ABC[]
MODERN GREEK
Mini Introduction[]
HOW TO ADD THE GREEK ALPHABET TO YOUR KEYBOARD
Here are some links to easily convert your keyboard to enable you to use both Latin and Greek characters as you need.
For Windows
(https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17424/windows-change-keyboard-layout)
(https://www.conversationexchange.com/resources/keyboard-language.php?lg=en)
For Mac
(http://www.wikihow.com/Change-the-Keyboard-Language-of-a-Mac)
To put the accent mark, press the semicolon key and then the vowel.
THE FORUMS
(https://www.duolingo.com/topic/936)(https://www.duolingo.com/comment/17556409)
Welcome to Modern Greek course for English speakers! Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. It has the longest documented history of any existing Indo-European language. From antiquity to present the language has presented many important changes resulting in its current form. Modern Greek (the language of our course) is spoken by 13 million people, it is the official language of Greece and one of the official languages of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union.
The word ''alphabet'' comes from the first two letters of the Greek Alphabet, alpha, and beta (Α and Β). The Greek Alphabet has 24 letters, which are the same as Classical Greek. However, their pronunciation is completely different.
(Here is a link to a more comprehensive guide to the alphabet:here
The alphabet used in this lesson[]
| Greek: Upper Case-Lower Case | Name// English Name | Νearest pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Α-α | Άλφα // Alpha | A as in Ant |
| Β-β | Βήτα // Veeta | V as in Vase |
| Γ-γ | Γάμμα (Γάμα) //Gama | γ |
| Δ-δ | Δέλτα //Delta | ð as in THe |
| Ε-ε | Εψίλον //Epsilon | E as in Element |
| Ζ-ζ | Ζήτα //Ζεετα | Z as in Zoo |
| Η-η* | Ήτα //Eeta | EE as in sEE |
| Θ-θ | Θήτα //theta | |
| Ι-ι* | Ιώτα (γιώτα)//Iota | EE as in sEE |
| Κ-κ | Κάππα (κάπα)/Kapa | K as inCow |
| Λ-λ | Λάμδα//Lambda | L as in Lemon |
| Μ-μ | Μυ (μι) //Mee | M as in Mother |
| Ν-ν | Νυ (Νι) //Nee | N as in North |
| Ξ-ξ | Ξει (Ξι) //Ksee | X as in foX |
| Ο-ο* | Όμικρον// Omicron | O as in Organ |
| Π-π | Πει (Πι) //Pee | P as in Pet |
| Ρ-ρ | Ρω (ρο/Row | R as in Rhapsody |
| Σ-σ/ς* | Σίγμα | Sigma |
| Τ-τ | Ταυ // Taf | T as in Table |
| Υ-υ* | Ύψιλον//Ypsilon | EE as in sEE |
| Φ-φ | Φει (φι) //Fee | F as in Fun |
| Χ-χ | Χει (Χι) //Chee | H as in Hurry |
| Ψ-ψ | ψει (ψι) /Psee | PS as in liPStick |
| Ω-ω* | Ωμέγα //Omega | O as in Organ |
Note: * Η-η, Ι-ι and Υ-υ have the same pronunciation (''ee'')
- Ο-ο and Ω-ω have the same pronunciation (''o'')
- The pronunciations and their examples shown above are the nearest (not the exact) pronunciations in Modern Greek. The sound of some letters varies depending on the letter that follows.
WHERE TO FIND THE GREEK LETTERS ON YOU QWERTYKEYBOARD
**Of the 24 letters in the Greek alphabet 13 are exactly the same in appearance as the Latin.
These are: A, B, E, H, I, K, M, N, O, T, X, Y, Z (They are not always pronounced the same but they are typed on the same key.
7 keys have the same sound: And are found on that key.
Φ = F
Λ = L
Π = P
Ρ = R
Σσ = S (ς = found on W)
2 have similar sound:
Γ = G
Δ = D
That leaves only 4 Greek letter with places you have to learn.
Here is where you'll find them:
Θ = U
Ξ = J
Ψ = C
Ω = V
Σ = S σ/ς Sigma has two different types in the lower case. When it is at the beginning of or inside the word it is written as σ but when it is at the end of a word it is written as ς this can be found at w**
Diphthongs#[]
ΑΙ αι = sounds like E-ε as
ΕΙ ει = sounds like Η-η, Ι-ι, Υ-υ
ΟΙ οι = sounds just like Η-η, Ι-ι, Υ-υ
ΥΙ υι = sounds just like Η-η, Ι-ι, Υ-υ or like ee-ee
ΑΥ αυ= sounds like “av” or “af”
ΕΥ ευ= sounds like “ev” or “ef”
ΟΥ ου = sounds like "u" as in "soup" .
Double consonants[]
ΜΠ μπ = sounds like b
ΝΤ ντ = sounds like d
ΓΚ γκ = sounds like g
ΓΓ γγ = sound like ng
ΤΣ τσ = sounds like ts
ΤΖ τζ = sounds like tz
Accents[]
Modern Greek has only ONE accent, that is placed above the accented vowels, and it looks like this: ά,έ, ή, ί, ό, ύ, ώ. The accent goes on one of the three last syllables. Accents help you give emphasis to the right syllable. E.g. “βιβλίο” (veevLEEo), ''μιλώ'' (meeLO) etc.
- Capital letters can take accents ONLY on the first letter. However, it can be omitted. E.g ΌΧΙ / ΟΧΙ (Ohee), but ΕΣΥ (eSEE).
Punctuation Marks[]
The Period, or full stop, the comma and the exclamation mark are the same as English.
The Greek question mark looks just like the English semi colon ;and can be found on the Q when you are on the Greek keyboard.
Basics 1[]
HOW TO ADD THE GREEK ALPHABET TO YOUR KEYBOARD
For Windows
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17424/windows-change-keyboard-layout https://www.conversationexchange.com/resources/keyboard-language.php?lg=en
For Mac
http://www.wikihow.com/Change-the-Keyboard-Language-of-a-Mac
https://www.duolingo.com/topic/936
AND the Forum: HOW TO TYPE IN GREEK SEE THIS LINK https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23095423
A list of verbs used in this skill and variations between conjugations are given below:
be - είμαι
drink - πίνω
eat - τρώω
Definite Articles[]
Definite articles in Greek are equivalent to the English word ''the'', however, in Greek, they vary depending on the gender and number of the word that follows.
NOTE the gender refers to the word ... NOT... to the person or object involved. For example, "the girl" το κορίτσι and "the boy" το αγόρι are neuter but "the chair" η καρέλα is feminine....
Greek like Polish, Russian, and many other languages uses 3 grammatical genders to describe nouns. While English though, has «the» for every gender and number, Greek has six possible articles.
| Number and Gender in Nominative | Article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular masculine | ο | ο άντρας = the man |
| Plural masculine | οι | οι άντρες = the men |
| Singular feminine | η | η γυναίκα = the woman |
| Plural feminine | οι | οι γυναίκες = the women |
| Singular neuter | το | το παιδί = the child |
| Plural neuter | τα | τα παιδιά = the children |