Koine Greek/2
This page may need to be Koine Greek can be pronounced acceptably using Classical Greek or Modern Greek pronunciations. The pronunciation of Koine Greek was intermediate between that of Classical and Modern Greek. It changed over time and often differed according to the background of the speaker.
[edit] 2. Classical Greek Pronunciation
The classical pronunciation is explained in the book about Ancient Greek in the chapter about the alphabet.
[edit] 3. Modern Greek Pronunciation
The Modern Greek pronunciation is preferred within Greece and Cyprus and by the Orthodox Church. It differs from the classical prunuciation in that 'γ' is like a 'y' preceeding 'ε', 'η', 'ι'. 'ω' and 'ο' are pronounced the same, as are 'η' and 'ι', 'χ' is pronounced like 'ch' or similar to a Spanish 'jota' (hijo), 'β' is pronounced [v], δ is pronounced like 'th' in the word 'this', π becomes 'b' following a nasal, with the nasal frequently not being pronounced (especially at the beginning of words). The diphthongs 'ει' 'οι' and 'υι' are pronounced like 'i', and αι is pronounced like 'ε'. The 'υ' in the diphthongs αυ, ευ, ηυ is pronounced as [v] exept before unvoiced consonants and at the end of the word, when it is pronounced [f]. In Modern Greek pronunciation, all accents are treated like acute accents (similar to how Katharevousa Greek was pronounced). Aspirates are not pronounced.
[edit] 4. Punctuation
The comma (,) and full-stop (.) are used as in English. The colon or semicolon is a point above the line (·). The Greek question mark (;) looks like the English semicolon.
Inverted commas are often used to denote speech. Capital letters are used at the beginning of paragraphs, sentences (depending on publisher), proper names, and the beginning of quotations.
In actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was written with no punctuation. The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup. Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.
