User:Muke/grc

Digraphs
Note: This may look weird, but that's because it's a Romanization, not a strict transliteration. Following this practice is why we have dinosaurs and not *deinosaurs (δεινός), music not *mousic (μουσική), and archaeology and not *archaiology (ἀρχαῖος).


 * h for the rough breathing.


 * Use -os, -ē, -on, not Latinate -us, -a, -um.


 * Don't transliterate iota subscript unless relevant.

Consonants

 * Length is distinctive in consonants, thus /sː (s:)/


 * Gamma is /ŋ/ before /m/ (and /n/, too, I think).


 * The clusters represented by ψ, ξ were originally (where those letters had not been introduced) spelt ΦΣ, ΧΣ, implying that they were [pʰs kʰs]; for simplicity's sake and common practice it will probably be better to write /ps ks/ as the aspiration appears to be secondary.


 * Use /zd/ for ζ. Like it or not, that's the generally proclaimed value.

Vowels

 * The digraphs ει and ου were originally diphthongs ("genuine diphthongs"). The diphthong ει soon became /eː/, opposed to the plain letter η /ɛː/. ου was originally /oː/ opposed to ω /ɔː/, but soon became /uː/. After the genuine diphthongs monophthongized, their spellings began to be used for their homophones, sounds previously spelled ε and ο (long, but like the other vowels α ι υ, not marked as such).  Thus the "spurious diphthongs".


 * During this period iota subscript was still pronounced, though perhaps in the process of being lost. Thus, /aːj/, /ɛːj/, /ɔːj/, or perhaps like /ɔː(j)/.

Pitch

 * Acute accent, high pitch, e.g. IPA /é/.
 * Circumflex accent, falling pitch, e.g. IPA /ê/.
 * Grave accent, no pitch, e.g. IPA /e/.

Accent

 * The Koine greatly simplified the sound system of Greek.... Besides the obliteration of nearly all diphthongs, the pitch accent was replaced by a stress accent, ordinary /ˈ/. If there was a secondary accent I don't know how it would be placed...

Citation Form
λέξις, -εως, ἡ f (lexis)


 * Mark the long vowels here; don't use macrons in page titles.
 * Link to the appropriate declension.
 * Transliteration goes on this line also.
 * A word with a digamma should link to that as an ===Alternative spelling===.