the importance of this, we must know that before this time, writing is a foreign concept to the Greeks. It is only after all of these have occurred that the alphabet spread out to the various Greek sub-groups and from thence, it has made its way across Europe.

Greek Alphabet – Symbols and Pronunciation

Greek Symbol	Name	Classical Pronunciation	Modern Pronunciation
Α α	αλφα Alpha	a as in “father”	a as in “father”
Β β	Beta	b as in “boat”	v as in “vote”
Γ γ	Gamma	g as in “get”, but before kappa, gamma, xi, and chi, n as in “sing“	g as in “get”, but y as in “yet” if found before iota and epsilon. n as in “sing” before kappa, gamma, xi, and chi.
Δ δ	Delta	d as in dog	th as in then (but not thin. Contrast with theta (θ) below.
Ε ε	E-psilon	e as in set	e as in set
Ζ ζ	Zeta	sd as in wisdom Notice that the s is voiced like the z in zoo.	z as in zoo
Η η	Eta	e as in set, but held longer	ee /i/ as in meet
Θ θ	Theta	t as in top, but not as in stop	th as in thin, but not in then. Contrast with delta (δ) above.
Ι ι	Iota	short iota as i in it; long iota ee (/i/) as in meet	ee (/i/) as in meet, or y as in yet
Κ κ	Kappa	unaspirated ck as in nickle, but not aspirated, its pronounced as k as in kite.	ck as in sack
Λ λ	Lambda	l as in light	l as in light
Μ μ	Mu	m as in mouse	m as in mouse
Ν ν	Nu	n as in nose	n as in nose
Ξ ξ	Xi	ks as in kicks x as in ax	ks as in kicks x as in ax
Ο ο	O-micron	o as in tote or boat	o as in tote or boat
Π π	Pi	unaspirated p as in sap, not aspirated, its pronounced p as in pan	p as in pan or sap
Ρ ρ	Rho	a trilled /r/ like Spanish r, not like English r	/r/ more like the Spanish trilled r than the English r
Σ σ (ς)	Sigma	s as in sister, but z as inzoo before beta (β), gamma (γ), delta (δ), and mu (μ)	s as in sister
Τ τ	Tau	unaspirated t as in stop, but not like the t in top	unaspirated t  as in stop, but not like the t in top
Υ υ	U-psilon	short upsilon like the u in French tu; long upsilon has the same sound, but it is held twice as long	similar to German ü
Φ φ	Phi	aspirated p as in pot, but not unaspirated p as in spot	/f/ as in fan or phone
Χ χ	Chi	aspirated k as in kit, but not unaspirated as in skit	Not found in English, like Spanish j
Ψ ψ	Psi	ps as in lips	ps as in lips
Ω ω	O-mega	Like the vowel sound in caught, but not like the o in cot	o as in tote or boat

 

Greek Alphabet – Significance

Having a record of history is brought on by the invention of writing, and for the most of the western world, that means using the alphabet – something we maybe won’t have if not for the existence of the Greek Alphabet.