Orthography
Koine Greek was written using an alphabet consisting of 24 letters.
| Letter | English Name | Greek Name | Phonemic Value | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Α α | alpha | ἄλφα | /a/, /aː/ | a |
| Β β | beta | βῆτα | /b/ | b |
| Γ γ | gamma | γάμμα | /g/ | g |
| Δ δ | delta | δέλτα | /d/ | d |
| Ε ε | epsilon | ἒ ψιλόν | /e/ | e |
| Ζ ζ | zeta | ζῆτα | /dz/ | z |
| Η η | eta | ἦτα | /ɛː/ | ē |
| Θ θ | theta | θῆτα | /tʰ/ | th |
| Ι ι | iota | ἰῶτα | /i/, /iː/ | i |
| Κ κ | kappa | κάππα | /k/ | k |
| Λ λ | lambda | λάμβδα | /l/ | l |
| Μ μ | mu | μῦ | /m/ | m |
| Ν ν | nu | νῦ | /n/ | n |
| Ξ ξ | xi | ξῖ | /ks/ | x |
| Ο ο | omicron | ὄ μικρόν | /o/ | o |
| Π π | pi | πῖ | /p/ | p |
| Ρ ρ | rho | ῥῶ | /r/ | r |
| Σ σ ς | sigma | σίγμα | /s/ | s |
| Τ τ | tau | ταῦ | /t/ | t |
| Υ υ | upsilon | ὔ ψιλόν | /y/ | y |
| Φ φ | phi | φῖ | /pʰ/ | ph |
| Χ χ | chi | χῖ | /kʰ/ | ch |
| Ψ ψ | psi | ψῖ | /ps/ | ps |
| Ω ω | omega | ὦ μέγα | /ɔː/ | ō |
For the most part, the alphabet is phonemic - each letter always represents the same sound. The letters α and ι can indicate either a short or a 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 diphthongs.
| Digraph | Phonemic Value |
|---|---|
| αι | /ai/ |
| ει | /iː/ |
| οι | /iː/ |
| αυ | /au/ |
| ευ | /eu/ |
| ου | /uː/ |
| ηυ | /ɛːu/ |
| υι | /yː/ |
When two letters which usually form digraph are supposed to be treated separately, a diaeresis (◌̈) is placed on the second letter: Ἠσαΐας.
Accents
Three accents are used to indicate the stress in a word. The acute accent (◌́) marks a high pitch on a short vowel and a rising pitch on a long vowel. The grave accent (◌̀) indicates a low pitch on a short vowel and a falling pitch on a long vowel. The circumflex accent (◌̃ or ◌̑) marks a pitch which initially rises and then falls within the same syllable. When the accented syllable is written with a digraph, the accent is placed on the second letter: αί.
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 voiceless glottal fricative [h]. For example, ὑπέρ is pronounced [hy.pér]. When placed on rho, it probably indicated that the letter should be voiceless.
- The smooth breathing (◌̓) indicates the absence of a 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 digraph, the breathing is placed on the second letter: αἰτέω. If the stress also falls on the initial vowel, then the breathing and the accent are combined - ὤ, ὢ, ὦ, ὥ, ὣ, ὧ, Ὤ, Ὢ, Ὦ, Ὥ, Ὣ, Ὧ.
Iota Subscript
Greek in the pre-classical and classical eras had three “long diphthongs” formed by the long vowels α, η and ω + the letter ι. By the time of Koine Greek, however, the iota stopped being pronounced. Nevertheless, it was still written as a subscript below the other letter: ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ.
Phonology
Consonants
Koine Greek had the following consonant phonemes:
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | /p/ π | /t/ τ | /k/ κ | |
| /b/ β | /d/ δ | /g/ γ | ||
| /pʰ/ φ | /tʰ/ θ | /kʰ/ χ | ||
| Nasal | /m/ μ | /n/ ν | [ŋ] | |
| Fricative | /s/ σ,ς | /h/ ◌̔ | ||
| Affricate | /dz/ ζ | |||
| Lateral | /l/ λ | |||
| Trill | /r/ ρ |
Vowels
Koine Greek had the following vowel phonemes:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | /i(ː)/ ι, /y/ υ, /yː/ υι | /uː/ ου | |
| Mid | /e̞/ ε | /o̞/ ο | |
| Open-Mid | /ɛː/ η | /ɔː/ ω | |
| Open | /a(ː)/ α |
Koine Greek also had the following diphthongs: /ai/, /o̞i/, /au/ and /eu/.
Syllabification
Syllabification in Koine 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. 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 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
Initially, Koine Greek had a pitch accent system. There were three possible ways in which a syllable could accented:
- a high pitch (for syllables with a short vowel) or a rising pitch (for syllables with a long vowel or diphthong), indicated by an acute accent (◌́);
- a low pitch (for syllables with a short vowel) or a falling pitch (for syllables with a long vowel or diphthong), indicated by a grave accent (◌̀);
- a pitch which rises and then falls (only for syllables with a long vowel or diphthong), indicated by a circumflex accent (◌̃ or ◌̑).
This system slowly evolved into stress accent one. Pitch distinction was lost and syllables began to be accented by pronouncing them slightly longer, more clearly and with more volume, just like in English. Nevertheless, the accent marks were retained in writing to show which syllable is stressed.
The accent always fell on one of the last three syllables. Furthermore, if the ultima contained a long vowel or diphthong, then the accent could not fall on the antepenult - it always fell either on the ultima or the penult.