Like Latin, Greek is an ancient language still used after several centuries by scholars. Unlike Latin, modern Greek is a living language, and is still the official language of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, as well as being the lingua franca of the Greek communities in the Balkans, Turkey, Italy, Canada, Australia, in England and the United States.
If you study Greek, you will be able to read famous writings, such as those of Plato, Lucian, Xenophon, Hippocrates, Homer and the "New Testament" in the most original manuscripts available, as well as being able to communicate with the Greeks and Cypriots in their own language native. Furthermore, with the study of Greek you will also enrich your knowledge of Italian, since many Italian words derive from Greek. This article is a small guide to studying Greek.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Greek alphabet
The columns of the Greek alphabet table below are (from right to left): (1) the Greek letter, uppercase and lowercase - his name in Greek, (2) his name in Italian, (3) Italian pronunciation of the name, (4) equivalent letter in Italian:
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) |
| Α α - ἄλφα | Alpha | AL - ago | to |
| Β β - βῆτα | Beta | Beta | b |
| Γ γ - γάμμα | Range | Range | g |
| Δ δ - δέλτα | Delta | Delta | d |
| Ε ε - ἒψιλόν | Epsilon | Epsilon | And |
| Ζ ζ - ζῆτα | Zeta | ZE-ta | z |
| Η η - ἦτα | Age | Age | And |
| Θ θ - θῆτα | Theta | THE-ta | θ |
| Ι ι - ἰῶτα | Iota | YO-ta | the |
| Κ κ - κάππα | Kappa | KAP-pa | k |
| Λ λ - λάμβδα | Lambda | LAMB-da | L |
| Μ μ - μῦ | Mu | MU | m |
| Ν ν - νῦ | No. | NU | |
| Ξ ξ - ξῖ | Xi | KSI | x |
| Ο ο - ὂμικρόν | Omicron | O-mi-kron | or |
| Π π - πι | Pi | PI | p |
| Ρ ρ - ῥῶ | Rho | RO | r |
| Σσς - σῖγμα | Sigma | Sigma | s |
| Τ τ - ταῦ | Tau | TAU | t |
| Υ υ - ὖψιλόν | Upsilon | U-psi-lon | u |
| Φ φ - φῖ | Phi | FI | f |
| Χ χ - χῖ | Who | WHO | ch |
| Ψ ψ - ψῖ | Psi | PSI | ps |
| Ω ω - ὦμέγα | Omega | omega | or |
Step 1. Learn the Greek alphabet and its pronunciation of the letters
Later you will be able to learn the more correct Greek pronunciations.
- Pay attention to the gamma, the letter γ, which is pronounced as an n before the letters γ, κ, χ, ξ. For example, σαλπιγξ is "salpinx".
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In Greek, diphthongs (two letters that are pronounced as a single sound) are as follows:
- αι as ai in "never".
- ει as ei in "six".
- οι as oi in "then".
- αυ as au in "Laura".
- ευ as eu in "fief".
- ου like u in "you".
- υι as ui in "he".
Study Greek Step 2 Step 2. Spirits:
a sign is made above each vowel (or on the second vowel of a diphthong) which is placed at the beginning of the word. The sour spirit ʿ written above a vowel is pronounced like an aspirated "h": for example ὁ, pronounced "ho". The sweet spirit indicates that the vowel is pronounced normally, without the aspirated "h".
Study Greek Step 3 Step 3. Iota undersigned:
a small ι could be written under the letters α, η, ω when one of these letters is at the end of a word. This is a legacy of an ancient diphthong and is not pronounced, but it must be written.
Method 2 of 2: Greek language
Study Greek Step 4 Step 1. Learn the declensions
There are three declensions in Greek: the first, the second and the third. Each noun must be declined with changes in the final part of the word, depending on whether it is singular or plural, and depending on whether it is in the nominative (example: the word "man" in "man sees the dog"), in vocative (example: "man" in "O man, look at the dog!), accusative (example:" dog "in" a man sees a dog "), genitive (example," man "in" the son of man sees a dog "), dative (example:" to man "in" the son buys a dog to man "). Adjectives are declined in a similar way to nouns, and must agree with nouns, in number, in case and in the genre.
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For example, the word λογος (which means "word" in Italian), of the second declension, is declined as follows:
- Singular nominative: λογος
- Genitive singular: λογου
- Singular dative: λογῳ
- Singular accusative: λογον
- Singular vocative: λογε
- Plural noun: λογοι
- Genitive plural: λογῳν
- Plural dative: λογοις
- Plural accusative: λογους
- Plural vocative: λογοι
Study Greek Step 5 Step 2. Learn prepositions
A preposition wants the noun that follows it to be written in a certain case (there is not a single case). For example, the preposition απο ("from") must be followed by a noun in the genitive. The preposition εν ("in" or "on") is followed by a dative noun.
Study Greek Step 6 Step 3. Learn the conjugations of verbs
A table with verbs is usually found at the end of most Greek textbooks - be sure to study it in detail. The "present" and the "imperfect" indicate a continued or repeated action. Sentences with a "perfect" tense indicate an action that has already been completed. The phrases in "aorist" are used to indicate a simple and indefinite action, and is used when there is no need to indicate continuity, completion or non-completion of the action expressed by the verb. A verb can be in active, medium and passive form and is conjugated accordingly. Furthermore, a verb is conjugated according to the context, for example indicative, imperative, subjunctive, optative.
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For example, the present active tense of the verb λεγω ("I say") is the following:
- 1st singular: λεγω "I say, or I am dicento"
- 2nd singular: λεγεις "You say, or you are saying"
- 3rd singular: λεγει "He / she says, or is saying"
- 1st plural: λεγομε "We say, or we are saying"
- 2nd plural: λεγετε "You say, or you are saying"
- 3rd plural: λέγουν (ε) "They say, or they are saying"
Study Greek Step 7 Step 4. Learn the conjugation of irregular verbs
These must be memorized absolutely, through exercise.
Study Greek Step 8 Step 5. Learn new vocabulary and review them regularly, preferably every day
Try to get into the habit of going over a list of new words, re-reading old ones before learning new ones. It is better to learn a little every day than to try to learn a lot once a week.
Study Greek Step 9 Step 6. Make progress by speaking in Greek, seeking help in the common language and jargon
You can find the help you need by listening to recorded lessons, or by asking a native speaker or teacher who knows it well.
Advice
- Note that the earliest Greek writings, such as the "Sinaitic Code", are all written in capital letters. Lowercase letters were invented later in order to allow scribes to write faster.
- Buy a complete Greek textbook and study it all diligently. It may be helpful to read more than one manual to consolidate your knowledge.
- Buy a good Greek-English dictionary to help you with words you don't know.
- Read excerpts from John's First Letter. The text, colored red (I John v 7-8) says: "There are three witnesses, the spirit, the water and the blood." Start reading Greek texts to practice once you have finished studying at least one Greek textbook. You can start from the "New Testament", which is written in a really simple language, and whose content you probably already know, which you have read in Italian. However, precisely because the content of the "New Testament" is probably already known, the ability to read it does not imply a very thorough knowledge of Greek. After that, you should raise the difficulty level by reading other simple texts, which you have never read. Xenophon and Lucian are great choices. Plato's "Apologia di Socrates" is another good choice, and if you can, get a copy with the Greek text opposite and the Italian translation, to check the meaning when you need it.
