Orthography#

[[./index|Ancient Greek]] was written using an [[../../Linguistics/Writing Systems|alphabet]] consisting of 24 letters.

When sigma is the final letter of a word, it is written as ς. The other form is used in all other situations.

For the most part, each letter always represents the same sound with the following exceptions:
- The letters α, ι and υ can indicate either a short or a long [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]]. Although this was not done in Ancient Greece, today a diacritic may be placed on top of these letters to indicate whether the pronounced [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]] is short or long: a breve (ᾰ, ῐ, ῠ) indicates a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|short vowel]]; a macron (ᾱ, ῑ, ῡ) indicates a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long vowel]].
- When γ is followed by γ, κ, χ, or ξ, it is pronounced as [ŋ].

Certain combinations of letters, known as digraphs are used to represent different sounds and [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthongs]].

When two letters which usually form digraph are supposed to be treated separately, a diaeresis (◌̈) is placed on the second letter: Ἠσαΐας.

Iota Subscript#

The [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long diphthongs]] /aːi/, /εːi/, /ɔːi/ were rarely written as αι, ηι and ωι, respectively. Instead, the iota was usually written as a subscript under the first letter: ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ.

Accent Marks#

Three accent marks are used to indicate the [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent|accent]] in a word:
- The acute accent (◌́) can occur on any [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]] or [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthong]]. When used on a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthong]], it is always placed on the second letter of the respective digraph. If placed on a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long vowel]] or a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long diphthong]], it indicates that the pitch begins low at the start of the [[TODO|syllable]] and rises until its end.
- The circumflex accent (◌̃ or ◌̑) can only occur on [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthongs]] and [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long vowels]]. It indicates that the pitch begins high at the start of the [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]] and drops until its end.
- The grave accent (◌̀) is used to replace the acute (◌́) when an [[Orthography and Phonology|oxytone accent]] is reduced.

Breathings#

A breathing mark is placed on the first letter of words beginning with a vowel or the letter rho to indicate pronunciation:
- The rough breathing (◌̔) on a vowel indicates that the vowel should be preceded by a [[TODO|voiceless glottal fricative]] [h]. For example, ὑπέρ is pronounced [hy.pér]. When placed on rho, it probably indicated that the letter should be [[../../Linguistics/Phonetics/Speech Production#Phonation|voiceless]].
- The smooth breathing (◌̓) indicates the absence of a [[TODO|voiceless glottal fricative]] [h] before the vowel.

The letters rho and upsilon always take the rough breathing. If the word begins with a capital letter, the breathing is placed before it: Ὠ, Ὡ. If the word starts with a [[Orthography and Phonology#Orthography|digraph]], the breathing is placed on the second letter: αἰτέω. If the [[Orthography and Phonology#Stress|stress]] also falls on the initial vowel, then the breathing and the [[Orthography and Phonology#Accents|accent]] are combined - ὤ, ὢ, ὦ, ὥ, ὣ, ὧ, Ὤ, Ὢ, Ὦ, Ὥ, Ὣ, Ὧ.

Phonology#

Consonants#

[[./index|Ancient Greek]] had the following [[TODO|consonant]] [[TODO|phonemes]]:

Vowels#

[[./index|Ancient Greek]] had the following [[TODO|vowel]] [[TODO|phonemes]]:

[[./index|Ancient Greek]] also had the following [[TODO|diphthongs]]:
- The short diphthongs /ai/, /oi/, /yj/, /au/ and /eu/;
- The long diphthongs /aːi/, /εːi/, /ɔːi/, /aːu/, /εːu/ and /ɔːu/.

Syllabification#

Syllabification in [[./index|Ancient Greek]] follows relatively consistent rules, primarily based on the principle that consonants tend to begin new syllables whenever possible:
- Every syllable must contain exactly one vowel or diphthong. [[Orthography and Phonology#Orthography|Digraphs]] always remain within a single syllable, as they represent a single vowel sound or a diphthong (e.g., οἶ-κος, εὔ-χο-μαι). The [[Orthography and Phonology#Iota Subscript|iota subscript]] (ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ) does not form a separate syllable and is treated as part of the main vowel for syllabification.
- A single consonant between two vowels generally forms the onset of the following syllable (λό-γος, ἔ-χω).
- When two consonants occur together, they are usually divided, with the first closing the preceding syllable and the second opening the following syllable (e.g., γράμ-μα, ἀρ-χή). If the first consonant is a stop (π, β, φ, τ, δ, θ, κ, γ, χ) and the second is a liquid (λ, ρ), they generally stay together and begin the second syllable (πα-τρός, ἄ-θλη-μα).
- When three or more consonants occur together, the first consonant typically closes the preceding syllable, and the remaining consonants (if they form a permissible cluster) begin the following syllable (ἔν-δει-ξις, ἄν-θρω-πος).
- In compound words or words with prefixes, syllabification usually respects morpheme boundaries (συν-ά-γω, ἀπ-έ-χω). This means a prefix often forms its own syllable or completes the preceding one, rather than having its final consonant move to the next syllable's onset.

Accent#

[[./index|Ancient Greek]] had a [[TODO|pitch accent]] system. The accented [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]] in a word was pronounced with a higher pitch than the rest of the [[TODO|syllables]] and in writing is indicated by one of three different [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent Marks|accent marks]]. There are two possible patterns of accentuation for [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllables]] which contain a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long vowel]] or a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|long diphthong]] - the pitch can initially begin low and rise until the end of the [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]] (indicated by the [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent Marks|acute accent]] ◌́) or it can begin high and then drop until the end of the [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]] (indicated by the [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent Marks|circumflex accent]] ◌̃ or ◌̑).

In certain situations, an [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent|oxytone accent]] may be reduced to only a small rise in pitch or no rise at all. This is indicated by changing the [[Orthography and Phonology#Accent Marks|acute accent]] (◌́) to a [[Orthography and Phonology|grave accent]] (◌̀).

Elision#

A [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|short vowel]] at the end of a word can often be dropped if the next words begins with a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]] or [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthong]]. This is know as elision and is reflected in writing using an apostrophe in place of the vowel. If π, κ or τ precedes the dropped vowel and the next word starts with a [[Orthography and Phonology#Breathings|rough breathing]], the π, κ or τ becomes aspirated (turns into φ, χ, θ, respectively).

Crasis#

When the final [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]] of a mono- or disyllabic word ends in a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]] or [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthong]] and the following word also starts with a [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|vowel]] or [[Orthography and Phonology#Vowels|diphthong]], the two may blend together into a single [[Orthography and Phonology#Syllabification|syllable]].

Sources#