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Alphabet & Pronunciation

Greek alphabet, diphthongs, digraphs, the tonos accent and key pronunciation rules
Ιωτακισμός: η, ι, υ, ει, οι
Iotacism: 5 spellings, 1 sound
all = "ee"
A historical vowel merger left many spellings for /i/
αι = [e]
αι is pronounced like ε
eh
παιδί [peh-THEE], not "pai"
αυ, ευ: [av]/[af], [ev]/[ef]
αυ/ευ voiced or voiceless
af/av, ef/ev
Voicing depends on the following consonant
μπ/ντ/γκ: αρχή vs μέση λέξης
b/d/g word-initial vs mb/nd/ng mid-word
b vs mb
μπάλα [BAH-lah] but άμπελος [AHM-beh-los]
διαλυτικά: ϊ, ϋ
the diaeresis breaks a digraph
dee-ah-lee-tee-KAH
παϊδάκια keeps αϊ as two separate vowels
Κανόνας τονισμού: τελευταίες 3 συλλαβές
Stress rule: one of the last 3 syllables
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Written accent shows exactly where stress falls
Εγκλιτικά: δύο τόνοι
Enclitics can add a second accent
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το βιβλίο μου vs το βιβλίο τής μητέρας μου
το ερωτηματικό (;)
the Greek question mark
eh-roh-tee-mah-tee-KOH
Looks like a semicolon; ends every question
Κεφαλαία χωρίς τόνο
capitals often written without an accent
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Informal practice; formal writing still accents capitals
Καλησπέρα! Τα λέμε!
Good evening! See you!
kah-lee-SPEH-rah / tah LEH-meh
Common everyday greeting phrases