AMERICAN CLASSICAL LEAGUE
2012 in Las Vegas
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Saturday June 30 1:00-2:30pm
Session 10C - Room 209
Wilfred Major
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• This workshop showcases materials which allow you to incorporate
the Greek alphabet in a fun and meaningful way into virtually any
class. Simple “addition” and “subtraction” allow students to work out
the pronunciation of any Greek word or name. No knowledge of Greek
is required, but you will be able to enhance your students' appreciation
of characters from mythology, Latin literature, the Bible, Harry Potter,
Percy Jackson and more! All the materials in this workshop are
available free online.
• The Greek alphabet provides a uniquely fun way to add a new
dimension to almost any class. The alphabet is entirely phonetic, so
games with “alphabet algebra” make it easy to learn and follow
spelling changes in Greek words. No knowledge of Greek is required,
since familiar (and obscure) names from mythology, Latin literature,
the Bible, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and elsewhere provide ample
practice and open the gateway to many more possibilities. All the
materials in this workshop are available free online.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
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•
•
•
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The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
– Why do I see capital letters sometimes but then texts with
lower case letters?
– Why do texts of Greek look like scribbled chicken scratch?
• SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
• Vowels
• Consonants
• The alphabet in order and other stuff
• Practice with names
• Practice with English derivatives
• Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• Greek has twenty-four letters.
– upper-case:
ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙΚΛΜΝΞΟΠΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ
– lower-case:
αβγδεζηθικλμνξοπρσςτυφχψω
the upper-case letters
represent the versions used
in stone-cut inscriptions
law code of Gortyn
5th century BC
(written right to left)
the upper-case letters
were also used in early
writing on papyrus
see
http://www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk
papyrus of the poet Archilochus
P.Oxy. LXIX 4708
alternate “number of the beast”
P.Oxy. LXVI 4499
the lower-case letters
represent the
hand-writing from
later manuscripts
page of medieval manuscript of
Euripides’ Hecuba
The
Classical Greek
alphabet
for the
printing press
Capitals and cursives
combined
From manuscript to modern printed edition
modern printed editions
began as reproductions
of manuscripts, so they
retain this use of
the lower-case letters
modern printed edition of
Euripides’ Hecuba
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Printed texts still use lower-case letters
normally, but use upper-case letters for
• the first letter of a proper name (person,
place, etc)
• the first letter of a direct quotation
But inscriptions and other non-printed Greek
(e.g., on shirts) still tend to use the upper case
letters!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Imagine if English were printed in a cursive
script all the time.
Imagine if English were printed in a cursive script all the
time.
This is why printed Greek texts can look like
chicken scratch, but once you know the
alphabet, it is just like reading someone’s
handwriting.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Some basic principles about the ancient Greek
alphabet:
• Greeks in antiquity spelled words the way
they pronounced them.
• If they changed the pronunciation of a
word, they changed the spelling to match.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• Consider the verb “record” (reCORD) and
the noun “record” (RECord), which are
spelled alike but pronounced differently in
English.
• In Greek, such words would be spelled
according to their pronunciations: “rikórd”
and “rékerd”
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Imagine these examples in English:
• If anyone pronounced “going” as “gonna,”
they would spell it “gonna.”
• Homophones like “but” and “butt” would
both be spelled “but,” even though they
have different meanings.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Therefore, the surest and most straightforward
way to become comfortable reading and
writing Greek is to sound out the words and
match the sounds to the letters.
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
VOWELS Greek has roughly the same five
vowels as English:
• α “ah”
• ε “eh”
• ι “ih”
• ο “o”
• υ “u”
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Short
Long
• α “ah”
• ᾱ “aah”
• ε “eh”
• η “ay”
• ι “ih”
• ῑ “ee”
• ο “o”
• ω “oh”
• υ “u”
• ῡ “οοh”
Like English, Greek has short and long versions of its vowels.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Speakers of Classical Greek did not like to say
two vowel sounds in a row.
