Wiktionary:Ancient Greek transliteration

This page is an extension of Wiktionary:About Ancient Greek. See also Category:Ancient Greek IPA templates. There is also a page Modern Greek romanization.

The prescribed pronunciation systems here reflect the main prestige dialects during the three ancient Greek development periods.

• Classical Greek pronunciation reflects the conservative standard of the Attic-speaking regions of Attica, the northern Cyclades, Euboea and Chalcidice, and their colonies.
• Koine Greek pronunciation reflects the majority mixed dialect of Alexander's empire, especially that of Alexandria, the principle philosophical and literary center of the Hellenistic Greeks, and where Judeo-Christian scripture was translated into Greek.
• Byzantine Greek pronunciation reflects the habits of Constantinople and its close transitional dialects. Though it spanned almost all of Late Antiquity, it also spanned well into the Middle Ages until the 15th century (approximately 1200 years), as the Byzantine Roman world largely escaped the Dark Ages.
• Contemporary Greek pronunciation reflects how people in modern Greece and Cyprus pronounce classical words today. The standard is based on the polished speech register of Demotic Greek, including additional polished Cypriot articulations (in parentheses) where these do not exist in Athens.

Letters

Letter	Rom.	Class. IPA	Koine IPA	Byzan. IPA	Cont. IPA	before Template:polytonic	Notes
Template:polytonic	A Ā a ā	[a/aː]	[a/aː]	[a]	[a]		In Classical polytonic, the length distinction of Template:polytonic ([a]) and Template:polytonic ([aː]) is not indicated usually in writing nor in transcription. However, if Template:polytonic needs to be transcribed, ā suffices.
Template:polytonic	B b	[b]	[b]	[β]	[v]
Template:polytonic	G g	[ɡ]	[ɡ]	[ɣ]	[ɣ]	[ʝ]
Template:polytonic	D d	[d]	[d]	[ð]	[ð]
Template:polytonic	E e	[e]	[ɛ]	[e]	[e]
Template:polytonic	W w	[w]	N\A				Not native to Attic-Ionic (lost in pre-classical times). If pronounced [w], Classical Attic kept it silent and Koine adapted it as Template:polytonic. If pronounced [β~v], both Classical Attic and Koine adapted it as Template:polytonic.
Template:polytonic	Z z	[zd]	[z/zz]	[z]	[z]		Was metrically considered an interchangeably single or double consonant in Koine (typically double between vowels). Becomes a short consonant in Byzantine.
Template:polytonic	Ē ē	[ɛː]	[eː]	[i]	[i]		Finishes merging with Template:polytonic in Byzantine.
Template:polytonic	Th th	[tʰ]	[tʰ]	[θ]	[θ]
Template:polytonic	I Ī i ī ï	[i/iː]	[i/iː]	[i]	[i]		In Classical polytonic, the length distinction of Template:polytonic ([i]) and Template:polytonic ([iː]) is not indicated usually in writing nor in transcription. However, if Template:polytonic needs to be transcribed, ī suffices.
Template:polytonic	K k	[k]	[k]	[k]	[k]	[c]
Template:polytonic	L l	[l]	[l]	[l]	[l]
Template:polytonic	M m	[m]	[m]	[m]	[m]
Template:polytonic	N n	[n]	[n]	[n]	[n]
Template:polytonic	Ks ks	[kʰs]	[kʰs]	[ks]	[ks]		See digraph exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	O o	[o]	[o]	[o]	[o]
Template:polytonic	P p	[p]	[p]	[p]	[p]
Template:polytonic	Rh rh r	[hr/r]	[(h)r/r]	[r]	[ɾ]		Normal Template:polytonic is [r] and transcribed r. In Classical, Template:polytonic is voiceless [hr] and transcribed rh, and Template:polytonic or Template:polytonic is voiceless [rhr] and transcribed rrh. Koine Template:polytonic is [(h)r], and Template:polytonic is [r(h)r]. All are voiced [r] in Byzantine onward, except in Atticist writings.
Template:polytonic	S s	[s]	[s]	[s]	[s]		See digraph exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	T t	[t]	[t]	[t]	[t]		See diagraph exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	Hu Hū hu hū u ū ü	[ʉ/ʉː]	[y/yː]	[y]	[i]		Originally not a front vowel, the influential Athens dialect articulates it as [y/yː] earlier on. Merges with Template:polytonic in 10th century Byzantine Greek, but merges with Template:polytonic in the Old Athenian dialect until it becomes extinct in the 20th century.
Template:polytonic	Ph ph	[pʰ]	[pʰ]	[ɸ]	[f]
Template:polytonic	Kh kh	[kʰ]	[kʰ]	[x]	[x]	[ç]
Template:polytonic	Ps ps	[pʰs]	[pʰs]	[ps]	[ps]		See digraph exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	Ō ō	[ɔː]	[oː]	[o]	[o]		Merges with Template:polytonic late in Koine.

