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! 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: Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω –lower-case: α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ ς τ υ φ χ ψ ω

law code of Gortyn 5 th century BC (written right to left) the upper-case letters represent the versions used in stone-cut inscriptions

papyrus of the poet Archilochus P.Oxy. LXIX 4708 the upper-case letters were also used in early writing on papyrus see alternate “number of the beast” P.Oxy. LXVI 4499

page of medieval manuscript of Euripides’ Hecuba the lower-case letters represent the hand-writing from later manuscripts

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. 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! α “ah” ε “eh” ι “ih” ο “o” υ “u” ᾱ “aah” η “ay” ῑ “ee” ω “oh” ῡ “οοh” Short Long 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: LabialDentalPalatal πτκ ptk

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! CONSONANTS Add a vocal sound and you get a new set, called “voiced”: LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! CONSONANTS Add the “h” sound and you get a new set, called “aspirated”: LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced φ phθ thχ 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 LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced φ phθ thχ kh = aspirated ψ psσ sξ ks = + σ

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! CONSONANTS LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced φ phθ thχ kh = aspirated ψ psσ sξ ks = + σ μ mν n γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng = nasals

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! CONSONANTS LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced φ phθ thχ kh = aspirated ψ psσ sξ ks = + σ μ mν n γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng nasals λ l ρ r = liquids

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! The leftover consonant is: ζ (instead of writing σδ )

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! 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 (part 1) Learn the Greek Alphabet: 4B. Penmanship Counts: Nu-Omega (part 2) Visit 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 Greek Alphabet Rap Information on typing ancient (polytonic) Greek on digital platforms is included at the end of this slide show and at

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), 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 Harvey Bluedorn and Richard LaPierre. A Greek Hupogrammon: A Beginner's Copybook for the Greek Alphabet with Pronunciations. (2005) ISBN Christopher Perrin. Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. (2008) ISBN Christopher Perrin. Greek for Children, Primer A. (2010) ISBN Michelle Hahne. Song School Greek: Student Book and CD. (2009) ISBN

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 = αίεί = είοί = οίυί = υί άὺ = αῦέὺ = εῦόὺ = οῦ αύ = αύεύ = εύού = ού

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! PUNCTUATION Greek uses four marks of punctuation: 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! 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! Ποσειδ ῶ ν

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! σάτυρος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἀ θήνη played by Μελίνα Ελένη Κανακαρίδου Κωνσταντινiδου

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἑ ρμ ῆ ς

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 Ἥ ρα

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! ᾍ δης Περσεφόνη

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Δημήτηρ Περσεφόνη

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἀ πόλλων Ἄ ρτεμις

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἀ φροδίτη Ἥ φαιστος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἄ ρης Διόνυσος

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! Visit 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! Ἅ ρειος Ποτήρ

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Φερνίων Δούρσλειος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Δούδλιος Δούρσλειος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Υ ὁ γοήτου

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Γρυφινδώρων

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ὑ φελπύφων

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ῥ αηγχλώρων

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Σλυθηρίνων

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Διμπλόδωρος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Σίναπυς

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Μαγονωγαλ έ α

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἁ γριώδης

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Φήληξ

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Φιλητικός

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ποιφύκτης

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Ἑ ρμιόνη Γέρονος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! ῾ Ρο ὼ ν Ε ὐ ισήλιος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! σκαβρός

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Γίννη Ε ὐ ισήλιος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Φερέδικος Ε ὐ ισήλιος Γεωργ ὸ ς Ε ὐ ισήλιος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Περσε ὺ ς Ε ὐ ισήλιος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Δράκων Μάλακος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Кάρκινος κα ὶ Κέρκωψ

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Νεφελώδης Μακρόπυγος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Σείριος ὁ μέλας

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! ὁ στενωπ ὸ ς διάγων

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Φολιδόμορτος ( ὁ Δε ῖ να)

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! Ἰ ησο ῦ ς Χριστός Μαρία Ἰ ωσήφ Πόντιος Πιλ ᾶ τος Μάρκος Ἰ ωάννης Σα ῦ λος  Πα ῦ λος ἄ γγελος

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Σ ί μων Ἰά κωβος Ἀ νδρ έ ας Φ ί λιππος Βαρθολομα ῖ ος Μαθθα ῖ ος Θωμ ᾶ ς Θαδδα ῖ ος Ἰ ο ύ δας Ἰ σκαρι ώ θ

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Β ί βλος γεν έ σεως Ἰ ησο ῦ Χριστο ῦ υ ἱ ο ῦ Δαυ ὶ δ υ ἱ ο ῦ Ἀ βρα ά μ. 2 Ἀ βρα ὰ μ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ σα ά κ, Ἰ σα ὰ κ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ακ ώ β, Ἰ ακ ὼ β δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ο ύ δαν κα ὶ το ὺ ς ἀ δελφο ὺ ς α ὐ το ῦ, 3 Ἰ ο ύ δας δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Φ ά ρες κα ὶ τ ὸ ν Ζ ά ρα ἐ κ τ ῆ ς Θαμ ά ρ, Φ ά ρες δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἑ σρ ώ μ, Ἑ σρ ὼ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ ρ ά μ,

