Biblical Greek (Beginners): 01. Alphabet, pronunciation

In this lesson, you will learn the Greek alphabet and to read and pronounce the Greek text.

Alphabet

The first task of every foreign language student is to get acquainted with the graphics of a foreign text. This lesson will guide you through the essentials in order to teach you to read and pronounce the text.

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters (English has 26). The whole alphabet can be also found in charts section. Get to know it very well before you will continue further in the course.

Grey highlighted letters were used, at the time of NT, only as symbols for numbers.

Pronunciation

1. γ before κ, γ, χ, ξ is pronounced as n (ἀγγελος)
2. σ before β, δ, γ, μ  is pronounced as z (κοσμος)

It is recommended to note this into your own printed copy of alphabet next to a particular letter.

Diphthongs

1. Short: αι [aj], ει [ej], οι [oj], υι [yj], αυ [au], ευ [eu], ου [ú]
2. Long: ηυ [éu], ᾳ [á], ῃ [é], ῳ [ó]

Letters

1. Vowels: α, ε, η, ι, ο, ω, υ
2. Consonants: every other letter

Syllables

Syllable is a part of a word composed by one or two consonants and a vowel. There are only two types of syllables: open (ending on a vowel) and close (ending on a consonant). For example, the word λο-γος (word) is composed of two syllables:

1. Open: λο
2. Close: γος

Signs in Greek Text

Breathing Signs

These signs are purposed to catch aspiration. They are written above a lower case letters and before upper case letters. In the case of diphthongs, the sign is above the second letter. In Koine Greek, we have these breathings:

1. Rough (spiritus asper):
   • ἁμαρτία [hamartia] (sin), ἅγιος [hagios] (holy), ὑμεις [hymeis] (you) → we read with h
   • ῥομφαία [romfaia] (sword): only doubling of ρ, no h when reading
2. Smooth (spiritus lenis):
   • ἀνθρωπος [athropos] (man), οἶκος [oikos] (house, abode), οὐδέν [uden] (no one), ἐν [en] (in) → we read in a normal way

Accent Signs

All of the accent symbols can be found on one of the three last syllables.

1. Acute: ά (can be found at last three syllables)
   • Oxytona: the last syllable
   • Paroxytona: the second syllable from the end
   • Proparoxytona: the third syllable from the end
2. Grave: ὲ (only at the last syllable)
   • Occurs at the last syllable
3. Circumflex: ῦ
   • Perispómena: sound both ascends and descends
   • Properispómena: can be found at the last two syllables

All of these accents have the same meaning. These governing rules of where the accent sign happens to appear are significant especially for linguists and scholars, who are dealing with the language it self. We would only use them in the case when we need to write or converse Greek actively.

Iota subscript (iota signed under)

This iota can be found with these three letters: ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ. It is a contracted form of the letter iota under a particular vowel. In the case of upper case vowels, iota is occurring next to the letter. E.g., dative of word δουλος (slave) is δουλῳ

Punctuation Signs

• . , (dot, comma): declarative sentence
• ; (semicolon): interrogative sentence

Are you Ready?

Now you are equipped to start reading Greek. When you master this lesson, you can proceed with others. Keep in mind that the material contained in every lesson follows the knowledge gained in the previous ones. 

Continue by practicing your knowledge of the Greek alphabet in the assignments section.