Greek W Marks

Question 1

ᾰ

Answer 1

alpha: like the first a in English aha (or the first a in Italian amare): a short open central vowel

Question 2

ᾱ

Answer 2

like the second a in English aha (or the second a in Italian amare): a long open central vowel

Question 3

αι

Answer 3

alpha: like the vowel in English high: a diphthong

Question 4

ᾳ (ᾱι)

Answer 4

alpha: generally pronounced by present-day students exactly like a plain long
alpha: a so-called long diphthong. The classical pronunciation was a
long alpha gliding into iota.

Question 5

αυ

Answer 5

alpha: like the vowel in English how: a diphthong

Question 6

β

Answer 6

beta: like English b: a voiced labial plosive

Question 7

γ

Answer 7

gamma: like hard g in go: a voiced velar plosive, except before γ, κ, χ, and
perhaps μ, where it is a velar nasal, like n in ink or ng in song

Question 8

δ

Answer 8

delta: like French d (similar to English d, but English d tends to have a slight aspiration absent in the Greek): a voiced dental plosive

Question 9

ε

Answer 9

like e in English pet: a short front mid vowel

Question 10

ει

Answer 10

epsilon: like the vowel of German Beet (similar to the vowel in English
eight): a digraph (two-letter symbol) representing a single sound
(monophthong): a long front close-mid vowel

Question 11

ευ

Answer 11

epsilon: a diphthong pronounced by combining ε with [u] (i.e., oo as in English
pool) in one syllable. (Compare the vowel in English feud.)

Question 12

ζ

Answer 12

zeta: like [zd] in English wisdom: a monograph (single symbol) representing a double-consonant group. From about 350 b.c.e. on, ζ came to be pronounced as a single fricative, [z] as in English doze or rose, and you will often hear it pronounced that way.

Question 13

η

Answer 13

eta: like the ê in French tête: a long open vowel (similar to ει, but η is more open and more central)

Question 14

ῃ (ηι)

Answer 14

eta: generally pronounced nowadays exactly like plain η: a so-called long diphthong. The classical pronunciation was eta gliding into iota.

Question 15

ηυ

Answer 15

eta: a diphthong very similar in sound to ευ, made up of η gliding into [u] (i.e., oo as in English pool): very hard for English speakers to distinguish from ευ, and the Greeks themselves lost the distinction of these two sounds in the fourth century b.c.e.

Question 16

θ

Answer 16

theta: pronounced by most people today like fricative th in English thin, but pronounced in classical Attic like the t in English top: an aspirated voiceless dental plosive (i.e., an aspirated tau). The fricative pronunciation arose in Attic and Koine during the Roman imperial period (or even earlier in some dialects) and is recommended in
this course because it avoids confusion between τ and θ for English speakers.

Question 17

ῐ

Answer 17

iota: like i in French vite: a short close front vowel, unrounded. (The sound in English bit is similar, but more open.)

Question 18

ῑ

Answer 18

like i in French vive: a long close front vowel, unrounded

Question 19

κ

Answer 19

kappa: like English k (but completely unaspirated): a voiceless velar plosive. In the preposition ἐκ, kappa is assimilated in pronunciation to the following consonant: that is, it is aspirated to [ekh] before θ or φ, or voiced to [eg] before β, δ, λ, and sometimes γ.

Question 20

λ

Answer 20

lambda: like a clear l in French, or like English l before vowels: a liquid

Question 21

μ

Answer 21

mu: like a clear l in French, or like English l before vowels: a liquid

Question 22

ν

Answer 22

nu: like a clear l in French, or like English l before vowels: a liquid

Question 23

ξ

Answer 23

xi: like a clear l in French, or like English l before vowels: a liquid

Question 24

ο

Answer 24

omicron: like a clear l in French, or like English l before vowels: a liquid

Question 25

οι

Answer 25

omicron: like the vowel in English boy or coin: a diphthong

Question 26

ου

Answer 26

omicron: like oo in English pool or ou in French rouge: a digraph representing (during most of the classical period) a long close back vowel, [υ]