Attic Greek Pronunciation Improper Dipthongs

Vowels ε and o are always short η and ω are always long and α ι υ may be either short or long.

Attic greek pronunciation improper dipthongs.

Show more show less. Greek has seven vowels. An improper diphthong is made up of a vowel and an iota subscript. There are proper and improper diphthongs.

The pronunciation of ancient greek is not known from direct observation but determined. In some other words this vowel resulted from the process of contraction as in the genitive ending ους from εος or compensatory lengthening as in the. Pronunciation was shifting during this period and shifted further over the following. The dipthongs are αι αυ ει ευ οι ου ηυ υι ᾳ ῃ ῳ.

A diphthong is a combination of two vowels that make one syllable. Ancient greek lesson 5 how to pronounce ancient greek diphthongs. A dipthong is a combination of two vowel sounds in a single syllable. This iota has no effect on the pronunciation but is essential for translation so pay close attention to it.

Letters upper and lower case greek letters are shown if you have a graphical browser followed by beta code transcription and the name of the letter diphthongs are pronounced by slurring together the individual vowel sounds except as noted below. Pronunciation posted by ourania on jul 5 2017 in pronunciation vocabulary some learners find it difficult to pronounce the greek diphthongs. α ε η ι ο υ and ω. The last three formed by writing ι under ᾱ η ω are called improper diphthongs.

αι as in aisle. An iota subscript is a small iota written under the vowels α η or wω ᾳ ῃ ῳ and normally is the last letter in a word. In classical attic this was a single sound monophthong written with two letters digraph in some words this long vowel derived from a true diphthong always spelled ου in the old attic alphabet genuine diphthong. The information presented here is essentially the same as the core information in unit 1 of introduction to attic greek but broken into smaller chunks and provided with audio examples the aim is to discuss the pronunciation of attic greek in the 5th and 4th centuries b c e.

An iota subscript is a small iota written under the vowels α η or ω ᾳ ῃ ῳ and normally is the last letter in a word. An improper diphthong is made up of a vowel and an iota subscript. This iota has no effect on the pronunciation but is essential for translation so pay close attention to it. Comments are turned off.

Ancient greek phonology is the reconstructed phonology or pronunciation of ancient greek this article mostly deals with the pronunciation of the standard attic dialect of the fifth century bc used by plato and other classical greek writers and touches on other dialects spoken at the same time or earlier.