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G re e k LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS

GREEK ALPHABET

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Introduction
Epigraphy
The letters in the Greek alphabet
Fonts
presented below are used for
Forums printed Ancient Greek texts. The
earliest Greek texts that have
History survived were written with a
radically different script called
Learn Greek Linear B.

Manuscripts For a detailed and wonderfully

well argued discussion of the
Software origins of the Greek alphabet, see Roger D.
Woodards book, Greek Writing from Knossos to
Homer.

Pronouncing the Greek Alphabet

Three sets of pronunciation suggestions are given in the table below:

first the pronunciation of each letter in Modern Greek, then the

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reconstructed Hellenistic Koine pronunciation, and finally the

reconstructed pronunciation for the Classical period (before about
350 BCE).

The Erasmian pronunciation used in many schools to teach Biblical

Greek and sometimes even Classical Greek is not given on this page.
It is omitted because it does not accurately reflect the actual
pronunciation of the language at any point in its history. While it can
be valuable for learning to spell many ancient Greek words, it has no
real value in leaning how Ancient Greek was actually pronounced.

The reconstructed pronunciation for the Hellenistic periodthe time

of the New Testament and early Christianitywas added in April of
2013 with audio clips. The audio requires that your browser have a
Quicktime plugin. If you do not have one, click on any sound icon and
you should be prompted to download the most recent version.

To hear online examples of both Classical and Modern Greek

pronunciation, see the discussion at the end of the alphabet below. If
you are learning Ancient Greek in a classroom setting, imitate your
instructor's pronunciation.

Alpha

Modern Hellenistic Koin

a as in "father" a as in "father"
0"00
0"07

Classical
a as in "father"

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Beta

Modern Hellenistic Koin

v as in "vote" v as in "vote" (but
more like Spanish b/v
in vaca and bote)
0"00
0"06

Classical
b as in "boat"

Gamma

Modern Hellenistic Koin

g as in "get", g as in "get" (but
but y as in "yet" fricative)
before iota and y as in "yet" before
epsilon. iota and epsilon.
n as in "sing" before n as in "sing" before
gamma, kappa, xi, gamma, kappa, xi,
and chi. and chi.
0"00
0"12

Classical
g as in "get", but
before gamma,
kappa, xi, and chi, n
as in "sing"

Delta

Modern Hellenistic
th as in then (but not th as in then (but not
thin. Contrast theta thin. Contrast theta

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() below. () below.
0"00
0"06

Classical
d as in dog

E-psilon

Modern Hellenistic
e as in set e as in set
0"00
0"07

Classical
e as in set

Zeta

Modern Hellenistic
z as in zoo z as in zoo
0"00
0"06

Classical
sd as in wisdom
Notice that the s is
voiced like the z in
zoo.

Eta

Modern Hellenistic Koin

ee /i/ as in meet /e/ like the first part
of the a in late

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0"00
Classical
0"07

e as in set, but held

longer

Theta

Modern Hellenistic Koin

th as in thin, but not th as in thin, but not
in then. Contrast in then. Contrast
delta () above. delta () above.
0"00
0"06

Classical
aspirated t as in top,
but not as in stop

Iota

Modern Hellenistic Koin

ee (/i/) as in meet, ee (/i/) as in meet,
or y as in yet or y as in yet
0"00
0"06

Classical
short iota as i in it;
long iota ee (/i/) as
in meet

Kappa

Modern Hellenistic Koin

ck as in sack ck as in sack

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0"00
Classical
0"07

unaspirated ck as in
nickle,
but not aspirated k
as in kite.

