Pronouncing Greek
words properly is not difficult.
Words in Greek can typically be pronounced in the same way words are spoken in English. Every culture has its individual rules on pronunciation, though. Pronouncing Greek words properly can be accomplished by following a few rules.
Pronunciation
In the Greek language, "ch" is pronounced as a k, never as in the words chunk, church or chimney. When a word ends in an "e," it is pronounced "neh." The website foundalis.com/lan/grkalpha.htm points out that the Greek language does not contain certain sounds that are common in other languages, such as "sh" in "shop," and "z" as in the word "measure." Two-syllable words should have the accent on the first syllable. If a word contains three or more syllables, the accent should be on the second to last syllable if it's a long word; otherwise, put the accent the third to last syllable.
Vowel sounds are closely related to those found in typical Romance languages such as French, Spanish or Italian.
The letters "g" and "th" in the Greek must be pronounced softly. For example, in the English word "giant" the "g" is soft while in the word "gate" it is hard. The same thing applies to the English word "thimble." The "th" is pronounced smoothly and softly.
Pronouncing certain letters in the Greek alphabet can be tricky. When you see a word beginning with a "y" it should be pronounced softly as in the word "yacht." The letter "b" is pronounced more like the letter "v" in the English language.
Diphthong
Greek diphthongs, which are a combination of letters, can be puzzling to many who attempt to pronounce them correctly. According to the website explorecrete.com, certain letter combination's such as "al" should be pronounced as a soft "e" as in the word "peg." Certain combinations can be pronounced in the same way but can be spelled differently, such as in the combination's "ei," "oi" and "yi." Those combinations should be pronounced as the "e" in the word "errand." The combinations "ay" should be pronounced as "av" or "af." Linking "ey" together makes the sound "ev" or "ef."
Common Words
The word "thank you" in English is written "efharisto" in Greek, and pronounced like "f har eesto" with the accent on the third syllable. The phrase "good morning" is spelled "kali mera" and pronounced "kai ye mare ah," with the accent on the third syllable. The word "yes" is spelled "ne" and pronounced like "neh." "No" is spelled "ohi" and pronounced "hor hee."
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