Consequently, if two vowels come together,
they tended to
• merge them into one (called a “diphthong,”
Greek for “double sound”)
• or contract them (covered under “Alphabet
Algebra” later).
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• A vowel + ι or υ forms a diphthong.
– see following slides
• α, ε and ο contract with each other.
– covered under “Alphabet Algebra” later
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
A vowel + ι forms a diphthong:
• α + ι = αι “eye”
– ᾱ + ι = ᾱι “aah” usually written ᾳ
• ε + ι = ει “ay”
– η + ι = ηι “ay” usually written ῃ
• ο + ι = οι “oy”
– ω + ι = ωι “oh” usually written ῳ
• υ + ι = υι “wee”
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
A vowel + υ forms a diphthong:
• α + υ = αυ “ow!”
• ε + υ = ευ “eu”
• ο + υ = ου “oo”
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS Greek consonants are built
around just three basic sounds:
Labial
Dental
Palatal
π
τ
κ
p
t
k
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS Add a vocal sound and you get a
new set, called “voiced”:
Labial
Dental
Palatal
πp
τt
κ k = unvoiced
βb
δd
γ g = voiced
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS Add the “h” sound and you get a
new set, called “aspirated”:
Labial
Dental
Palatal
πp
τt
κ k = unvoiced
βb
δd
γ g = voiced
φ ph
θ th
χ kh = aspirated
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
The Trouble with Sigma Greek is strange
when it comes to pronouncing and writing
words with the “s” sound:
• The combinations πσ, βσ & φσ never
appear. Instead, ψ replaces them.
• τ, δ and θ disappear before a σ.
• The combinations κσ, γσ or χσ never
appear. Instead, ξ replaces them.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS
Labial
Dental
πp
τt
βb
δd
φ ph
θ th
ψ ps
σs
Palatal
κ k = unvoiced
γ g = voiced
χ kh = aspirated
ξ ks = + σ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS
Labial
Dental
πp
τt
βb
δd
φ ph
θ th
ψ ps
σs
μm
νn
Palatal
κ k = unvoiced
γ g = voiced
χ kh = aspirated
ξ ks = + σ
γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng
= nasals
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
CONSONANTS
Labial
Dental
πp
τt
βb
δd
φ ph
θ th
ψ ps
σs
μm
νn
λl
Palatal
κ k = unvoiced
γ g = voiced
χ kh = aspirated
ξ ks = + σ
γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng nasals
ρ r = liquids
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
The leftover consonant is:
• ζ (instead of writing σδ)
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
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•
•
•
•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• The alphabet in order and other stuff
A YouTube video shows how to write the letters, at
Learn the Greek Alphabet: 4A Penmanship Counts!: – Alpha-Mu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHDdBprw0XQ (part 1)
Learn the Greek Alphabet: 4B. Penmanship Counts: Nu-Omega
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8gm2VFs_co (part 2)
Visit www.dramata.com for:
• A power point that diagrams the Greek letters by hand
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• The alphabet in order and other stuff
• Greek Alphabet Song Rock-n-Roll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKW9-7ZHv_4
• Greek Alphabet Rap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vapoNlGio8U
• Information on typing ancient (polytonic) Greek on digital
platforms is included at the end of this slide show and at
www.dramata.com
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• The alphabet in order and other stuff
Nina Barclay. Eucleides' World: An Exploratory
Introduction to Ancient Greek to Accompany Ecce
Romani. CANE (Classical Association of New England),
2002.
• Written to accompany Ecce Romani, but it stands alone
as an introduction to Greek.
Sing the Greek alphabet to
“Itsy Bitsy Spider”!
