Tutorial 1.2: Diphthongs, Iota Subscripts, and Diaeresis
By Alan Knox | January 16th, 2009 | Category: Tutorials | 2 comments
Usually, each of the letters in a Greek word will be pronounced separately. However, when some combinations of vowels occur together, the two vowels join to form one new sound. These are called diphthongs. Here is a list of Greek diphthongs with their pronunciations:
| Diphthong | Pronunciation Guide |
| αι | aisle |
| ει | eight |
| οι | oil |
| υι | suite |
| αυ | Faust |
| ευ | feud |
| ου | soup |
In some cases, the long vowels α, η, and ω are combined with an ι. When this occurs, the ι is written beneath the vowel ( ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ). This is called an “iota subscript”. The ι is not pronounced, so these are sometimes called “improper diphthongs”.
Finally, the diaeresis (¨) is a mark that occurs above the second vowel in a diphthong to indicate that the two vowels should be pronounced separately, and should not be pronounced as a diphthong.
<- Previous Tutorial 1.1: Greek Alphabet
These are, of course, the Erasmian pronunciations. If one is learning Hellenistic Koine, one really ought to consider also the Hellenistic Koine pronunciations expounded by Randall Buth at
http://www.biblicalulpan.org/pages/Common/Greek%20Pronunciation%20(2008).pdf
Carl,
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there are different pronucation guides for the Greek letters and diphthongs. In these tutorials, I’m trying to present a simple method for people to start learning Greek. Perhaps I’ll write another post for the Grammar section discussing the various suggested pronunciations. Thanks again!
-Alan