The Greek Alphabet
The Greek alphabet - Greek symbols, English alphabet equivalents and Greek pronunciation.
Greek Letters, Symbols, English Alphabet Equivalents and Pronunciation
This article identifies and summarises the many Greek letters that have entered the English language.
History and evolution of the Greek language
Just like Ancient Greek culture, science and philosophy have all influenced the modern world, the Greek language has as played a substantial role in contemporary languages. In fact, the Greek alphabet is thousands of years old. The image below gives an indication of where it lies in the context of an Indo-European language evolution phylogeny:
There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. The table below gives an overview of these, in addition to how they are pronounced. When examining this table, it becomes evident that many words in the English language have Greek origins. For example, the word ‘alphabet’ derives from the first two letters, alpha and beta. Greek symbols are also used frequently in mathematics, such as the π (pi) sign (for the mathematical value 3.142) or mu, the micro symbol (µ).
Whilst some of the symbols and letters that stem from classical Greek origin still play a significant role today, others have now become redundant due to their identical sound, e.g. the three ‘i’ letters - eta, iota and upsilon which sound like “ee” or the two ‘o’ sounding letters omicron and omega.
Table of the Greek Alphabet, symbols, pronunciation and English equivalent
| Greek name of letter | Upper Case Symbol | Lower Case Symbol | English equivalent | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Α | α | A | A as in smart |
| Beta | Β | β | B | V as in very |
| Gamma | Γ | γ | G | Between Y as in yes and G as in go, but with no hard ‘G’ sound - more of a soft ‘H’ followed by the ‘Y’ sound in yes |
| Delta | Δ | δ | D | Th as in the |
| Epsilon | Ε | ε | E | E as in very |
| Zeta | Ζ | ζ | Z | Z as in zoo |
| Eta | Η | η | E | Ee as in bee |
| Theta | Θ | θ | Th | Th as in think |
| Iota | Ι | ι | I | Ee as in bee or I as in bitter or sit |
| Kappa | Κ | κ | K | K as in look |
| Lambda | Λ | λ | L | L as in log |
| Mu | Μ | μ | M | M as in man |
| Nu | Ν | ν | N | N as in not |
| Xi | Ξ | ξ | X | X as in box |
| Omicron | Ο | ο | O | O as in box |
| Pi | Π | π | P | P as in top, but softer and close to ‘B’ |
| Rho | Ρ | ρ | R, Rh | a rolled R |
| Sigma | Σ | σ | S | S as in sap with a hint of Sh as in sugar |
| Tau | Τ | τ | T | T as in lot, but softer and close to ‘D’ |
| Upsilon | Υ | υ | U | Same as eta - Ee as in bee |
| Phi | Φ | φ | Ph | Ph as in photo |
| Chi | Χ | χ | Kh | Ch as in the scottish ‘loch’ but softer - not a hard sound |
| Psi | Ψ | ψ | Ps | Ps as in upside |
| Omega | Ω | ω | M | like omicron - O as in box - or longer ‘O’ sound like the vowel sound in oar |
Crucially, as with most languages, pronunciation varies according to regional dialect and many of these sounds can only be reliably produced by natural and fluent Greek-speaking people. Lastly, it is also important to note that there is a variation between the ancient Greek pronunciation and that of the modern Greek language.