 | Searching for Greek language writing rules |
| I cannot find the "υ", "ι", "η" letters writing rules. It's clear about the endings, but no rules about putting these letters IN THE MIDDLE if the word: βιβλιο, πυραμιδα, etc. Are there any rules at all? |
| Re: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
Unfortunately there are no rules for that!  |
| Re: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
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Actually, there used to be rules. I've read somewhere that all of Modern Greek I's and O's can be derivated from Ancient Greek structures. But for mortal human beings who just want to learn Modern Greek, I guess they (and me) have to learn the tricky Greek spelling by heart. Regards Charles |
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Charles is right about this. The spelling of most Greek words today comes intact from the ancient/classical language of 2500 years ago, when ι, η, and υ (as well as ει and οι) represented mutually distinct vowel sounds. Similarly for ο/ω and for ε/αι. Unfortunately for those learning to write today, and this means young Greek children as well as foreigners, they simply have to learn which vowel is used in spelling. Regards, Greg Brush |
| Απάντηση: Re: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
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http://users.forthnet.gr/agn/drennolds1/pronunciation_guide.htm try this link |
| Re: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
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The "i" is a real pain, admittedly, but all hope is not lost. There are some patterns you will pick up. I used to have NO idea which "i" sound to use where, but you will see that there are patterns and that putting a certain "i" in a certain place just won't "feel" right. It's probably based on the ancient greek logic. (1) In fact, you might already know some from verbs. For example, when you add "-iso" to verbs that are of the "milaw" or "agapaw" genre, the "i" is "eta" (η), but when it's "-iso" because the verb was of the "arxizw" genre, then it remains a "iota" ι. [this is more of a problem for native speakers because "we" don't distinguish verbs so rigidly until we learn them in school so the "iso" sounds the same] (2) Use English borrow words to guide you! It works more often than you'd think. For example, "psyche," since it has a "y" in the middle, you can guess (and be right) that is an "upsilon" (think capital υ) in the Greek word for "soul" from which the English comes. Another example is "cycle" or "kyklos" in Greek...see, upsilon! Oftentimes, "e" is "η" [as with psychE above] and "i" is "ι", but not always. For example, in "κινητός" (mobile), what's the English borrow word? Kinetic. (as an aside: κινητό is how we say "mobile" or "cell" [phone]). Again, this doesn't always work, but when I have to guess, I resort to English!!! It makes sense because the words were borrowed and transliterated as accurately as possible in most cases (not all). So each Greek letter was given an English equivalent. (3) Remember that most words are built from smaller words, so when you hear a word that has an "i" don't just a assume it is a new "i"...it might be built on something. For instance "κυκλοφορώ" (to circulate) gets its root from κύκλος. So, if you know which "i" to use in κύκλος, you know which to use in κυκλοφορώ. This might be obvious, but it is an often overlooked trick! Also, consider "αυτοκίνητο". You can mix and match tricks. You know "-κίνητο" is mobile and can guess how to spell it from "kinetic" as discussed above. Now, just add "αυτο-" and voila! You can spell "αυτοκίνητο"... Hope this helps... |
| Απάντηση: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
| you must think of how the spelling in the years has changed. When I moved to Canada from Greece I was used to the NEWER SPELLING of words. I recently bought a newspaper that said the word καλύτερα. however, they used the spelling καλλίτερα. instead. Recently, the word αυγό can know be spelt αβγό. HAHA....very confusing, you just have to get used to it:P |
| Re: Απάντηση: Searching for Greek language writing rules |
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Someone wrote about that here (but it's in Greek): http://www.asxetos.gr/article.aspx?i=1264 |
