Greek alphabet: Difference between revisions
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'''Greek alphabet''' is an [[alphabet]] used in [[Greece]]. In [[ancient Greece]], its letters were also used to represent numbers, called [[Greek numerals]], in analogy with [[Roman numerals]]. In modern time, the letters of the Greek alphabet are often used to represent various objects in [[science]] - especially those objects that sound mysterious; objects that sound Greek to us. It influenced later [[Etruscan alphabet]], which in turn influendced the [[Roman alphabet]]. |
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''Note: This is a copy of the original [[Greek alphabet]] article with parts removed due to [[Wikipedia:Copyrights|copyright]] violation. It is hoped that people knowledgable in this subject can fill in the removed parts with original work. The places that the removed sections used to occupy are surrounded by pairs of '''XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''', and between each of those pairs is a short explanation of what the content consisted of (to the best of my ability to summarize it). If any of the removed portions are deemed unnecesary, their placeholders can just be removed instead of replaced.'' |
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Ancient Greek alphabet can be dated to between [[1200 BCE]] and [[900 BCE]]. |
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---- |
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The letters are |
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The [[Greek language]] is written in the '''Greek alphabet''', developed in classical times (around the 9th century BC) and passed down to the present. Its letters are nowadays used for a variety of other purposes: as mathematical symbols, as names of stars, as names of [[fraternities and sororities]], and so forth. |
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:<math>A,\alpha</math> ([[alpha]]) |
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:<math>B,\beta</math> ([[beta]]) |
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:<math>\Gamma,\gamma</math> ([[gamma]]) |
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:<math>\Delta,\delta</math> ([[delta]]) |
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:<math>E,\epsilon</math> ([[epsilon]]) - also <math>E,\varepsilon</math> |
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:<math>Z,\zeta</math> ([[zeta]]) |
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:<math>H,\eta</math> ([[eta]]) |
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:<math>\Theta,\theta</math> ([[theta]]) |
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:<math>\Iota,\iota</math> ([[iota]]) |
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:<math>K,\kappa</math> ([[kappa]]) |
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:<math>\Lambda,\lambda</math> ([[lambda]]) |
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:<math>\Mu,\mu</math> ([[mu]]) |
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:<math>\Nu,\nu</math> ([[nu]]) |
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:<math>\Xi,\xi</math> ([[xi]]) |
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:<math>O,o</math> ([[omicron]]) |
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:<math>\Pi,\pi</math> ([[pi]]) - also <math>\Pi,\varpi</math> |
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:<math>\Rho,\rho</math> ([[rho]]) |
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:<math>\Sigma,\sigma</math> ([[sigma]]) |
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:<math>\Tau,\tau</math> ([[tau]]) |
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:<math>\Upsilon,\upsilon</math> ([[upsilon]]) |
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:<math>\Phi,\phi</math> ([[phi]]) |
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:<math>\Chi,\chi</math> ([[chi]]) |
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:<math>\Psi,\psi</math> ([[psi]]) |
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:<math>\Omega,\omega</math> ([[omega]]) |
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== |
== Overview == |
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[http://www.ancientscripts.com/alphabet.html#Greek On Greek alphabet] |
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It is believed that the Greek alphabet was brought to [[Greece]] via [[Phoenician]] traders. '''''XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A few sentences removed. Summary: Greek is derived from a Semitic script, but there is controversy as to which one, with both Proto-Canaanite and Phoenician as possibilities. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''''' Other theories include as its sources [[Egypt]], [[Assyria]], and [[Minoan Crete]] or even many different languages and nations ([[Polygenetic theory]]). |
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[[Category:Alphabetic writing systems]] |
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Because Greek minuscules are from a (much) later date, no historic minuscule actually exists for San. Minuscule forms for the other letters were only used numerically. |
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{{msg:stub}} |
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But for number 6 modern Greeks use an old digraph called stigma (Ϛ, ϛ) instead of digamma or use στ if it is not available. For 90 they use modern z-shaped qoppa forms (Ϟ, ϟ). |
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== Main Table == |
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The Greek letters and their derivations are as follows (pronunciations transcribed according to [[SAMPA]]):<br clear=all> |
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<table border="1"> |
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<tr><th rowspan="3">Letter</th> |
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<th colspan="4">Name</th> |
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<th rowspan="2" colspan="3">Pronunciation</th> |
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<th rowspan="3">Numeric value</th> |
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<th rowspan="3">Corresponding [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] letter</th> |
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<th rowspan="3">[[HTML]] entity</th> |
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<th rowspan="3">Latin [[transliteration]] (but see diphthongs, etc.)</th></tr> |
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<tr><th rowspan="2">Greek</th> |
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<th rowspan="2">Traditional transcription</th> |
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<th colspan="2">Pronunciation</th></tr> |
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<tr><th>classical</th><th>modern</th> |
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<th>old</th> |
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<th>classical</th> |
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<th>modern</th></tr> |
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<tr><td>Α α</td> |
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<td>ἄλφα / ἄ<i></i>λφα</td> |
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<td>[[Alpha (letter)|Alpha]]</td> |
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<td>["alfa]</td> |
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<td>["alfa]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[a] [a:]</td> |
