Modern Greek/LegacyLesson 10

Lesson 10: Review of reading and pronunciation, subject pronouns, and verbs Vowels Greek has five vowel sounds, all vowels are pronounced nearer the English long rather than short: α approximately as in ball (closer to father in a Boston accent) ε approximately as in bet ι as in beet ο approximately as in boat ου as in boot Throughout this book, tables highlighted in this color have (or will eventually have) audio recordings to go with them. Modern greek vowels.ogg thumb Native pronunciation of the Greek vowels] Modern Greek vowels Native pronunciation of the Greek vowels As you can see from these examples, many letters in the Greek alphabet look like their counterparts in English. There are multiple spellings for some of these sounds: ι, η, υ, οι, ει, and υι all sound alike. ε and αι sound like EH as in "kettle". ο and ω sound like OH as in "over". Consonants The following letters sound like the English letters they resemble: κ, τ Note: If you're a native English speaker, try to pronounce a plain τ, that is without the "h" sound in the end. Kt pronunciation.ogg thumb Examples of pronunciation by native speaker K T pronunciation Native pronunciation of K and T Reading practice: τα, τι, η, τη, το, του, τω, κάτω, κότα, άκου Most Greek words have a stressed syllable which in words of more than one syllable is shown with an accent over the stressed vowel. Vocabulary: Kako kata.ogg thumb Examples of pronunciation by native speaker Kako kata pronounced Native pronunciation of the Greek vowels κακό bad κατά against, according to, toward 1c The following Greek consonants sound like familiar sounds from English, but look different from their English counterparts: βvee λelleπpeeδtheμemmσ,ςessζzeeνennφfeeθthehξeksψeeps The letter sigma, σ, is written as ς at the end of a word. Some Greek speakers pronounce the sigma sound so that it sounds half-way between s and sh. Vocabulary and reading practice: Nai kalo.ogg thumb Examples of pronunciation by native speaker Nai, kalo, etc. pronounced Native pronunciation of nai, kalo, etc ναι yes καλό good πού where με with από from σε in αλλά but 1d The following Greek consonants have sounds not found in English: γ a soft, gargling g sound, except before the sounds ε and ι, where it sounds like y ρ like Spanish r χ like the ch in Scottish loch Vocabulary and reading practice: 1e Grafo.ogg thumb Examples of pronunciation by native speaker Grafo, etc pronounced Native pronunciation of grafo, etc. γράφω I write για for γιατί why?, because προς to, toward όχι no παρακαλώ please The following combinations of letters have sounds that have to be learned: ου oo αυ av before vowel or voiced consonant, else af ευ ev before vowel or voiced consonant, else ef ηυ (found in words of katharevousa) iv before vowel or voiced consonant, else if μπ b at the beginning of a word, mb elsewhere ντ d at the beginning of a word, nd elsewhere χε, χαι heh κε, και keh Vocabulary and reading practice: Gr-Letter-Combinations.ogg thumb Pronunciation of letter combinations by a native speaker, Athens Greece] Pooro, etc pronounced Native pronunciation of letter combinations πούρο cigar αυτός (af) he αύριο (av) tomorrow ευχαριστώ I give thanks, thank you (ef) γυρεύω (ev) I look for απηύθυνα (if) I addressed εφηύρα I invented μπορώ (b) I can λάμπω (mb) I shine ντύνομαι (d) I dress αντοχή (nd) stamina χαίρετε Rejoice! (a greeting and leave-taking) χέρι hand καλοκαίρι summer κερί candle One of the big obstacles for an English speaker trying to learn Greek is that so few common usage words are related to English ones (although an estimated 10% to 20% of the total English vocabulary has Greek roots, most of it though of scientific/technical nature). However, sometimes there is a relationship that would help you to remember the Greek word, but the relationship isn't obvious, as with ευχαριστώ and Eucharist. When this happens, we'll note it as in the example above, with ~. This may mean that the English word is derived from the Greek one, or merely that both the English word and the Greek one come from a common root. Names of the letters: α άλφα ι γιώτα (or ιώτα) ρ ρω (or ρο) β βήτα κ κάππα (or κάπα) σ σίγμα γ γάμμα λ λάμδα (or λάμβδα) τ ταυ δ δέλτα μ μι υ ύψιλον ε έψιλον ν νι φ φι ζ ζήτα ξ ξι χ χι η ήτα ο όμικρον ψ ψι θ θήτα π πι ω ωμέγα 1g Personal subject pronouns Greek has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Here are the personal subject pronouns: εγώ I εμείς we εσύ you, singular εσείς you, plural αυτός he αυτοί they (masculine) αυτή she αυτές they (feminine) αυτό it αυτά they (neuter) The second-person plural is also used as the formal form of address, even when speaking to a single person. 