Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
below) should help you make intelligible noises, but remember that the correct
stress
(marked throughout the topic with an acute accent or sometimes dieresis) is crucial.
With the right sounds but the wrong stress people will either fail to understand you, or
else understand something quite different.
he
dieresis
(¨) is used in Greek over the second of two adjacent vowels to change the
pronunciation; often in this topic it can function as the primary stress. In the word
kaïki
(caique), the use of a dieresis changes the pronunciation from “keh-key” to
“ka-ee-key”. In the word
païdhákia
(lamb chops), the dieresis changes the sound of the
first syllable from “peh” to “pah-ee”, but in this case the primary stress is on the third
syllable. It is also, uniquely among Greek accents, used on capital letters in signs and
personal-name spellings in Greece, and we have followed this practice on our maps.
GREEK
TRANSLITERATION
PRONOUNCED
Α, α
a
a as in father
Β, β
v
v as in vet
Γ, γ
y/g
y as in yes except before consonants
or a, o or ou when it's a breathy g,
approximately as in gap
Δ, δ
dh
th as in then
Ε, ε
e
e as in get
Ζ, ζ
z
z sound
Η, η
if
i as in ski
Θ, θ
th
th as in theme
Ι, ι
if
i as in ski
Κ, κ
k
k sound
Λ, λ
l
l sound
Μ, μ
m
m sound
Ν, ν
n
n sound
Ξ, ξ
x
ks sound, never z
Ο, ο
o
o as in box
Π, π
p
p sound
Ρ, ρ
r
r sound, lightly rolled as in Scottish
Σ, σ, ς
s
ss sound, except z before m or g
Τ, τ
t
t sound
Υ, υ
y
i as in ski
Φ, φ
if
f sound
Χ, χ
h before vowels,
harsh h sound, like ch in loch
denoted kh before consonants
but pronounced the same
Ψ, ψ
ps
ps as in lips
Ω, ω
o
o as in box, indistinguishable from o
COMBINATIONS AND DIPHTHONGS
ΑΙ, αι
e
e as in get
ΑΥ, αυ
av/af
av before voiced consonants and vowels
af before voiceless consonents
ΕΙ, ει
if
i as in ski
ΕΥ, ευ
ev/ef
ev before voiced consonants and vowels
ef before voiceless consonents
ΟΙ, οι
if
i as in ski
ΟΥ, ου
ou
ou as in tourist
ΓΓ, γγ
ng
ng as in angle; always medial
ΜΠ, μπ
b/mb
b at start of a word, mb if medial
ΝΤ, ντ
d/nd
d at start of a word, nd if medial