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<td>[a]</td> |
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<td>1</td> |
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<td>א 'Aleph</td> |
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<td>&alpha;</td> |
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<td>a</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Β β</td> |
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<td>βῆτα / βῆ<i></i>τα</td> |
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<td>[[Beta (letter)|Beta]]</td> |
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<td>["bE:ta]</td> |
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<td>["vita]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[b]</td> |
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<td>[v]</td> |
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<td>2</td> |
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<td>ב Bet</td> |
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<td>&beta;</td> |
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<td>b</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Γ γ</td> |
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<td>γάμμα / γά<i></i>μμα</td> |
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<td>[[Gamma (letter)|Gamma]]</td> |
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<td>["gamma]</td> |
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<td>["Gama]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[g]</td> |
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<td>[j] before [e] or [i]; [G] otherwise</td> |
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<td>3</td> |
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<td>ג Gimel</td> |
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<td>&gamma;</td> |
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<td>g</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Δ δ</td> |
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<td>δέλτα / δέ<i></i>λτα</td> |
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<td>[[Delta (letter)|Delta]]</td> |
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<td>["delta]</td> |
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<td>["Delta]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[d]</td> |
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<td>[D]</td> |
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<td>4</td> |
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<td>ד Dalet</td> |
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<td>&delta;</td> |
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<td>d</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ε ε</td> |
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<td>ἒ ψιλόν / ἒ<i></i> ψιλό<i></i>ν</td> |
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<td>[[Epsilon (letter)|Epsilon]]</td> |
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<td>[e psi"lon]</td> |
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<td>[e psi"lon]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[e]</td> |
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<td>[e]</td> |
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<td>5</td> |
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<td>ה He</td> |
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<td>&epsilon;</td> |
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<td>e</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>F (1) (Ϝ ϝ)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[[Digamma (letter)|Digamma]]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[w]</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>6</td> |
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<td>ו Vav</td> |
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<td>&gammad;</td> |
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<td></td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ζ ζ</td> |
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<td>ζῆτα / ζῆ<i></i>τα</td> |
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<td>[[Zeta (letter)|Zeta]]</td> |
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<td>["zdE:ta]</td> |
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<td>["zita]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[zd], later [z:]</td> |
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<td>[z]</td> |
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<td>7</td> |
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<td>ז Zayin</td> |
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<td>&zeta;</td> |
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<td>z, s (between vowels)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Η η</td> |
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<td>ἦτα / ῆ<i></i>τα</td> |
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<td>[[Eta (letter)|Eta]]</td> |
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<td>["E:ta]</td> |
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<td>["ita]</td> |
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<td>[E:] [h]</td> |
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<td>[E:]</td> |
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<td>[i]</td> |
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<td>8</td> |
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<td>ח Het</td> |
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<td>&eta;</td> |
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<td>e, ê, i, a (final: Hêra)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Θ θ <math>\vartheta</math></td> |
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<td>θῆτα / θῆ<i></i>τα</td> |
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<td>[[Theta (letter)|Theta]]</td> |
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<td>["TE:ta]</td> |
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<td>["Tita]</td> |
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<td>[t_h]</td> |
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<td>[T]</td> |
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<td>[T]</td> |
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<td>9</td> |
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<td>ט Tet</td> |
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<td>&theta;</td> |
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<td>th</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ι ι</td> |
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<td>ἰῶτα / ἰ<i></i>ῶ<i></i>τα</td> |
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<td>[[Iota (letter)|Iota]]</td> |
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<td>["iO:ta]</td> |
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<td>["jota]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[i] [i:]</td> |
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<td>[i] [j]</td> |
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<td>10</td> |
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<td>י Yod</td> |
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<td>&iota;</td> |
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<td>i</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Κ κ</td> |
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<td>κάππα / κά<i></i>ππα</td> |
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<td>[[Kappa (letter)|Kappa]]</td> |
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<td>["kappa]</td> |