1h Verbs First conjugation The subject pronouns are usually omitted, because the form of the verb indicates the subject. For example: γράφω I write γράφεις you (singular) write γράφει he/she/it writes γράφουμε we write γράφετε you (plural) write γράφουν they write There is no infinitive in modern Greek. For naming a verb, the first-person singular of the present tense is used as a generic term. For example, we refer to the verb γράφω, to write. To summarize the conjugation of a verb, we write it in a table like this: γράφω γράφουμε γράφεις γράφετε γράφει γράφουν 1i Γράφω is an example of a verb belonging to the first conjugation. Verbs in this conjugation can be recognized because their accent falls before the final ω. The following verbs belong to the first conjugation: δίνω give (~"donate") αλλάζω change διαβάζω read κοιτάζω look at βλέπω see ακούω hear (~"acoustic") φτάνω arrive φεύγω leave παίρνω take αγοράζω buy ξέρω know νομίζω think βάζω put πίνω drink Vocabulary: 1i2 Conjugations of some of these verbs: 1i3 The verbs έχω, to have, and είμαι, to be Two important verbs are έχω, to have, and είμαι, to be. The first-conjugation verb έχω is regular in the present tense, so it has the same endings as γράφω. έχω έχουμε έχεις έχετε έχει έχουν 1j To be in English is expressed in the active voice, but the Greek είμαι is passive, and doesn't have an active form. The ending -μαι is a typical, regular ending for passive verbs. Although we won't be concerned with passive constructions until later, είμαι is so important that you need to get it under your belt right away. είμαι είμαστε είσαι είστε είναι είναι 1k Capital letters Now that we're ready to handle complete sentences, we need capital letters. Most of the capital letters of the Greek alphabet are similar in form either to the lowercase letters, or to their counterparts in the Latin alphabet: α Α ι Ι ρ Ρ β Β κ Κ σ Σ γ Γ λ Λ τ Τ δ Δ μ Μ υ Υ ε Ε ν Ν φ Φ ζ Ζ ξ Ξ χ Χ η Η ο Ο ψ Ψ θ Θ π Π ω Ω Sentences The order of words in a Greek sentence is much more free than in English, but you can correctly construct a sentence using the familiar English syntax of subject+verb, or subject+verb+object. The subject is usually omitted when it is a pronoun. Sentences: Είναι καλό. It is good. Είναι κακό. It is bad. 1l In Greek, adjectives change their endings to agree with the gender and number of the nouns they describe (declension). The following vocabulary list introduces some nouns that happen to be neuter, and some adjectives, which are given in neuter form. The word το is the definite article, like English "the," used with singular neuter nouns. Vocabulary: νερό water κρασί wine τσάι tea καυτό hot κρύο cold άσπρο white κόκκινο red θέλω to want 1m Sentences: Το νερό είναι κρύο. The water is cold Το κρασί είναι κρύο. The wine is cold. Το τσάι είναι καυτό. The tea is hot. Το άσπρο κρασί είναι κρύο. The white wine is cold. 1n Negatives are formed by placing δεν before the verb. The question mark in Greek is the semicolon. Sentences: Το κόκκινο κρασί δεν είναι κρύο. The red wine is not cold Το νερό δεν είναι καυτό. The water is not hot. 1o Dialog: Χαίρετε. Hello. Χαίρετε. Hello. Έχετε τσάι; Do you have tea? Οχι, δεν έχουμε τσάι. Θέλετε νερό; No, we don't have tea. Do you want water? Ναι, ευχαριστώ. Yes, thank you. 1p Dialogue 1 Greeting others Mark: Γεια σας. Anna: Kαλημέρα. Mark: Τι κάνετε; Anna: Πολύ καλά και εσείς; Mark: Πολύ καλά. Vocabulary Γειά σαςHello!KαλημέραGood morningΤι κάνετεHow are you?Πολύ καλάVery wellΚαι εσείςAnd you? Dialogue 2 Introducing yourself Mark: Πώς σε λέvε; Anna: Mε λέvε Άvvα. Vocabulary ΠωςHowσε λένε What is your name? με λένε My name is Anna Summary of the alphabet and pronunciation Alphabet / Αλφάβητο The Greek Language was one of the first written languages in all world. The script used had some peculiarities not observed today: for instance, the vowels were not written, and one needed to guess or to know their specific place inside the word. This alphabet has been evolving, through contact with other cultures and through the simple action of the time, until it became what it is today. Amongst the Greek alphabet, we can spot some (or even many) similarities with the Latin (or Roman) one. The alphabet used