[B-Greek] Pronunciation of Kappa, Pi and Tau
Eric Weiss
papaweiss1 at yahoo.com
Thu Sep 28 17:23:12 EDT 2006
AK wrote:
> I do not think that there will be much of a thread if respondents stick
> to the point - Proof that one type of pronunciation is substantially
> superior to others with respect to getting at the meanng of a Greek
> text; or to put it another way, superior in making the learning of
> Greek easier for the student, particularl, one studying on their own.
Actually, the point of my original post was simply to ask how K, P and T should
be taught to be pronounced - and I don't think anyone has responded to that yet.
A possibly useful response might be the answer to this question:
Do Modern Greeks pronounce them like "Kit", "Pot", and "Top," or like "sKit",
"sPot", and "sTop"?
Eric Weiss <papaweiss1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
Current pronunciations for these Greek letters are given as follows:
C (chi) = kh as the "ch" in Bach
K (kappa) = k as in kit
F (phi) = ph as in philadelphia
P (pi) = p as in pot
Q (theta) = th (unvoiced) as in thin
T (tau) = t as in top
I understand that before Koine times, the letters were pronounced as follows:
C = k as in kit
K = soft k as in skit
F = P as in pot
P = soft p as in spot
Q = T as in top
T = soft t as in stop
Now (i.e., since Koine times) that C, F, and Q have taken on their aspirated (?)
sounds - i.e., kh, ph, and th (unvoiced), respectively - should grammar books and
Koine Greek teachers say that K, P, and T be sounded as kit, pot and top (the current
practice) - or as skit, spot and stop? I.e., did K, P, and T become "harder", or did they
remain as their soft-sounding versions?
Eric S. Weiss
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail.
Eric S. Weiss
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list