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<td>["kapa]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[k]</td> |
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<td>[k]</td> |
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<td>20</td> |
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<td>ך כ Kaf</td> |
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<td>&kappa;</td> |
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<td>k, c</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Λ λ</td> |
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<td>λάμβδα / λά<i></i>μβδα</td> |
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<td>[[Lambda (letter)|Lambda]]</td> |
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<td>["lambda]</td> |
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<td>["lamda]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[l]</td> |
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<td>[l]</td> |
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<td>30</td> |
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<td>ל Lamed</td> |
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<td>&lambda;</td> |
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<td>l</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Μ μ</td> |
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<td>μῦ / μῦ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Mu (letter)|Mu]]</td> |
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<td>[my:]</td> |
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<td>[mi]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[m]</td> |
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<td>[m]</td> |
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<td>40</td> |
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<td>ם מ Mem</td> |
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<td>&mu;</td> |
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<td>m</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ν ν</td> |
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<td>νῦ / νῦ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Nu (letter)|Nu]]</td> |
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<td>[ny:]</td> |
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<td>[ni]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[n]</td> |
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<td>[n]</td> |
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<td>50</td> |
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<td>ן נ Nun</td> |
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<td>&nu;</td> |
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<td>n</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ξ ξ</td> |
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<td>ξῖ / ξῖ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Xi (letter)|Xi]]</td> |
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<td>[ksi:]</td> |
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<td>[ksi]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[ks]</td> |
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<td>[ks]</td> |
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<td>60</td> |
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<td>ס Samekh</td> |
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<td>&xi;</td> |
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<td>x, ks</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ο ο</td> |
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<td>Ὂ μικρόν / ὂ<i></i> μικρό<i></i>ν</td> |
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<td>[[Omicron (letter)|Omicron]]</td> |
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<td>[o mi"kron]</td> |
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<td>[o mi"kron]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[o]</td> |
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<td>[o]</td> |
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<td>70</td> |
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<td>ע `Ayin</td> |
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<td>&omicron;</td> |
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<td>o</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Π π</td> |
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<td>πῖ / πῖ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Pi (letter)|Pi]]</td> |
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<td>[pi:]</td> |
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<td>[pi]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[p]</td> |
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<td>[p]</td> |
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<td>80</td> |
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<td>ף פ Pe</td> |
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<td>&pi;</td> |
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<td>p</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>M (1) (Ϻ ϻ)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[[San (letter)|San]]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[z]</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>ץ צ Tzadik</td> |
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<td>&#x3fa; &#x3fb;</td> |
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<td>s</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Q (1) (Ϙ ϙ)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[[Qoppa (letter)|Qoppa]]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[k]</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>90</td> |
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<td>ק Kuf</td> |
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<td>&#x3d8; &#x3d9;</td> |
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<td>q</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ρ ρ</td> |
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<td>ῥῶ / ῥ<i></i>ῶ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Rho (letter)|Rho]]</td> |
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<td>[rO:]</td> |
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<td>[ro]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[r]</td> |
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<td>[r]</td> |
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<td>100</td> |
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<td>ר Resh</td> |
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<td>&rho;</td> |
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<td>r, rh (beginning a word), rrh (doubled)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Σ σ</td> |
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<td rowspan="2">σῖγμα / σῖ<i></i>γμα</td> |
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<td>[[Sigma (letter)|Sigma]]</td> |
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<td rowspan="2">["si:gma]</td> |
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<td rowspan="2">["sigma]</td> |
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<td rowspan="2"> </td> |
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<td rowspan="2">[s]</td> |
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<td rowspan="2">[s]</td> |
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<td>200</td> |
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<td rowspan="2">ש Shin</td> |
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<td>&sigma;</td> |
