NOTES
Α is always the broada(=ah) of all European languages, and never softened down to the Englishā, as heard inpātent,nátion.Β in the spoken Greek of the present day is softened down to the cognatev, exactly as in Gaelicbwith thehappended becomesv, asban, fair, withh,bhan=van.Γ, when followed by the broad vowelsaando, is pronounced hard as in English and Gaelic; but when followed by soft vowels theGreeksnow give it the sound of the Englishyinyes,yellow—γέλως, γέρων,—just as in German thegin the third syllable ofGöttingenis so softened down as almost to disappear.[3]This euphonic action of a weak vowel upon a strong consonant preceding is natural and found in most languages; exactly as the Italians in their soft dialect of Latin have changed Κικέρων intoChichero,chbeing pronounced as in the Englishchurch.Before κ, γ, χ and ξ, the letter γ has the sound ofn, as in ἄγγελος, in Latinangelus, Englishangel.Δ, or D, is in like manner softened intothas in the Englishmother; thus δένnot, from οὐδέν, pronounced οὐθέν.Ε is our shorte, as inget; never longē.Η, or ἦτα, was in ancient times always a longē, Englishāas ingate; now it is alwayseeas inseemortheme.Θ is the Englishth, as inmouth,south.Ι is always the slender Englishee, either short as inpeepor long as inscēne.Ξ isks,gs, contracted intox.Υ, from which ourycame, was in ancient times identical with the delicateü,ue, of the Germans, halfway between οὐ =ooandee, into which in the living language it is always softened, exactly as in some parts of GermanyBrüderis pronouncedBrēēder.Χ is an aspiratedk, but pronounced likemilchin German orlochin Scotch, which the English, who do not possess this beautiful soft guttural, generally sharpen into ak, as inlake.Ω, omega, as the name indicates, is simply a longo, as in πῶλος,a foal.For the Englishhthe Greeks used a simple mark of aspirationturned to the right thus, ἱερόςsacred, pronouncedhee-er-ŏs, while the same mark turned to the left, as in ἔρως, simply signifies the absence of theh. Whether thisspiritus lenis, as it is called, was put on the initial vowel to indicate the presence of an originalhwhich had vanished, I cannot say; but one can readily fancy that if the Cockney fashion of calling HighgateIgatewere to become general, every such curtailed word might receive a mark thus,’igate, as the survival of a lost breathing.Besides the vowels in the alphabet we find in Greek, as in other languages, compound vowel sounds called diphthongs. They are seven—αι, ει, οι, αυ, υι, ευ and ου. Their ancient pronunciation is very difficult to expiscate, and in them we note the partiality of the Greeks for the slender sound ofee, called by a Latin writergracilitas, and by modern scholarsitacism. This tendency has wiped off the diphthongal character altogether from οι, υι, and ει, which are all pronounced like a single ι, Englishee. To balance this, αι becomes the Englishai, as invain; ου retains its full soft roundness as ingloom; while in αυ and ευ in the living Greek the υ has assumed a consonantal value and becomev, from which usage the εὐαγγέλιον of the Gospels has become theevangeliumof the Latin Church, and theevangelof English; so αὐλός,a flute, is pronouncedavlóss, and thisvis aspirated into the kindredƒ, when the following consonant is κ, π, τ, θ, χ, ξ, σ, or ψ, as in αὐτός,aftos, εὔξεινος,efxeinos. That the ancients, at least in poetry, did not do this is evident from the full diphthongal value of a long sound given to the εὐ in εὐαγής and such-like words by the dramatic writers.
Α is always the broada(=ah) of all European languages, and never softened down to the Englishā, as heard inpātent,nátion.
Β in the spoken Greek of the present day is softened down to the cognatev, exactly as in Gaelicbwith thehappended becomesv, asban, fair, withh,bhan=van.
Γ, when followed by the broad vowelsaando, is pronounced hard as in English and Gaelic; but when followed by soft vowels theGreeksnow give it the sound of the Englishyinyes,yellow—γέλως, γέρων,—just as in German thegin the third syllable ofGöttingenis so softened down as almost to disappear.[3]This euphonic action of a weak vowel upon a strong consonant preceding is natural and found in most languages; exactly as the Italians in their soft dialect of Latin have changed Κικέρων intoChichero,chbeing pronounced as in the Englishchurch.
Before κ, γ, χ and ξ, the letter γ has the sound ofn, as in ἄγγελος, in Latinangelus, Englishangel.
Δ, or D, is in like manner softened intothas in the Englishmother; thus δένnot, from οὐδέν, pronounced οὐθέν.
Ε is our shorte, as inget; never longē.
Η, or ἦτα, was in ancient times always a longē, Englishāas ingate; now it is alwayseeas inseemortheme.
Θ is the Englishth, as inmouth,south.
Ι is always the slender Englishee, either short as inpeepor long as inscēne.
Ξ isks,gs, contracted intox.
Υ, from which ourycame, was in ancient times identical with the delicateü,ue, of the Germans, halfway between οὐ =ooandee, into which in the living language it is always softened, exactly as in some parts of GermanyBrüderis pronouncedBrēēder.
Χ is an aspiratedk, but pronounced likemilchin German orlochin Scotch, which the English, who do not possess this beautiful soft guttural, generally sharpen into ak, as inlake.
Ω, omega, as the name indicates, is simply a longo, as in πῶλος,a foal.
For the Englishhthe Greeks used a simple mark of aspirationturned to the right thus, ἱερόςsacred, pronouncedhee-er-ŏs, while the same mark turned to the left, as in ἔρως, simply signifies the absence of theh. Whether thisspiritus lenis, as it is called, was put on the initial vowel to indicate the presence of an originalhwhich had vanished, I cannot say; but one can readily fancy that if the Cockney fashion of calling HighgateIgatewere to become general, every such curtailed word might receive a mark thus,’igate, as the survival of a lost breathing.
Besides the vowels in the alphabet we find in Greek, as in other languages, compound vowel sounds called diphthongs. They are seven—αι, ει, οι, αυ, υι, ευ and ου. Their ancient pronunciation is very difficult to expiscate, and in them we note the partiality of the Greeks for the slender sound ofee, called by a Latin writergracilitas, and by modern scholarsitacism. This tendency has wiped off the diphthongal character altogether from οι, υι, and ει, which are all pronounced like a single ι, Englishee. To balance this, αι becomes the Englishai, as invain; ου retains its full soft roundness as ingloom; while in αυ and ευ in the living Greek the υ has assumed a consonantal value and becomev, from which usage the εὐαγγέλιον of the Gospels has become theevangeliumof the Latin Church, and theevangelof English; so αὐλός,a flute, is pronouncedavlóss, and thisvis aspirated into the kindredƒ, when the following consonant is κ, π, τ, θ, χ, ξ, σ, or ψ, as in αὐτός,aftos, εὔξεινος,efxeinos. That the ancients, at least in poetry, did not do this is evident from the full diphthongal value of a long sound given to the εὐ in εὐαγής and such-like words by the dramatic writers.