panos_gr

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/greek/ A resourceful website featuring also many Greek phrases regarding holiday phrases! Summer is coming...

A really popular phrase which summarizes the difficulty of Greek language... But is Greek language that difficult indeed? Let's have a look at the pronunciation of vowels, consonants and diphthongs which tend to be somehow tricky for the learner: The accent, if written, is placed on the single vowel or the second vowel of the diphthong. If the diaeresis (two dots on top ΪΫϊϋ) is placed on the second, or the accent is on the first, it is not a diphthong. For example, ρολοϊ (clock, from ωρολογιον, whence French horloge) is pronounced roh-LOH-ee. VOWELS Α αλφα as in father πατηρ Ε εψιλον as in hecto- εκατον Η ητα as in spleen σπλην Ι ιωτα same as η, sometimes shorter Ο ομικρον as in Portuguese dose δοσις Υ υψιλον same as ι Ω ωμεγα as in somatic σωματικος CONSONANTS Β βητα as in very Γ γαμμα voiced version of χ. Before ε or ι, as in yet. Before γ, κ, or χ, as in sink Δ δελτα as in those Ζ ζητα as in zone ζωνη Θ θητα as in thesis θεσις Κ καππα as in kinetic κινητικος Λ λαμβδα as in linen λινον Μ μυ as in mixture μιγμα Ν νυ as in new νεος Ξ ξι as in ax αξινη Π πι as in plasma πλασμα Ρ ρω as in Spanish reloj ρολοϊ Σ σιγμα ς as in sack σακκος Τ ταυ as in type τυπος Φ φι as in phone φωνη Χ χι halfway between keel and heel Ψ ψι as in sepsis σηψις DIPHTHONGS αι like ε, but longer αυ ahv, as in sovereign, except before a voiceless consonant, in which case ahf ει as in Keith, same as η ευ as in several, left οι same as η ου as in food υι same as η γγ as in anger γκ as in anger, sink, or go γχ as in ankh μπ as in bumble ντ as in dander Hope all these help you out. Enjoy!

A good way to freshen things up maybe this one: http://memorize.com/greek-alphabet Greek alphabet is among the few linguistic elements that have remained essentially unchanged between the Ancient and Modern Greek languages. It is approximately 2500 years old and identical to the one used by ancient Greeks!

There is also this book available online free of charge. Although it's is targeted at teenagers aged 12-15, it may be a good start if you are interested in intensive courses of Greek as a foreign language. It has been approved by the Greek Pedagogical Institute and it's mainly distributed in Greek schools abroad. http://www.free-ebooks.gr/eng/ebook/1648