Changes

Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] of [[Greece|Greek]] history.<ref>http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on whether it occurs at the end of the word (ς).

Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] of [[Greece|Greek]] history.<ref>http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on whether it occurs at the end of the word (ς).

In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letters of their names in English. However, since some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced like the Latin letter B, whereas in Modern Greek it is pronounced like the Latin letter V.<ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm</ref>

In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letters of their names in English. However, since some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced like the Latin letter B, whereas in Modern Greek it is pronounced like the Latin letter V.<ref>http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm</ref>

Digraphs can be formed to signify sounds unrepresented by the main alphabet (e.g., ντ for /d/), or to represent diphthongs (αυ for /af/ or /av/).

Digraphs can be formed to signify sounds not covered by the main alphabet (e.g., ντ for /d/), or to represent diphthongs (e.g., αυ for /af/ or /av/).

The original Greek alphabet also included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek (/w/), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Qoppa was preserved in certain Western dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letter Q. It is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).

The original Greek alphabet included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek (/w/), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Qoppa was preserved in certain Western dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letter Q.<ref>http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/LetterQ.htm</ref> It is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).<ref>http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/numerals.html</ref>

==Other uses==

==Other uses==