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 4 Ἀ ρ ὰ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ μιναδ ά β, Ἀ μιναδ ὰ β δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ναασσ ώ ν, Ναασσ ὼ ν δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Σαλμ ώ ν, 5 Σαλμ ὼ ν δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Β ό ες ἐ κ τ ῆ ς Ῥ αχ ά β, Β ό ες δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωβ ὴ δ ἐ κ τ ῆ ς Ῥ ο ύ θ, Ἰ ωβ ὴ δ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ εσσα ί, 6 Ἰ εσσα ὶ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Δαυ ὶ δ τ ὸ ν βασιλ έ α. Δαυ ὶ δ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Σολομ ῶ να ἐ κ τ ῆ ς το ῦ Ο ὐ ρ ί ου,

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 7 Σολομ ὼ ν δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ῥ οβο ά μ, Ῥ οβο ὰ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ βι ά, Ἀ βι ὰ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ σ ά φ, 8 Ἀ σ ὰ φ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωσαφ ά τ, Ἰ ωσαφ ὰ τ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωρ ά μ, Ἰ ωρ ὰ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ὀ ζ ί αν, 9 Ὀ ζ ί ας δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωαθ ά μ, Ἰ ωαθ ὰ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ χ ά ζ, Ἀ χ ὰ ζ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἑ ζεκ ί αν,

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 10 Ἑ ζεκ ί ας δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Μανασσ ῆ, Μανασσ ῆ ς δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ μ ώ ς, Ἀ μ ὼ ς δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωσ ί αν, 11 Ἰ ωσ ί ας δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ εχον ί αν κα ὶ το ὺ ς ἀ δελφο ὺ ς α ὐ το ῦ ἐ π ὶ τ ῆ ς μετοικεσ ί ας Βαβυλ ῶ νος. 12 Μετ ὰ δ ὲ τ ὴ ν μετοικεσ ί αν Βαβυλ ῶ νος Ἰ εχον ί ας ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Σαλαθι ή λ, Σαλαθι ὴ λ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ζοροβαβ έ λ,

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 13 Ζοροβαβ ὲ λ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ βιο ύ δ, Ἀ βιο ὺ δ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἐ λιακ ί μ, Ἐ λιακ ὶ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ ζ ώ ρ, 14 Ἀ ζ ὼ ρ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Σαδ ώ κ, Σαδ ὼ κ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἀ χ ί μ, Ἀ χ ὶ μ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἐ λιο ύ δ, 15 Ἐ λιο ὺ δ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἐ λε ά ζαρ, Ἐ λε ά ζαρ δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ματθ ά ν, Ματθ ὰ ν δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ακ ώ β,

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 16 Ἰ ακ ὼ β δ ὲ ἐ γ έ ννησεν τ ὸ ν Ἰ ωσ ὴ φ τ ὸ ν ἄ νδρα Μαρ ί ας, ἐ ξ ἧ ς ἐ γενν ή θη Ἰ ησο ῦ ς ὁ λεγ ό μενος Χριστ ό ς. κατ ὰ Μαθθα ῖ ον

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! 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! 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! 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! 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! 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! 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! 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! 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! 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! ἄλλος other ἀπάτη deception βροντή thunder δεῖνος awesome στέγος roof τύραννος tyrant + σαῦρος lizard

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! πέντε five ἕξ six ἑπτά seven ὀκτώ eight δέκα ten δώδεκα twelve + γόνυ knee

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! 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! 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 = ᾶά + ὸ = ῶ α + έ = άα + ό = ώ έ + ὰ = ῆέ + ὸ = οῦ ε + ά = ήε + ό = ού ό + ὰ = ῶό + ὲ = οῦ ο + ά = ώο + έ = ού

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! Play “alphabet algebra” with consonants, too! LabialDentalPalatal πpτ tκ k = unvoiced β bδ dγ g = voiced φ phθ thχ kh = aspirated ψ psσ sξ ks = + σ μ mν n γκ, γγ, γχ, γξ ng nasals λ l ρ r = liquids

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! “Alphabet algebra” means questions, quizzes and games like –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! 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? –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 – –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 Harvey Bluedorn and Richard LaPierre. A Greek Hupogrammon: A Beginner's Copybook for the Greek Alphabet with Pronunciations. (2005) ISBN Christopher Perrin. Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. (2008) ISBN Christopher Perrin. Greek for Children, Primer A. (2010) ISBN Michelle Hahne. Song School Greek: Student Book and CD. (2009) ISBN

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! What next? –High school National Greek Exam: The "Introduction to Greek" Exam At 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 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 Master Listswww.dramata.com 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) 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 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 20 th century ( The Perseus project also contains many texts, with linked grammatical and vocabulary information (

Fun with the Greek Alphabet! What next? Promotional Materials for the Greek Classroom at –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!