Sing the Greek alphabet to
“Frère Jacques”!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• The alphabet in order and other stuff
Harvey Bluedorn. A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read,
Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek. (2004)
ISBN 978-0974361697
Harvey Bluedorn and Richard LaPierre. A Greek Hupogrammon: A Beginner's
Copybook for the Greek Alphabet with Pronunciations. (2005)
ISBN 978-1933228013
Christopher Perrin. Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. (2008)
ISBN 978-1600510359
Christopher Perrin. Greek for Children, Primer A. (2010)
ISBN 978-1600510236
Michelle Hahne. Song School Greek: Student Book and CD. (2009)
ISBN 978-1600510441
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
When foreigners (ξένοι) started learning Greek in
antiquity, Greek scholars developed additional
symbols to help non-Greeks speak the language.
From this practice, Polytonic Greek uses the
following:
• breathings
• accents
• punctuation
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
BREATHINGS Ancient Greek does not use
a separate letter for the ‘h’ sound.
Remember from earlier that Greek has the
aspirated consonants φ, θ, and χ to indicate
this sound.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
BREATHINGS
If a word begins with aspiration, but not one
with of these consonants, however, the
aspirated consonants are no help, so Greek
uses two symbols to indicate aspiration or
lack of it.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
BREATHINGS
• ’  no aspiration: ὀ = “o” (“smooth” breathing)
• ‘  aspiration: ὁ = “ho” (“rough” breathing)
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
BREATHINGS Words beginning with ρ or υ
always have a rough breathing:
• ῥο = rho
– as in ῥυθμος = rhythmos (“rhythm”)
• ὑ = hy– as in ὑπερ hyper “above” ( English “hyper”)
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
BREATHINGS Sometimes only a breathing
marks the difference between words. For
example:
• αὐτον = “him”
αὐτην = “her”
• αὑτον = “himself”
αὑτην = “herself”
Notice that if the word begins with a diphthong,
the breathing appears over the second letter.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
• Most words in Ancient Greek have an accent.
• Ancient Greeks knew how to accent words.
• They wrote in the accents to help non-Greeks
learn the language.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Ancient Greek scholars said the accent was a
rising tone on a single short vowel sound,
so they marked it with a line rising from
left-to-right: / (acute accent).
You may stress the vowel to sound the accent,
but try not to make it long when you do!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
If an accent on a word was not pronounced,
the syllable which was normally accented
shows a grave accent (\) instead. For example,
a final accented syllable before another word
was typically not accented: τιμή but τιμὴ δέ.
In a vowel has a grave (\), simply do not
pronounce the accent!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting short vowel sounds
• The vowels ᾰ, ε, ῐ, ο, and ῠ are short.
• When accented, the acute accent appears
above these vowels: ά, έ, ί, ό, and ύ.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting long vowel sounds
• The vowels ᾱ, η, ῑ, ω, and ῡ are long.
• Long vowels are, as their name suggests, long, in fact
double-length, vowel sounds:
ᾱ = αα, η = εε, ῑ = ιι, ω = οο, and ῡ = υυ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting long vowel sounds
• If the first part of this sound bears the accent,
then the whole vowel has a rising tone (/),
then a falling tone (\),
so it is marked ^ (circumflex) over the vowel.
άὰ = ᾶ, έὲ = ῆ, ίὶ = ῖ, όὸ = ῶ, ύὺ = ῦ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting long vowel sounds
• If the second part of the sound bears the accent,
then only the rising tone (/) is written.
αά = ά, εέ = ή, ιί = ί, οό = ώ, υύ = ύ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting long vowel sounds
• When the second of two consecutive vowels is an ι or υ, the
pair is a diphthong. The same rules for marking an acute (/) or
circumflex (^) apply as for long vowels, and the accent is
always written over the second vowel:
• άὶ = αῖ
έὶ = εῖ
όὶ = οῖ
ύὶ = υῖ
• αί = αί
εί = εί
οί = οί
υί = υί
• άὺ = αῦ έὺ = εῦ
όὺ = οῦ
• αύ = αύ εύ = εύ
ού = ού
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
PUNCTUATION Greek uses four marks of
punctuation:
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•
•
•
full stop . (period)
half stop · (colon; Greek for “limb”; ~ semi-colon)
pause , (comma; Greek for “stamp mark”)
question mark ; (top/bottom reverse of ? symbol)
Quotation marks: strictly speaking, a capital
letter marks the beginning of a direct quote,
but often modern texts add quotation marks
for clarity.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Finally, to return to our first observation, that
Greek spells words the way they sound, a note
about elision:
• When Greeks elided or contracted words when
they spoke, they wrote them in contracted form.