Vowel digraphs

Spelling	Rom.	Class. IPA	Koine IPA	Byzan. IPA	Cont. IPA	Notes
Template:polytonic	Ai ai	[aɪ]	[ɛː]	[e]	[e]	Merges with Template:polytonic in late Koine among the Hellenists and in Alexandria, and treated as an allophone of it from then on.
Template:polytonic	Āi āi	[aːj]	[aː]	[a]	[a]	Classically spelt Template:polytonic. In Koine, becomes collated simply as Template:polytonic as they merge.
Template:polytonic	Au Āu au āu	[aʊ/aːʊ]	[aw/aːw]	[av]	[av]	See Template:polytonic exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	Ei ei	[eː]	[iː]	[i]	[i]	In the learned Koine pronunciation of the foreign Romans, Template:polytonic was typically an allophone of Template:polytonic immediately before other vowels, and an allophone of Template:polytonic everywhere else. Alexandrians treated it as an allophone of Template:polytonic in all circumstances, a trend that would become standard in Byzantine.
Template:polytonic	Eu eu	[eʊ]	[ɛw]	[ev]	[ev]	See Template:polytonic exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	Ēi ēi	[ɛːj]	[eː]	[i]	[i]	Classically spelt Template:polytonic. In Koine, becomes collated simply as Template:polytonic as they merge.
Template:polytonic	Ēu ēu	[ɛːʊ]	[eːw]	[iv]	[iv]	See Template:polytonic exceptions further down.
Template:polytonic	Oi oi	[oɪ]	[yː]	[y]	[i]	Merges together with Template:polytonic and Template:polytonic in Koine, even earlier in Athens.
Template:polytonic	Ou ou	[oː]	[uː]	[u]	[u]	Becomes [uː] earlier on in Athens, remaining an allophone of [oː] until Template:polytonic fills that pronunciation.
Template:polytonic	Hui hui ui üi	[yː]	[yː]	[y]	[i]	Merges with Template:polytonic in Koine, and earlier on in Athens.
Template:polytonic	Ōi ōi	[ɔːj]	[oː]	[o]	[o]	Classically spelt Template:polytonic. In Koine, becomes collated simply as Template:polytonic as they merge.
Template:polytonic	Ōu ōu	[ɔːy]	[oːy]	[oy]	[oi]	Non-Attic Greek diphthong (originally pronounced [ɔːʊ]), separated into two separate vowels, Template:polytonic, when loaned into Classical Attic onward.

