SmartPhrase.com: Greek: Pronunciation: Helpful Books for Greek;
Where is Greek Spoken?
Modern Greek (ELLHNAS) is spoken by approximately 10,000,000 people. It is the only official language in Greece (ELLADA)
and its many islands, including Corfu (KERKYRA), Crete (KRHTH), and Rhodes (RODOS). Greek is also spoken by a large number of the
inhabitants of Cyprus (KYPROS).
The Alphabet
There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. The Greek language does not use the same characters as English (although most of the
English alphabet is dervived from the equivalent letters in Greek, which in turn was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet).
Accents
An accent mark is used over a letter to indicate which syllable is stressed in a word.
Consonants (and combinations)
B b |
(beta) |
• like v in vine |
G g |
(gamma) |
• before e or i - like y in yes |
GC gc |
• like nk in junk |
|
GG gg |
• like ng in england |
|
GK gk |
• beginning of a word - like g in go |
|
GX gx |
• like nx in sphinx |
|
D d |
(delta) |
• like th in think |
Z z |
(zeta) |
• like ds in pads |
Q q |
(theta) |
• like th in think |
K k |
(kappa) |
• like c in cat |
L l |
(lambda) |
• like l in lime |
M m |
(mu) |
• like m in man |
MP mp |
• beginning of a word - like b in bone |
|
N n |
(nu) |
• like n in note |
NT nt |
• beginning of a word - like d in dome |
|
X x |
(xi) |
• like x in box |
P p |
(pi) |
• like p in pine |
R r |
(rho) |
• like r in rust |
S s V |
(sigma) |
• before b, g, d, z, m, n,
r - like z in zoo |
T t |
(tau) |
• like t in type |
TZ tz |
• like j in jam |
|
F f |
(phi) |
• like f in flag |
C c |
(chi) |
• like ch in loch |
Y y |
(psi) |
• like ps in perhaps |
Vowels (and combinations)
A a |
(alpha) |
• like a in father |
AI ai |
• like e in net |
|
AU au |
• either like af in after, or like av in avert |
|
E e |
(epsilon) |
• like e in net |
EI ei |
• like ee in meet, but clipped short |
|
EU eu |
• either like ef in clef, or like ev in event |
|
I i |
(iota) |
• like ee in meet, but clipped short |
O o |
(omicron) |
• like o in bottle |
OI oi |
• like ee in meet, but clipped short |
|
OU ou |
• like oo in shoot |
|
U u |
(upsilon) |
• like oo in soon, but clipped short |
UI ui |
• like wi in wing |
|
H h |
(eta) |
• like ai in wait |
W w |
(omega) |
• like o in wrote |
SmartPhrase language pronunciation guide. Helping you to speak better Greek and talk with an accent the Greeks can understand. Explaining the pronunciation of individual letters: consonants and vowels. Pronouncing phonemes and diphthongs. Phonology, phonetics, and dialects of speech. Language pronunciation guide for spoken sounds, speech, talking.
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