• In formal English, we write only uncontracted
forms (“stop and go” instead of “stop ‘n’ go” etc),
regardless of how we pronounce them. Formal
Greek writing, however, shows the contractions.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
An example of elision:
μετὰ ἐμου = with me
remember, saying two vowels together is bad,
so most of the time, this phrase is elided to:
μετ’ ἐμου = wit’ me
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
•
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•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
• Practice with names
– Mythology via Percy Jackson
– Harry Potter
– Bible
• Practice with English derivatives
• Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Περσεύς
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Περσεύς
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ποσειδῶν
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
σάτυρος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἀθήνη
played by Μελίνα Ελένη Κανακαρίδου Κωνσταντινiδου
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἑρμῆς
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Χείρων (Κένταυρος)
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Μέδουσα
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Χάρων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ζεύς
Ἥρα
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ᾍδης
Περσεφόνη
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Δημήτηρ
Περσεφόνη
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἀπόλλων
Ἄρτεμις
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἀφροδίτη
Ἥφαιστος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἄρης
Διόνυσος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
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The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
• Practice with names
– Mythology via Percy Jackson
– Harry Potter
– Bible
• Practice with English derivatives
• Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Visit http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/harry_potter.htm
for links to more information, vocabulary, and more resources,
especially the NPR interview where translator Andrew Wilson
reads a Quidditch game in ancient Greek!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Note the slight difference
between the Classical and
Modern Greek editions.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἅρειος Ποτήρ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Φερνίων
Δούρσλειος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Δούδλιος
Δούρσλειος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Υὁγοήτου
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Γρυφινδώρων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ὑφελπύφων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ῥαηγχλώρων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Σλυθηρίνων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Διμπλόδωρος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Σίναπυς
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Μαγονωγαλέα
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἁγριώδης
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Φήληξ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Φιλητικός
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ποιφύκτης
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Ἑρμιόνη Γέρονος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
῾Ροὼν Εὐισήλιος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
σκαβρός
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Γίννη Εὐισήλιος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Φερέδικος Εὐισήλιος
Γεωργὸς Εὐισήλιος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Περσεὺς Εὐισήλιος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Δράκων Μάλακος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Кάρκινος καὶ
Κέρκωψ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Νεφελώδης Μακρόπυγος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Σείριος ὁ μέλας
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ὁ στενωπὸς διάγων
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Φολιδόμορτος
(ὁ Δεῖνα)
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Μύγαλοι
= βάρβαροι;
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
•
•
•
•
The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
• Practice with names
– Mythology via Percy Jackson
– Harry Potter
– Bible
• Practice with English derivatives
• Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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Ἰησοῦς
Χριστός
Μαρία
Ἰωσήφ
Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος
Μάρκος
Ἰωάννης
Σαῦλος  Παῦλος
ἄγγελος
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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Σίμων
Ἰάκωβος
Ἀνδρέας
Φίλιππος
Βαρθολομαῖος
Μαθθαῖος
Θωμᾶς
Θαδδαῖος
Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώθ
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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Βίβλος γενέσεως
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ Δαυὶδ υἱοῦ Ἀβραάμ.
2 Ἀβραὰμ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰσαάκ,
Ἰσαὰκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰακώβ,
Ἰακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰούδαν
καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ,
• 3 Ἰούδας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Φάρες
καὶ τὸν Ζάρα ἐκ τῆς Θαμάρ,
• Φάρες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἑσρώμ,
• Ἑσρὼμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀράμ,
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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4 Ἀρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀμιναδάβ,
Ἀμιναδὰβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ναασσών,
Ναασσὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαλμών,
5 Σαλμὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Βόες ἐκ τῆς Ῥαχάβ,
Βόες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωβὴδ ἐκ τῆς Ῥούθ,
Ἰωβὴδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰεσσαί,
6 Ἰεσσαὶ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Δαυὶδ τὸν βασιλέα.
Δαυὶδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σολομῶνα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Οὐρίου,
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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7 Σολομὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ῥοβοάμ,
Ῥοβοὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀβιά,
Ἀβιὰ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀσάφ,
8 Ἀσὰφ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσαφάτ,
Ἰωσαφὰτ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωράμ,
Ἰωρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ὀζίαν,
9 Ὀζίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωαθάμ,
Ἰωαθὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀχάζ,
Ἀχὰζ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἑζεκίαν,
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• 10 Ἑζεκίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Μανασσῆ,
• Μανασσῆς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀμώς,
• Ἀμὼς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσίαν,
• 11 Ἰωσίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰεχονίαν
καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος.
• 12 Μετὰ δὲ τὴν μετοικεσίαν Βαβυλῶνος
Ἰεχονίας ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαλαθιήλ,
• Σαλαθιὴλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ζοροβαβέλ,
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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13 Ζοροβαβὲλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀβιούδ,
Ἀβιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλιακίμ,
Ἐλιακὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀζώρ,
14 Ἀζὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαδώκ,
Σαδὼκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀχίμ,
Ἀχὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλιούδ,
15 Ἐλιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐλεάζαρ,
Ἐλεάζαρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ματθάν,
Ματθὰν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰακώβ,
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• 16 Ἰακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας,
• ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός.
κατὰ Μαθθαῖον 1.1-16
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
• Practice with English derivatives
• Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• Practice with English derivatives
– The following slides give ancient Greek words with their definitions.
– Match them up with modern English words.
– How do you think the ancient definitions led to the modern ones?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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ἀγάπη love, charity
ἄγγελος messenger
ἀθλητής competitor for a prize
Aἰθιοπία land of the burnt-faced people
ἀμοιβή exchange
ἀμνηστία forgetting
ἀναρχία a place or time with no ruler
ἀποκάλυψις uncovering, revelation
ἀπόστολος ambassador
ἄρωμα spice
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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αὐτόματον spontaneous
ἁρμονία joint, agreement
ἄτομος uncut
βίος life
βοτάνη grass
γένεσις birth
γεωμετρία measuring the earth
γράμμα letter (of the alphabet)
γραφή writing, drawing
γυμνάσιον a place for exercising
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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δαίμων divinity, demon
δημοκρατία people-power
διάβολος deceiver
δίπλωμα paper folded in half
δόγμα opinion, decree
δρᾶμα action
δύω two
ἐγώ I
εἰρήνη peace
εὐαγγέλιον (reward for) good news
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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ζωή life
ἱπποπόταμος river horse
ἱστορία research
καρδία heart
κατάλογος enrollment register
κλῖμαξ ladder
κόσμος order
κρατήρ mixing bowl
κρίσις judgment
κύριος, Κύριε master, Lord
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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κύκλος circle
μαθηματικά mathematics
μανία madness
μαρτυρία testimony
μηχανικός engineer
μισογύνης woman hater
μυστήριον secret
οἰκονομία household management
ὂ μικρόν small “o”
παλίνδρομος running backward
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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παραβολή comparison, parable
πνευμονία lung disease
ποιητής maker, creater
πολιτικά politics
προφήτης interpreter
ῥαψῳδία recitation
ῥητορική the field of speechmaking
ῥινόκερως horn-nosed
σκελετόν dried out
σοφία wisdom
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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σπέρμα seed
ὑπόθεσις foundation, principle, plan
ὑστερική woman suffering in her womb
φιλοσοφία love of wisdom
φωσφόρος bringing light
φωνή voice
χαρακτήρ mark
χάρισμα grace, gift
ψυχή soul
ὦ μέγα big “o”
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• Practice with English derivatives
– The following slides give lists of ancient Greek words
and an additional word to be added to each of them.