Lambda

Modern Hellenistic Koin

l as in light l as in light
0"00
0"06

Classical
l as in light

Mu

Modern Hellenistic Koin

m as in mouse m as in mouse
0"00
0"06

Classical
m as in mouse

Nu

Modern Hellenistic Koin

n as in nose n as in nose
0"00
0"06

Classical
n as in nose

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Xi

Modern Hellenistic Koin

ks as in kicks ks as in kicks
x as in ax x as in ax
0"00
0"07

Classical
ks as in kicks
x as in ax

O-micron

Modern Hellenistic Koin

o as in tote or boat o as in tote or boat
0"00
0"00

Classical
o as in tote or boat

Pi

Modern Hellenistic Koin

p as in pan or sap p as in pan or sap
0"00
0"06

Classical
unaspirated p as in
sap, not aspirated p
as in pan

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Rho

Modern Hellenistic Koin

/r/ more like the a trilled /r/ like
Spanish trilled r than Spanish r, not like
the English r English r
0"00
0"06

Classical
a trilled /r/ like
Spanish r, not like
English r
()

Sigma

Modern Hellenistic Koin

s as in sister s as in sister
0"00
0"06

Classical
s as in sister, but z as
in zoo before beta
(), gamma (), delta
(), and mu ()

Tau

Modern Hellenistic Koin

unaspirated t unaspirated t
as in stop, but not as in stop, but not
like the t in top like the t in top
0"00
0"06

Classical

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unaspirated t
as in stop, but not
like the t in top

U-psilon

Modern Hellenistic Koin

similar to German similar to German
0"00
0"07

Classical
short upsilon like the
u in French tu; long
upsilon has the same
sound, but held twice
as long

Phi

Modern Hellenistic Koin

/f/ as in fan or phone /f/ as in fan or phone
0"00
0"06

Classical
aspirated p
as in pot,
but not unaspirated
p as in spot

Chi

Modern Hellenistic Koin

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Not found in English, Not found in English,

like Spanish j like Spanish j
0"00
0"06

Classical
aspirated k
as in kit,
but not unaspirated
as in skit

Psi

Modern Hellenistic Koin

ps as in lips ps as in lips
0"00
0"07

Classical
ps as in lips

O-mega

Modern Hellenistic Koin

o as in tote or boat o as in tote or boat
0"00 More on
0"06

Classical Pronunciation
Like the vowel sound
in caught, but not To hear examples of Classical Greek
like the o in cot texts read with the reconstructed
If you prounounce the pronunciation system, visit the Classical
vowel in caught like Greek Pronunciation page of the
the o in cot, click Commission for Ancient Literature and
here. Latin Tradition.

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For a great demonstration of the pronunciation of Modern Greek, see

Harry Foundalis' discussion of the Greek Alphabet. He confuses the
Erasimian pronunciation with the reconstructed pronunciation of
Classical Greek, but his audio demonstrations of Modern Greek
pronunciation are extremely valuable.

John Simon, at greeklatinaudio.com has produced audio recordings

of the entire New Testament using Modern Greek pronunciation..
Those audio files are now housed at a site belonging to Greg Helding
and Wisconsin Internet, Inc.

Carl Conrad has provided a fine discussion of the history of Ancient

Greek pronunciation by, tracing its development from
Indo-european. (Clicking the link will download a PDF file.)

Books on the Greek Alphabet

Roger D. Woodard's book, Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer: A

Linguistic Interpretation of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet and
the Continuity of Ancient Greek Literacy, is a wonderful
combination of Classical Studies and excellent understanding of
Linguistics. He argues for an unbroken history leading from the Linear
B syllabary to the Greek Alphabet. The argument is well documented
and lucid.

In Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet , Barry Powell has
written a provocative book asserting that the Greek alphabet was
designed intentionally for recording the works of Homer. While
Powell shows a thorough knowledge of the available evidence, his
proposal still rests on assumptions that cannot be fully tested.

Other Websites that Display the Greek Alphabet

There are many other sites on the internet that show the Greek
alphabet. Here are two that provide particularly useful information:

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AncientScripts.com has a very nice discussion of the variations

in the script by dialect and some of the changes from ancient to
modern times.
The Omniglot site includes a helpful discussion of the Greek
alphabet with pronunciation suggestions.

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