Greek - Introduction to the basics of the alphabet

This is an introduction to the basics of the ancient Greek alphabet. It is ment to give those interested in learning a little greek an understanding of this version of the Greek alphabet. Modern Greek are similar to the ancient, but the grammar and vocabulary are different.

Many might recognise several of the letters in the picture below. I have listed both the upper- and lowercase letters, along with the name of each letter in both Greek and English, as well as the general pronounciation of them. A good way to learn the different letters, is to work on connecting the right uppercase letter with the corresponding lowercase letter.

(Click on the picture in order to enlarge it if some of the letters are hard to read)

Breathings

There are no h letter in the Greek alphabet, but the sound can still occur on the beginning of words. Some word begins with a vowel or an diphthong, and an h sound(but no letter for it). We therefore have something called spiritus asper (also called rough breathing or aspiration). This is indicated by a mark that looks like an opening singel qoute with the opening towards the right, above the first vowel or diphthong of the word, as in εὑρίσκω - pronounced: heurísko (which translates to: I find, I discover).

When an h sound is not to be pronounced at the beginning of a word that begins with a vowel or a diphthong, we use what is called spiritus lenis (also called smooth breathing). It is the absence of aspiration. The mark for this, is the opposite of that from rough breathing. Here the opening is towards the left.

Every word that begins with a vowel or a diphtong will eather have a rough or a smooth breathing. All words beginning with ρ (the letter r), also always have a rough breathing, e.g. ῥάβδος - pronounced: hrabdos (which translates to: wand, stick, rod). 

Diphthongs

Diphthongs, also known as gliding vowels, are the combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. The Greek diphthongs are as following: 

Other vowel combinations

We also have something called digraphs in the Greek grammar. Digraphs are the combinations of vowels that represents a single sound. In Greek there are two long vowel sounds that are represented by digraphs. They are as following:

Paired consonants

Most paired consonants, such as λλ μμ ππ and ττ, should be pronounced and held twice as long as a single consonant. Exeptions to this general rule, is γγ γκ γξ and γχ. Here the first γ is pronounced as the ng in sing. An example on this is άγγελος - pronounced: angelos (messenger). 

A small exercise for fun

Here is a small exercise that you can do for fun to see if you can recognise the names that are written in Greek letters. It is the names of The Twelve Olympian Gods.