nowadays has 24 letters: 7 vowels and 17 consonants. Letter English Name Greek Name A a alpha άλφα Β β beta βήτα Γ γ gamma γάμμα Δ δ delta δέλτα Ε ε epsilon έψιλον Ζ ζ zeta ζήτα Η η eta ήτα Θ θ theta θήτα Ι ι iota ιώτα Κ κ kappa κάπα Λ λ lambda λάμδα Μ μ mu μι Ν ν nu νι Ξ ξ ksi ξι Ο ο omicron όμικρον Π π pi πι Ρ ρ rho ρω Σ σ* sigma σίγμα Τ τ tau ταυ Υ υ ypsilon ύψιλον Φ φ phi φι Χ χ chi χι Ψ ψ psi ψι Ω ω omega ωμέγα * The sigma has a special lowercase form, used only at the end of words. Both lowercase sigmas have the same value. Besides the alphabet, there is also an accent ( ´ ) and a diaeresis( ¨ ). The use of these two diacritics is discussed in the next section. Pronunciation of the Alphabet Greek sounds are, in general, soft. As a major rule, each letter carries a single sound (this is not universal, but almost, as we'll see later in this page). As in the previous chapter, we see here a table with the various letters. This time, the columns represent not the name, but the approximate sound of the letters. Letter How to say it IPA XSAMPA A α arc [a] a Β β vacuum [v] v Γ γ yes before certain vowels, otherwise like Spanish agua [ʝ] before [ɛ] or [i]; [ɣ] otherwise G Δ δ this [ð] D Ε ε bed [ɛ] E Ζ ζ zoo [z] z Η η see [i] i Θ θ thin [θ] T Ι ι see [i] i Κ κ cute before certain vowels, else knock [c] before [ɛ] or [i]; [k] otherwise c, k Λ λ clock [l] l Μ μ mine [m] m Ν ν nine [n] n Ξ ξ excellent [ks] k_s Ο ο oh [ɔ] O Π π ape [p] p Ρ ρ like Spanish pero [ɾ] 4 Σ σ soup [s] s Τ τ hate [t] t Υ υ see [i] i Φ φ photo [f] f Χ χ like German ich before certain vowels, else like German Loch [ç] before [ɛ] or [i]; [x] otherwise C, x Ψ ψ maps [ps] p_s Ω ω oh [ɔ] O Note: The letter Γγ is the most difficult to pronounce for an English speaker: it is like a stronger h, simultaneous with the vibration of the vocal cords; in other words, it is the voiced counterpart of the χ. Before e and i vowels, it is pronounced as a y like in the word yes. Diphthongs Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels that function as a unique sound. Note that in Modern Greek, the word Diphthong (δίφθογγος) is also used for combination of vowels that sound like a simple vowel. There are eight diphthongs in Modern Greek. There are also some similar combinations of consonants: + Tabela II - Diphthongs Diphthong How to say it IPA XSAMPA αι bed [ɛ] E αυ have before certain letters, after before others [av], [af] av, af ει see [i] i ευ ever before certain letters, effect before others [ɛv], [ɛf] Ev, Ef ηυ evening before certain letters, beef before others [iv], [if] iv, if οι see [i] i ου soon [u] u υι see [i] i γγ finger [ŋg] Ng γκ good at the beginning of words, finger anywhere else [g], [ŋg] g, Ng μπ banana at the beginning of words, thumb anywhere else [b], [mb] b, mb ντ day at the beginning of words, sand anywhere else [d], [nd] d, nd Accent and Diaeresis Most Greek words have a stressed syllable which is the syllable said with more strength: for instance, in the English words comfort and peculiarity, the stressed syllables are com and ar, respectively. Greek marks the stressed syllable with an accent mark ( ΄ ) over the vowel. In one-syllable words, the accent is usually omitted. When the stress falls on a syllable that has a diphthong, the accent is used above the last letter of this diphthong. Thus, words like Παύλος (Paul) ou γυναίκα (woman), are correctly accented. If the accent is put on the first vowel of a diphthong, it is not read as a diphthong but read as two independent vowels, as in the word ρολόι (watch or clock), which has three syllables, not two. On the other hand, if one wishes to separate the diphthong, but the accent falls on other syllable, the diaeresis ( ¨ ) is used, as in the word Εβραϊκός (Hebrew). There are, however, some words that aren't stressed (usually monosyllabic grammatical words), and these don't have an accent. Words like these are read as affixes added to the main word. Examples: ο (the masc.) "Ο πατέρας" (The father) is read as a single word - aw-pah-TE-ras; μου (my), "Ο πατέρας μου" (My father) is also read as a single word - aw-pa-TE-raz-mu. Every stressed word with more than one syllable carries an accent. However, there are monosyllabic words that also have accent, like ή (or) and πού (where). This accent has a double function: It distinguishes words that, otherwise, would be equal - η (the fem.) and που (that, which); It marks words as strong, unlike their weak comparing counterparts.