Consonant digraphs and exceptions

Spelling	Rom.	Class. IPA	Koine IPA	Byzan. IPA	Cont. IPA	before Template:polytonic	Notes
Template:polytonic	bb	[bb]	[bb]	[ββ]	[(v)v]
Template:polytonic	ng	[ŋɡ]	[ŋɡ]	[ŋɡ]	[ŋɡ]	[ŋɟ]
Template:polytonic	nk	[ŋk]	[ŋk]	[ŋk]	[ŋɡ]	[ŋɟ]
Template:polytonic	nkt	[ŋkt]	[ŋkt]	[ŋkt]	[ŋkt]
Template:polytonic	nks	[ŋkʰs]	[ŋks]	[ŋks]	[ŋks]
Template:polytonic	nkh	[ŋkʰ]	[ŋkʰ]	[  ̃x]	[ŋx]	[ŋç]	In Byzantine pronuncation, this phoneme becomes seriously endangered and merges with Template:polytonic in common speech, later reintroduced under influence from Katharevousa.
Template:polytonic	dd	[dd]	[dd]	[ðð]	[(ð)ð]
Template:polytonic	kb	[ɡb]	[ɡb]	[ɡβ]	[ɡv]
Template:polytonic	kg	[ɡɡ]	[ɡɡ]	[ɡɣ]	[ɡɣ]	[ɟʝ]
Template:polytonic	kd	[ɡd]	[ɡd]	[ɡð]	[ɡð]
Template:polytonic	kz	[ɡʱzd]	[ɡʱz]	[ɡz]	[ɡz]
Template:polytonic	kth	[kʰtʰ]	[kʰtʰ]	[kθ]	[kθ]
Template:polytonic	kk	[kk]	[kk]	[kk]	[k(ʰ)]	[c(ʰ)]
Template:polytonic	kks	[kkʰs]	[kkʰs]	[kks]	[k(ʰ)s
Template:polytonic	ks	[kʰs]	[kʰs]	[ks]	[ks]
Template:polytonic	ksm	[ɡʱzm]	[ɡʱzm]	[ɡzm]	[ɡzm]
Template:polytonic	ks	[kʰpʰ]	[kʰpʰ]	[kɸ]	[kf]
Template:polytonic	kkh	[kkʰ]	[kkʰ]	[kx]	[kx]	[cç]
Template:polytonic	kps	[kʰpʰs]	[kʰpʰs]	[kps]	[kps]
Template:polytonic	ll	Template:unicode	Template:unicode	Template:unicode	Template:unicode
Template:polytonic	mb	[mb]	[mb]	[mb]	[ɱv]
Template:polytonic	mm	[mm]	[mm]	[mm]	[(m)m]
Template:polytonic	mp	[mp]	[mp]	[mp]	[mb]
Template:polytonic	mpt	[mpt]	[mpt]	[mpt]	[mpt]
Template:polytonic	mph	[mpʰ]	[mpʰ]	[  ̃ɸ]	[ɱf]		In Byzantine pronuncation, this phoneme becomes seriously endangered and merges with Template:polytonic in common speech, later reintroduced under influence from Katharevousa.
Template:polytonic	mps	[mpʰs]	[mps]	[mps]	[mps]
Template:polytonic	nd	[nd]	[nd]	[nd]	[nð]
Template:polytonic	nz	[ːzd]	[nz]	[ndz]	[nz]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and the Template:polytonic is silent and audibly lengthens the preceding vowel instead.
Template:polytonic	nth	[ntʰ]	[ntʰ]	[  ̃θ]	[nθ]		In Byzantine pronuncation, this phoneme becomes seriously endangered and merges with Template:polytonic in common speech, later reintroduced under influence from Katharevousa.
Template:polytonic	nn	[nn]	[nn]	[nn]	[(n)n]
Template:polytonic	ns	[ːs]	[ns]	[  ̃s]	[ns]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and the Template:polytonic is silent and audibly lengthens the preceding vowel instead. In Byzantine pronuncation, this phoneme becomes seriously endangered and merges with Template:polytonic again in common speech, later reintroduced under influence from Katharevousa.
Template:polytonic	nt	[nt]	[nt]	[nt]	[nd]
Template:polytonic	ntz	[ːzd]	[ndz]	[ndz]	[ndz]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and the Template:polytonic is silent and audibly lengthens the preceding vowel instead.
Template:polytonic	nts	[ːs]	[nts]	[nts]	[nts]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and the Template:polytonic is silent and audibly lengthens the preceding vowel instead.
Template:polytonic	ksb	[ɡʱzb]	[ɡʱzb]	[ɡzβ]	[ɡzv]
Template:polytonic	ksg	[ɡʱzɡ]	[ɡʱzɡ]	[ɡzɣ]	[ɡzɣ]	[ɡzʝ]
Template:polytonic	ksd	[ɡʱzd]	[ɡʱzd]	[ɡzð]	[ɡzð]
Template:polytonic	ksz	[ɡʱzzd]	[ɡʱzz]	[ɡzz]	[ɡ(z)z]
Template:polytonic	ksm	[ɡʱzm]	[ɡʱzm]	[ɡzm]	[ɡzm]
Template:polytonic	pp	[pp]	[pp]	[pp]	[p(ʰ)]
Template:polytonic	pph	[ppʰ]	[ppʰ]	[pɸ]	[pf]
Template:polytonic	rrh	[rhr]	[r(h)r]	[rr]	[(r)ɾ]
Template:polytonic	sb	[zb]	[zb]	[zβ]	[zv]
Template:polytonic	sg	[zɡ]	[zɡ]	[zɣ]	[zɣ]	[zʝ]
Template:polytonic	sd	[zd]	[zd]	[zð]	[zð]
Template:polytonic	sz	[zzd]	[zz]	[zz]	[(z)z]
Template:polytonic	sm	[zm]	[zm]	[zm]	[zm]
Template:polytonic	ss	[ss]	[ss]	[ss]	[(s)s]
Template:polytonic	tz	[zd]	[dz]	[dz]	[dz]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and is pronounced as Template:polytonic, not audibly lengthening the preceding vowel as Template:polytonic does.
Template:polytonic	tth	[ttʰ]	[ttʰ]	[tθ]	[tθ]
Template:polytonic	ts	[s]	[ts]	[ts]	[ts]		Not viable in Classical Attic, where the spelling is rare, and is pronounced as Template:polytonic, not audibly lengthening the preceding vowel as Template:polytonic does.
Template:polytonic	tt	[tt]	[tt]	[tt]	[t(ʰ)]
Template:polytonic	psb	[bʱzb]	[bʱzb]	[bzβ]	[bzv]
Template:polytonic	psg	[bʱzɡ]	[bʱzɡ]	[bzɣ]	[bzɣ]	[bzʝ]
Template:polytonic	psd	[bʱzd]	[bʱzd]	[bzð]	[bzð]
Template:polytonic	psz	[bʱzzd]	[bʱzz]	[bzz]	[b(z)z]
Template:polytonic	psm	[bʱzm]	[bʱzm]	[bzm]	[bzm]

