The Alphabet

Name: Alpha άλφα Transliteration: a Capital: Α Lowercase: α Pronunciation: a as in father

Name: Beta βητα Transliteration: b Capital: Β Lowercase: β Pronunciation: b as in Bible

Name: Gamma γαμμα Transliteration: g Capital: Γ Lowercase: γ Pronunciation: g as in gone

Name: Delta δελτα Transliteration: d Capital: Δ Lowercase: δ Pronunciation: d as in dog

Name: Epsilon εψιλον Transliteration: e Capital: Ε Lowercase: ε Pronunciation: e as in met

Name: Zeta ζητα Transliteration: z Capital: Ζ Lowercase: ζ Pronunciation: z as in daze

Name: Eta ητα Transliteration: ē Capital: Η Lowercase: η Pronunciation: e as in obey

Name: Theta θητα Transliteration: th Capital: Θ Lowercase: θ Pronunciation: th as in thing

Name: Iota ιωτα Transliteration: i Capital: Ι Lowercase: ι Pronunciation: i as in intrigue or intrigue

Name: Kappa καππα Transliteration: k Capital: Κ Lowercase: κ Pronunciation: k as in kitchen

Name: Lambda λαμβδα Transliteration: l Capital: Λ Lowercase: λ Pronunciation: l as in law

Name: Mu μυ Transliteration: m Capital: Μ Lowercase: μ Pronunciation: m as in mother

Name: Nu νυ Transliteration: n Capital: Ν Lowercase: ν Pronunciation: n as in new

Name: Xi ξει Transliteration: x Capital: Ξ Lowercase: ξ Pronunciation: x as in axiom

Name: Omicron ομικρον Transliteration: o Capital: Ο Lowercase: ο Pronunciation: o as in not

Name: Pi πει Transliteration: p Capital: Π Lowercase: π Pronunciation: p as in peach

Name: Rho ῥῶ Transliteration: r Capital: Ρ Lowercase: ρ Pronunciation: r as in rod

Name: Sigma σιγμα Transliteration: s Capital: Σ Lowercase: σ/ς Pronunciation: s as in study

Name: Tau ταυ Transliteration: t Capital: Τ Lowercase: τ Pronunciation: t as in talk

Name: Upsilon υψιλον Transliteration: u/y Capital: Υ Lowercase: υ Pronunciation: u as in ü (u as in universe)

Name: Phi φει Transliteration: ph Capital: Φ Lowercase: φ Pronunciation: ph as in phone

Name: Chi χει Transliteration: ch Capital: Χ Lowercase: χ Pronunciation: ch as in loch

Name: Psi ψει Transliteration: ps Capital: Ψ Lowercase: ψ Pronunciation: ps as in lips

Name: Omega ωμεγα Transliteration: ō Capital: Ω Lowercase: ω Pronunciation: o as in tone

Lets take out a piece of paper and write these out together and pronounce them as we go (we are just going to do the lower case letters).

There is one important thing to note about the pronunciation of γ. Typically it has that hard g sound; however, when it is followed by γ, κ, χ, ξ it is pronounced with an “n” sound. For instance take a look at this word ἐγγίζω (I come near). Would one of you pronounce this for us please? That first γ takes an “n” sound, so it is not eggizo, but engizo.

Now I want you to use the transliterations to write out your name into the Greek letters. For instance, Robert would write: Ροβερτ

Diphthongs: two vowels that produce one sound. In English we have words like “book” that serve as a useful enough example. You do not pronounce both “o’s” in “book” do you? No. The double vowel creates a single sound.

Here are the diphthongs in Greek:

αι as in aisle

ει as in eight

οι as in oil

αυ as in sauerkraut

ου as in soup

υι as in suite

ευ as in feud

ηυ as in feud

Improper diphthongs: a vowel plus a iota subscript (a small ι underneath the vowels α, η, ω). With this the pronunciation remains the same; however, it does effect translation so this will be incredibly important to recognize (it features prominently in the dative case). Ex. Καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν ⸂τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ (Mk 1:2).

Now, you’ll notice in the example from Mark 1:2 that we have a strange mark above one of the vowels in the name Ἠσαΐᾳ. These two little dots are referred to as a diaeresis. It comes from the Greek διαίρεσις that means “division.” So these two dots mark a division in the sounding of the vowels. It is placed over the second vowel in what would be a diphthong and lets you know that the two vowels make separate sounds. So, let’s try it. Pronounce this name please: Ἠ σα ΐ ᾳ

Breathing Marks: There are two breathing marks in Greek: the rough breathing mark and the smooth. Every word that begins with a vowel or a ρ has a breathing mark.

The rough breathing mark is a ‘ placed over the initial vowel and adds an “h” sound. So, how would you pronounce this word: ὑπό (by, under)? Every word that begins with an υ or a ρ takes a rough breathing mark.

The smooth breathing mark is ’ and is not pronounced. So, how would you pronounce εἰκών (image)?

Two Activities: “Read” John 1:1-5 1.1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. 2 οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. 3 πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν 4 ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· 5 καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.

Transliterate some English sentences into Greek. (You may write whatever you wish).