Difference between revisions of "Greek alphabet"
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The '''Greek alphabet''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ελληνικό αλφάβητο) is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm</ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" /> | The '''Greek alphabet''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ελληνικό αλφάβητο) is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm</ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" /> | ||
| − | + | ||
==Main letters== | ==Main letters== | ||
| − | The modern Greek alphabet | + | The modern Greek alphabet and its corresponding pronunciations are as follow:<ref>http://www.geocities.com/alexandrosworld/Greek/Phonology.html</ref><ref>Pronunciations separated by a slash indicate a phonetic difference depending on the following vowel. On the left is the pronunciation before [e] and [i], on the right the pronunciation before [a], [ɔ] or, [u]. In the case of iota, the difference depends on whether it is word initial.</ref> |
{| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;" | {| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | |align="left"|''Name''<br />''Letter''||[[Alpha]]<br />Αα||[[Beta]]<br />Ββ||[[Gamma]]<br />Γγ||[[Delta (letter)|Delta]]<br />Δδ||Epsilon<br />Εε||Zeta<br />Ζζ||Eta<br />Ηη||Theta<br />Θθ|| | + | |align="left"|'''Name'''<br />'''Letter'''<br />'''IPA'''||[[Alpha]]<br />Αα<br />[a]||[[Beta]]<br />Ββ<br />[v]||[[Gamma]]<br />Γγ<br />[ʝ]/[ɣ]||[[Delta (letter)|Delta]]<br />Δδ<br />[ð]||Epsilon<br />Εε<br />[ε]||Zeta<br />Ζζ<br />[z]||Eta<br />Ηη<br />[i]||Theta<br />Θθ<br />[θ]|| |
|- | |- | ||
| − | |align="left"|''Name''<br />''Letter''||Iota<br />Ιι||Kappa<br />Κκ||Lambda<br />Λλ||[[Mu (Greek letter)|Mu]]<br />Μμ||Nu<br />Νν||Xi<br />Ξξ||Omicron<br />Οο||[[Pi]]<br />Ππ|| | + | |align="left"|'''Name'''<br />'''Letter'''<br />'''IPA'''||Iota<br />Ιι<br />[i]/[j]||Kappa<br />Κκ<br />[c]/[k]||Lambda<br />Λλ<br />[l]||[[Mu (Greek letter)|Mu]]<br />Μμ<br />[m]||Nu<br />Νν<br />n||Xi<br />Ξξ<br />[ks]||Omicron<br />Οο<br />[ɔ]||[[Pi]]<br />Ππ<br />[p]|| |
|- | |- | ||
| − | |align="left"|''Name''<br />''Letter''||Rho<br />Ρρ||Sigma<br />Σσς||Tau<br />Ττ||Upsilon<br />Υυ||Phi<br />Φφ||Chi<br />Χχ||Psi<br />Ψψ||[[Omega]]<br />Ωω|| | + | |align="left"|'''Name'''<br />'''Letter'''<br />'''IPA'''||Rho<br />Ρρ<br />[ɾ]||Sigma<br />Σσς<br />[s]||Tau<br />Ττ<br />[t]||Upsilon<br />Υυ<br />[i]||Phi<br />Φφ<br />[f]||Chi<br />Χχ<br />[ç]/[χ]||Psi<br />Ψψ<br />[ps]||[[Omega]]<br />Ωω<br />[ɔ]|| |
|} | |} | ||
Revision as of 05:04, November 27, 2008
The Greek alphabet (Greek: Ελληνικό αλφάβητο) is a set of letters used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet[1] (which also gave rise to the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.[1] The Latin and Cyrillic alphabets are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.[1]
Main letters
The modern Greek alphabet and its corresponding pronunciations are as follow:[2][3]
| Name Letter IPA |
Alpha Αα [a] |
Beta Ββ [v] |
Gamma Γγ [ʝ]/[ɣ] |
Delta Δδ [ð] |
Epsilon Εε [ε] |
Zeta Ζζ [z] |
Eta Ηη [i] |
Theta Θθ [θ] |
|
| Name Letter IPA |
Iota Ιι [i]/[j] |
Kappa Κκ [c]/[k] |
Lambda Λλ [l] |
Mu Μμ [m] |
Nu Νν n |
Xi Ξξ [ks] |
Omicron Οο [ɔ] |
Pi Ππ [p] |
|
| Name Letter IPA |
Rho Ρρ [ɾ] |
Sigma Σσς [s] |
Tau Ττ [t] |
Upsilon Υυ [i] |
Phi Φφ [f] |
Chi Χχ [ç]/[χ] |
Psi Ψψ [ps] |
Omega Ωω [ɔ] |
Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the Byzantine period of Greek history.[4] In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on whether it occurs at the end of a word (ς).
Pronunciation
In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letter (or letter clusters) of their names in English. However, some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, so 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.[5]
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/).
Obsolete letters
The original Greek alphabet included the letters digamma[6] (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).[7] 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.[8] It is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).[9]
Other uses
In the Christian Bible, the letters alpha and omega together are an appellation for God, specifically in the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13).
Greek letters are also used in the names of fraternities and sororities, as well as mathematical symbols.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm
- ↑ http://www.geocities.com/alexandrosworld/Greek/Phonology.html
- ↑ Pronunciations separated by a slash indicate a phonetic difference depending on the following vowel. On the left is the pronunciation before [e] and [i], on the right the pronunciation before [a], [ɔ] or, [u]. In the case of iota, the difference depends on whether it is word initial.
- ↑ http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html
- ↑ http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm
- ↑ Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)
- ↑ http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html
- ↑ http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/LetterQ.htm
- ↑ http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/numerals.html