αυ/ευ/ηυ exceptions

This table uses Template:polytonic as an example, but the same principles apply to Template:polytonic and Template:polytonic, with Template:polytonic and Template:polytonic instead of Template:polytonic.

Spelling	Rom.	Class. IPA	Koine IPA	Byzan. IPA	Cont. IPA	before Template:polytonic	Notes
Template:polytonic	eub	[eʊb]	[ɛwb]	[eββ]	[e(v)v]
Template:polytonic	euth	[eʊtʰ]	[ɛʍtʰ]	[eɸθ]	[efθ]
Template:polytonic	euk	[eʊk]	[ɛʍk]	[eɸk]	[efk]	[efc]
Template:polytonic	euks	[eʊkʰs]	[ɛʍkʰs]	[eɸks]	[efks]
Template:polytonic	eup	[eʊp]	[ɛʍp]	[eɸp]	[efp]
Template:polytonic	eus	[eʊs]	[ɛʍs]	[eɸs]	[efs]
Template:polytonic	eusb	[eʊzb]	[ɛwzb]	[eβzβ]	[evzv]
Template:polytonic	eusg	[eʊzɡ]	[ɛwzɡ]	[eβzɣ]	[evzɣ]	[evzʝ]
Template:polytonic	eusd	[eʊzd]	[ɛwzd]	[eβzð]	[evzð]
Template:polytonic	eusm	[eʊzm]	[ɛwzm]	[eβzm]	[evzm]
Template:polytonic	eut	[eʊt]	[ɛʍt]	[eɸt]	[eft]
Template:polytonic	eutz	[eʊzd]	[ɛwdz]	[eβdz]	[evdz]
Template:polytonic	euph	[eʊpʰ]	[ɛʍpʰ]	[eɸɸ]	[e(f)f]
Template:polytonic	eukh	[eʊkʰ]	[ɛʍkʰ]	[eɸx]	[efx]	[efç]
Template:polytonic	eups	[eʊpʰs]	[ɛʍpʰs]	[eɸps]	[efps]
Template:polytonic	eu	[eʊ]	[ɛʍ]	[eɸ]	[ef]		Specifically in the word-final position.

