Lesson 1 | Notion

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The Alphabet. Vowels, Consonants and Diphthongs

The Greek Alphabet has 24 letters:

Form	Name	Phonetic Value
Α α	Alpha	a as in father (ἀγορά - agora)
Β β	Beta	b as in boy (βιβλίον - biblion)
Γ γ	Gamma	g as in got (γῆ - gē)
Δ δ	Delta	d as in dog (δῶρον - dōron)
Ε ε	Epsilon	e as in pet (ἔργον - ergon)
Ζ ζ	Zeta	dz as in wisdom (ζωή - zōē)
Η η	Eta	ē as in they (ἡμέρα - hēmera)
Θ θ	Theta	th as in thin (θεός - theos)
Ι ι	Iota	i as in machine (ἰχθύς - ichthys)
Κ κ	Kappa	k as in king (καρδία - kardia)
Λ λ	Lambda	l as in law (λόγος - logos)
Μ μ	Mu	m as in man (μήτηρ - mētēr)

Form	Name	Phonetic Value
Ν ν	Nu	n as in not (νόμος - nomos)
Ξ ξ	Xi	x as in box (ξένος - xenos)
Ο ο	Omicron	o as in lot (ὀφθαλμός - ophthalmos)
Π π	Pi	p as in pet (πατήρ - patēr)
Ρ ρ	Rho	r as in run (ῥήτωρ - rhētōr)
Σ σ,ς	Sigma	s as in sit (σοφία - sophia)
Τ τ	Tau	t as in top (τέχνη - technē)
Υ υ	Upsilon	u as in French tu (ὕδωρ - hydōr)
Φ φ	Phi	ph as in phone (φίλος - philos)
Χ χ	Chi	ch as in German Bach (χάρις - charis)
Ψ ψ	Psi	ps as in lips (ψυχή - psychē)
Ω ω	Omega	ō as in bone (ὥρα - hōra)

At the end of a word “ς” elsewhere “σ”
- The letter sigma (σ) is pronounced like 's' in 'sit'. It has two forms:
- At the end of a word, use "ς" (final sigma) - as in λόγος (logos)
- Elsewhere in the word, use "σ" (medial sigma) - as in σοφία (sophia)

Vowels and Consonants

Vowels: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω
Consonants: β, γ, δ, ζ, θ, κ, λ, μ, ν, ξ, π, ρ, σς, τ, φ, χ, ψ

Short and Long Vowels

Separate Greek characters exist for the e sound (ε - epsilon for short, η - eta for long) and the o sound (ο - omicron for short, ω - omega for long) but not for α, ι, υ
- Short ε in ἔργον (ergon) vs. long η in ἡμέρα (hēmera)
- Short ο in λόγος (logos) vs. long ω in ὥρα (hōra)
The vowels α, ι, υ can be either short or long without changing their form:
- Short α as in καλός (kalos) vs. long α as in πρᾶγμα (pragma)
- Short ι as in πόλις (polis) vs. long ι as in νῑκη (nikē)
- Short υ as in θύρα (thyra) vs. long υ as in μῦθος (mythos)
In this textbook, short vowels are written as: α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ
Long vowels are written as: ᾱ, η, ῑ, ω, ῡ

The consonants are divided: Semivowels, Mutes and Double Consonants

The semivowels are further divided into two categories:

Semivowels are consonant sounds with vowel-like qualities, produced with less vocal constriction for freer airflow. This makes them more resonant than regular consonants but less open than vowels.

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