Learning Greek: June 4, 2018

Learning Greek: June 4, 2018

Learning the Greek language feels like a disconnect from reality. Some of the symbols are familiar and others bare resemblance to the letters in the English alphabet but bare no similarity in sound. The second day of our Greek language class was severe compared to our previous lesson the night before. In the hours between the first and second class trouble persists in connecting the new shapes of the letters and their sound. In class, I am experiencing something I have never felt before. I feel terribly lost. I can only presume that my feelings are not felt alone. I assumed the class would be fast paced due to the length of the program. Luckily it's early, I'll have time to establish the shapes of the of the letters with their assigned sound. 

Greek Language Cheat Sheet: Every letter is pronounced, with 24 letters, the Greek language stands to complicate my day.

How I make sense of it all: Now to the letters, their name and the sound they make

Alpha A, α ah

Vita Β, β v

Gamma Γ, γ the letter y (used before e, u, i) otherwise “gh”

Thelta Δ, δ hard TH sound, as in “there”

Epsilon Ε, ε eh

Zita Ζ, ζ z

Ita Η, η ee

Thita Θ, θ soft th as in “through”

Iota Ι, ι ee

Kappa  K,k k

Lamtha Λ, λ l or ll 

Mu Μ, μ m

Nu Ν, ν n

Xee Ξ, ξ x

Omikron O,o “oh”

Pi Π, π p

Rho P,p rolled r

Sigma Σ, σ, ς s

Tau Τ, τ t

Upsilon Υ, υ ee

Phi Φ, φ f

Chi X,x ch light similar to the "ch" in “challah bread”

Psi Ψ, ψ Ps, chi-ps

Omega Ω, ω similar to “awe” and “oh”

In the second day of class, we went on to try to pronounce and sound out words. This proved to be difficult for me. By rows we each attempt to pronounce a word in our workbooks. It has been a bit nerve-racking, but we are all in the same boat. I have the alphabet down in the sense I can recite the name of each letter in order, but I am not quick in the association of the letter’s sound and identification. I learned that the best process for me is to break down the word into its syllables and look up each letter’s sound. Then write the word out phonetically. I hope in the next few weeks to make progress that can only be made in practice. Fingers crossed that English and Spanish will not sabotage this journey.