Consonant-ι exceptions

Even today, most words of learned Ancient Greek origin have Template:polytonic pronounced as [i], always a full vowel in its own syllable. However, where Template:polytonic is understood to have come from [j], a [j]-derived pronunciation may reasonably apply. [j] does not enter the spoken language until the Byzantine period, and some words (such as Template:polytonic) do not today have retroactive [j] pronunciations. But when [j] does contextually apply, this is how.

Spelling	Rom.	Byzan. IPA	Cont. IPA	Notes
Template:polytonic	i	[j]	[ʝ]
Template:polytonic	gi	[ɣj]	[ʝ]
Template:polytonic	ngi	[ŋɡj]	[ŋɟ]
Template:polytonic	nki	[ŋkj]	[ŋɟ]
Template:polytonic	nkhi	[  ̃xj]	[ŋç]
Template:polytonic	thi	[θj]	[θç]
Template:polytonic	ki	[kj]	[c]
Template:polytonic	kgi	[ɡɣj]	[ɟʝ]
Template:polytonic	kki	[kkj]	[(c)c]
Template:polytonic	li	[lj]	[ʎ]
Template:polytonic	lli	[llj]	[(ʎ)ʎ]
Template:polytonic	ni	[nj]	[ɲ]
Template:polytonic	nni	[nnj]	[(ɲ)ɲ]
Template:polytonic	ksi	[ksj]	[ksç]
Template:polytonic	pi	[pj]	[pç]
Template:polytonic	si	[sj]	[sç]
Template:polytonic	ti	[tj]	[tç]
Template:polytonic	phi	[ɸj]	[fç]
Template:polytonic	khi	[xj]	[ç]
Template:polytonic	psi	[psj]	[psç]

Additional notes

• A rough breathing mark (dasy pneuma) is designated by an h at the front of the word (both in IPA and Romanization). A smooth breathing mark (psilon pneuma) requires no notation. In Koine IPA, the rough breathing mark is marked as [(h)] because it's already a mostly dead phoneme. In Byzantine IPA onward, it is totally gone. When the rough breathing mark is on vowels or diphthongs, they should be preceded with h in romanization. Over Template:polytonic, the consonant is romanized rh. The mark is always on (or implied to be on) word-initial Template:polytonic, which are always romanized Rh rh Hu hu Hui hui. Template:polytonic is always romanized rrh.
• Iota subscripts are Romanized for Classical Greek, but neither pronounced nor Romanized for Koine. In Classical pronunciation an iota subscript is designated by a /j/ following the vowel.
• A diaeresis should be noted in a Romanization with the umlaut set found in the Latin/Roman script set (at the bottom of the editing window).
• In Classical IPA, acute accent is noted by   ́   on vowel, circumflex with    ̂  . In Koine, both are represented with   ˈ   at the beginning of corresponding syllable. Accents are not noted in Romanization.
• Macrons should be designated in IPA by the long vowel symbol ː. The length distinctions of Template:polytonic, Template:polytonic and Template:polytonic are noted in Romanizations where they are known.