– Combine them to form modern English words.
– How do you think the ancient definitions led to the
modern ones?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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ἀρχαῖος ancient
ἀστέροι stars
βίος life
εὖ well
ζῷον living thing
θεός god
μῦθος story
οἶκος home (hint: οι is later pronounced ē)
τέχνη skill
χρόνος time
+ λόγος word, understanding
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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ἄλλος other
ἀπάτη deception
βροντή thunder
δεῖνος awesome
στέγος roof
τύραννος tyrant
+ σαῦρος lizard
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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πέντε five
ἕξ six
ἑπτά seven
ὀκτώ eight
δέκα ten
δώδεκα twelve
+ γόνυ knee
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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βαρύς weight
παιδίον little child
ποδές feet
ψυχή soul
+ ἰατρικά healing, medical
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• If φιλία means “love,” based on the word
“necrophilia,” can you figure out what
νεκρός means?
• If ἀράχνης means “spider,” based on the
word “arachnophobia,” can you figure out
what φόβος means?
• Based on the word “pyromania,” can you
figure out what πῦρ means?
• If πάρδαλις refers to a leopard, or something
with leopard spots, can you guess what
animal a καμηλοπάρδαλις is?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• For making up questions and quizzes:
• Wikipedia entries for ancient Greek topics usually
include the name or word in the original Greek
• The Wikipedia entry "List of Greek and Latin roots in
English" includes an outstanding catalog of Classical
roots for English words. It includes the original
Greek, definitions, and English examples. You can
even sort the list alphabetically by the Greek root!
• NB: You can cut & paste the word from Wikipedia
into whatever you need!
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
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The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Speakers of Classical Greek did not like to
say two vowel sounds in a row.
Consequently, if two vowels come together,
they tended to
• merge them into one (called a “diphthong,”
Greek for “double sound”)
• or contract them.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
α, ε and ο + α contract:
•α+α=ᾱ
•ε+α=η
•ο+α=ω
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
α, ε and ο + ε contract:
•α+ε=ᾱ
• ε + ε = ει
• ο + ε = ου
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
α, ε and ο + ο contract:
•α+ο=ω
• ε + ο = ου
• ο + ο = ου
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
ACCENTS
Accenting long vowel sounds
• In Attic and Koine Greek, the vowels α, ε and ο contract when
they meet. The same rules for marking an acute (/) or
circumflex (^) apply as for long vowels and diphthongs:
• ά+ὲ=ᾶ ά+ὸ=ῶ
α+έ=ά
α+ό=ώ
• έ + ὰ = ῆ έ + ὸ = οῦ
ε+ά=ή
ε + ό = ού
• ό + ὰ = ῶ ό + ὲ = οῦ
ο+ά=ώ
ο + έ = ού
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Play “alphabet algebra” with consonants, too!
Labial
Dental
Palatal
πp
τt
κ k = unvoiced
βb
δd
γ g = voiced
φ ph
θ th
χ kh = aspirated
ψ ps
σs
ξ ks = + σ
μm
νn
γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng nasals
λl
ρ r = liquids
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• “Alphabet algebra” means questions, quizzes and
games like
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π+σ=
α+ο=
short ω =
based on the consonant chart
– long & short vowels and contractions of α, ε, and ο
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
•
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The history of writing the alphabet (and why it matters)
SPELL IT LIKE IT SOUNDS!
Vowels
Consonants
The alphabet in order and other stuff
Practice with names
Practice with English derivatives
Alphabet Algebra
• What next?
