An important aspect about Greek pronunciation is the matter of accent and breathing marks. An accent mark is placed on a Greek word for emphasis. For example, in the word ἀγάπη (agapē), we have two marks above the letters: the first is a smooth breathing mark over the first ἀ and it receives no emphasis at all. However, the second mark is over the second ά, and this mark is called an acute accent. This ´ mark indicates that you stress this syllable in pronunciation.
There are two breathing marks used in Greek, and they are placed either over the first vowel, which begins a word, or over the second of two vowels, which begin a word (this latter is called a diphthong, and I will explain that later). The one exception to this rule is with the consonant ρ . Whenever ρ begins a word it has a rough breathing mark over it, and a vowel will always proceed it (e.g., ῥῆμα - hrēma).
1. Smooth breathing mark - The smooth breathing mark is the equivalent of an English apostrophe ’ , and it carries no sound with it. In the word, ἀγάπη, The ’ is a smooth breathing mark, and you simply pronounce the word, agapē, with the stress being on the second syllable.
2. Rough breathing mark - The rough breathing mark is a backwards apostrophe ‘ and it adds an "h" sound to the letter it is over. For example, the Greek word ημέρα is pronounced ēmera. However, when the rough breathing mark is added over the ἡ then the word appears as ἡμέρα, and it is pronounced as hēmera, with the stress being on the second syllable.
There are three accent marks which are used to indicate stress in pronunciation:
A diphthong is a combination of two vowels that make one sound. For example, in English, the two vowels "ai" in the word aisle form a diphthong so that all that is heard is the letter "i" as in island. The same is true in Greek where you have seven combinations of two vowels that make seven different singular sounds:
The following list has been developed to show how be to put the Greek letters, breathing marks, accent marks and diphthongs together in order to make words and properly pronounce them. The following list has been developed along this line. The Greek word will be written in the left column, along with its definition in parenthesis. Then, the word will be separated into individual syllables (i.e., like "telephone": te-le-phone) and accompany each Greek syllable with its English transliteration. The final step will be to have the full Greek word written again, but this time followed by its English, transliterated form.
Greek | Definition | Syllables | Greek Word/Transliteration |
---|---|---|---|
ἀγαθόϛ | (good) | ἀ = a; γα = ga; θόϛ = thos; | ἀγαθόϛ = agathos |
άγάπη | (love) | ά = a; γά = ga; πη = pē; | άγάπη = agapē |
ἀδελφόϛ | (brother) | ά = a; δελ = del; φόϛ = phos; | ἀδελφόϛ = adelphos |
βαθύϛ | (deep) | βα = ba; θύϛ = thus; | βαθύϛ = bathus |
γηνῶσις | (knowledge) | γνῶ = gnō; σις = sis; | γηνῶσις = gnōsis |
διακονία | (ministry) | δι = di; α = a; κο = ko; νί = ni; | διακονία = diakonia |
δόξα | (glory) | δό = do; ξα = xa; | δόξα = doxa |
δοῦλος | (slave) | δοῦ = dou; λος = los; | δοῦλος = doulos |
ἐλώ | (I) | ἐ = e; λώ = gō; | ἐλώ = egō |
ἐκλεκτός | (chosen) | ἐκ = ek; λεκ = lek; τός = tos; | ἐκλεκτός = eklektos |
ἐντολή | (commandment) | ἐν = en; το = to; λή = lē; | ἐντολή = entolē |
εὐθέως | (immediately) | εὐ = eu (as in you); θέ = the; ως = ōs; |
εὐθέως = eutheōs |
ζωή | (life) | ζω = zō; ή = ē; | ζωή = zōē |
ἡδονὴ | (pleasure) | ἡ = hē (rough breathing mark); δο = do; νὴ = nē; |
ἡδονὴ = hēdonē |
Θεός | (God) | Θε = the; ός = os; | Θεός = theos |
Ἰησοῦς | (Jesus) | Ἰ = I; η = ē; σοῦς = sous; | Ἰησοῦς = Iēsous |
καθαρός | (pure) | κα = ka; θα = tha; ρός = ros; | καθαρός = katharos |
κύριος | (Lord ) | κύ = ku; ρι = ri; ος = os; | κύριος = kurios |
λαός | (people) | λα = la; ός = os; | λαός = laos |
μικρός | (little) | μικ = mik; ρός = ros; | μικρός = mikros |
νεκρός | (dead) | νεκ = nek; ρός = ros; | νεκρός= nekros |
ξένος | (strange) | ξέ = xe; νος = nos; | ξένος = xenos |
οἶκος | (house) | οἶ = oi; κος = kos; | οἶκος = oikos |
πρᾶγμα | (deed) | πρᾶγ = prag; μα = ma; | πρᾶγμα = pragma |
ῥῆμα | (word) | ῥῆ = hrē (rough breathing mark); μα = ma; |
ῥῆμα = hrēma |
σχῆμα | (likeness) | σχῆ = schē; μα = ma; | σχῆμα = schēma |
τύρος | (type) | τύ = tu; ρος = pos; | τύρος = tupos |
ὑπερλίαν | (special) | ὑ = hu; περ = per; λί = li; αν = an; | ὑπερλίαν = huperlian |
ϕόβος | (fear) | ϕό= pho; βος= bos; | ϕόβος = phobos |
χάρις | (grace) | χά = cha; ρις ; = ris; | χάρις = charis |
ψευδής | (false) | ψευ = pseu; δής = dēs; | ψευδής = pseudēs |
ὥρα | (time) | ὥ = hō; ρα = ra; | ὥρα= hōra |
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