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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Greek |
A a, B b, Ch ch, D d, E e, F f, G g,
I i, K k, Ks ks, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ps ps,
R r, S s, T t, Th th, Tz tz, U u,
Z z
The Greek alphabet has 24 characters. Two of the letters, Γ γ (gamma) and Χ χ (chi), have no clear English equivalent, the sounds of which should be heard from a Greek-speaking person to be mastered. For our purposes, we transliterate into Latin phonetics.
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, Western Asia Minor, and the Aegean, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records.
Letters not listed are pronounced approximately as in English.
| A, a | - a as in father |
| E, e | - e as in get |
| I, i | - i as in machine |
| O, o | - o as in note (omega); o as in gone (omicron) |
| Ch, ch | - ch (gutteral kh) as in loch (sometimes shown as h or h) |
| G, g | - g as in go, although sometimes slightly softer |
| Ps, ps | - ps as in lips |
| Th, th | - th as in think |
| Tz, tz | - th as in think |
| DIPTHONGS: | |
| Ai, ai | - ai as in aisle |
| Aw, aw | - ow as in cow |
| Ei, ei | - ei as in freight |
| Ew, ew | - ew as in beware |
| Oi, oi | - oi as in oil |
| Ou, ou | - ou as in bouquet (sometimes shown as oo) |
| Ui, ui | - uee as in queen |
| OTHER SOUNDS: | |
| Dh, dh | - th as in that (sometimes shown as th or d) |
| Dz, dz | - dg as in edge (sometimes shown as tz) |