 | Two Letter Vowels |
|
alpha-iota epsilion-iota omikron-iota does anybody know how to pronounce these? in greek? thanks |
| Re: Two Letter Vowels |
|
αι, ει, and οι are ancient diphthongs that long ago simplified to a single vowel sound. So, assuming that we're speaking about Modern Greek, these are now digraphs (two written letters representing one spoken sound): αι is pronounced just like ε -- /e/ as in "get" ει and οι are both pronounced just as ι, η, υ are -- /i/ as in "eat". (Υou will not find ηι or ωι anymore, and for practical purposes the use of υι as the single spoken vowel sound /i/ is extremely limited.) If there is an accent mark on the second vowel (αί, εί, οί), that simply means that this digraph, representing a single spoken vowel sound, is the stressed syllable in speech; it does not affect the pronunciation. ___ If, however, these written two-letter combos do not actually represent one spoken sound, a diaeresis (¨) is used on the second letter to indicate that there are two separate vowel sounds: αϊ is pronounced /ai/ as in "sky" εϊ is pronounced /ei/ as in "weigh" οϊ is pronounced /oi/ as in "oil" If the first vowel has an accent mark, that indicates that we are dealing not only with two distinct vowel sounds, but that the first vowel is the stressed syllable in speech: άι, έι, όι. Regards, Greg Brush |
 | Re: Two Letter Vowels |
|
Does the same phonemic phenomenon occur with the digraphical vowel combination that consists of an "ο" and an "υ" which would normally produce the rounded closed back vowel like in fOOd? If an acute accent is placed above the omicron would that render it identical to the rising diphthong like in όι? And if the syllable in which the omicron and ipsilon are located in receive no stress could a dieresis be placed above the ipsilon anyways? |
| Re: Two Letter Vowels |
|
The Modern Greek digraph ου, whether carrying an accent on the υ or not, is always pronounced /u/ as in "food". If the o had an accent (όυ), yes, this would be pronounced identically to the diphthong όι, /oj/. However, in actuality an accented όυ never occurs in a Greek word. And if one were to write a diaeresis on the υ, that would indicate two separate syllables, with the υ representing its normal sound /i/. Thus a written oϋ, which in actuality also never occurs, would be pronounced /oi/. Regards, Greg Brush |
| Απάντηση: Two Letter Vowels |
|
http://users.forthnet.gr/agn/drennolds1/pronunciation_guide.htm Try the above link |