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
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Elementary and Middle School levels
High school
Post-secondary
Greek on digital platforms
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– Elementary and Middle School levels
– Ascanius Store: Getting to Know Greek
– Getting to Know Greek: Student Textbook
– Getting to Know Greek: Student Workbook
– Getting to Know Greek: Teacher's Guide
– http://www.ascaniusyci.org/store/gtkg-main.htm
– Activitates Liberis, Volume V: Ancient Greek edited by Matthew D. Webb
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– Elementary and Middle School levels
Harvey Bluedorn. A Greek Alphabetarion: A Primer for Teaching How to Read,
Write & Pronounce Ancient & Biblical Greek. (2004)
ISBN 978-0974361697
Harvey Bluedorn and Richard LaPierre. A Greek Hupogrammon: A Beginner's
Copybook for the Greek Alphabet with Pronunciations. (2005)
ISBN 978-1933228013
Christopher Perrin. Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. (2008)
ISBN 978-1600510359
Christopher Perrin. Greek for Children, Primer A. (2010)
ISBN 978-1600510236
Michelle Hahne. Song School Greek: Student Book and CD. (2009)
ISBN 978-1600510441
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– High school
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National Greek Exam: www.aclclassics.org/pages/nge-scholarship .
The "Introduction to Greek" Exam
At www.dramata.com:
From Zero to the National Greek Exam 2011: the 45-page packet of the
syllabus, grammar, exercises, vocabulary, etc.
• From Zero to Greek: An Introduction to the Language for Everyone: the
basic packet
• From Zero to Greek: Writing the Alphabet and Exercises: Power Point
slides showing how to write, say, and transliterate the alphabet, along
with exercises and answer key.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– Post-secondary
• at www.dramata.com:
• The College Greek Exam
• Master Lists: The first Master List, “Greek Writing,”
focuses on the alphabet and sounds. It contains basically the
same information as this presentation, but with information
about accent placement and the rules for ending Greek
words.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– Post-secondary
• at www.dramata.com: Master Lists
• The second Master List provides a reference guide for Greek verb
endings (endings highlighted in red) on a single sheet (front and back).
See “Teaching Greek Verbs: A Manifesto” in Teaching Classical
Languages 3 (2011) 23-42 to read about the methodology behind this list
(tcl.camws.org).
• The next Master List provides a reference guide for Greek nouns,
pronouns and adjectives (endings highlighted in red) on single sheet
(front and back).
• A final Master List, again on single sheet, compiles conjunctions (front)
and prepositions (back).
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
– Greek on digital platforms
INTERMEDIATE GREEK
Two important warnings:
• Read, copy and input Greek using Unicode
characters. It is and will remain the standard.
Other methods are fading and some are hard to
convert.
• The basic Greek keyboard (called Modern,
Demotic, or Monotonic) has only a single accent.
For ancient Greek you need “polytonic” Greek.
INTERMEDIATE GREEK
• You can use any font you wish. So long as it is
Unicode-compliant, it should display and print
characters correctly and it will convert to other
fonts consistently.
• I use Palatino Linotype for these Power Points,
handouts, etc., since it is bundled with Windows
and nicely legible.
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
Visit www.dramata.com for:
• Reference sheets for typing ancient (polytonic)
Greek in a Windows or Mac environment.
• Recent Windows and Apple systems have built-in
polytonic Greek keyboards. You need only activate
them. The above sheets give instructions, keyboard
layouts, etc.
INTERMEDIATE GREEK
Greek on digital platforms:
• The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae will soon contain
virtually all Greek texts up to the 20th century
(www.tlg.uci.edu).
• The Perseus project also contains many texts, with
linked grammatical and vocabulary information
(www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper).
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!
• What next?
• Promotional Materials for the Greek Classroom at www.dramata.com:
– Sample Greek promotional flyer (Word document so you can modify it to
your needs)
– Sample Greek promotional brochures (Word document of a series of tri-fold
brochures, which you can modify to your needs)
Decorate your room while you learn the Greek alphabet!
– The Big Alphabet: each full-size page has a letter, along with its name and
pronunciation.
– The not-as-big Alphabet: each full-size page has both the upper case and
lower case letter, along with its name and pronunciation.
AMERICAN CLASSICAL LEAGUE
2012 in Las Vegas
I hope you have had,
and will continue to have
Fun with the Greek Alphabet!