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<td>s, ss (between vowels)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td> ς</td> |
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<td>Sigma (final)</td> |
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<td>6 (modern)</td> |
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<td>&sigmaf;</td> |
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<td>s</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Τ τ</td> |
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<td>ταῦ / ταῦ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Tau (letter)|Tau]]</td> |
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<td>[tau]</td> |
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<td>[taf]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[t]</td> |
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<td>[t]</td> |
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<td>300</td> |
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<td>ת Tav</td> |
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<td>&tau;</td> |
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<td>t</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Υ υ</td> |
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<td>ὒ ψιλόν / ὖ<i></i> ψιλό<i></i>ν</td> |
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<td>[[Upsilon (letter)|Upsilon]]</td> |
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<td>[y: psi"lon]</td> |
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<td>[i psi"lon]</td> |
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<td>[u]</td> |
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<td>[y] [y:]</td> |
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<td>[i]</td> |
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<td>400</td> |
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<td>from Vav</td> |
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<td>&upsilon;</td> |
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<td>u, y (between consonants)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Φ φ</td> |
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<td>φῖ / φῖ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Phi (letter)|Phi]]</td> |
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<td>[fi:]</td> |
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<td>[fi]</td> |
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<td>[p_h]</td> |
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<td>[f]</td> |
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<td>[f]</td> |
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<td>500</td> |
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<td rowspan="5">origin disputed (see text)</td> |
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<td>&phi;</td> |
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<td>ph</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Χ χ</td> |
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<td>χῖ / χῖ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Chi (letter)|Chi]]</td> |
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<td>[Ci:]</td> |
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<td>[Ci]</td> |
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<td>[k_h] [ks]</td> |
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<td>[C]</td> |
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<td>[C]</td> |
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<td>600</td> |
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<td>&chi;</td> |
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<td>ch, kh</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ψ ψ</td> |
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<td>ψῖ / ψῖ<i></i></td> |
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<td>[[Psi (letter)|Psi]]</td> |
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<td>[psi:]</td> |
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<td>[psi]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[ps]</td> |
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<td>[ps]</td> |
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<td>700</td> |
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<td>&psi;</td> |
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<td>ps</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ω ω</td> |
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<td>ὦ μέγα / ὦ<i></i> μέ<i></i>γα</td> |
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<td>[[Omega]]</td> |
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<td>[O: "mega]</td> |
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<td>[o "meGa]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[O:]</td> |
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<td>[o]</td> |
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<td>800</td> |
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<td>&omega;</td> |
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<td>o, ô</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>Ϡ ϡ (1)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[[Sampi (letter)|Sampi]]</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[ss] [ks]</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>900</td> |
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<td>&#x3e0; &#x3e1;</td> |
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<td></td></tr> |
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</table> |
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(1): Letter removed from the alphabet in early times, before the period that is now called "classical". |
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== Letter combinations and diphthongs == |
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<table border="1"> |
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<tr><th rowspan="2">Letters</th> |
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<th colspan="3">Pronunciation</th> |
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<th rowspan="2">Latin [[transliteration]]</th></tr> |
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<tr><th>old</th> |
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<th>classical</th> |
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<th>modern</th></tr> |
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<tr><td>αι</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[aI]</td> |
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<td>[E]</td> |
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<td>ae</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ει</td> |
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<td>[eI] [e:]</td> |
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<td>[eI]</td> |
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<td>[i]</td> |
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<td>i</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>οι</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[oI]</td> |
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<td>[i]</td> |
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<td>oe, i (final)</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>υι</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[yI]</td> |
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<td>[i]</td> |
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<td>ui</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ωι</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[OI]</td> |
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<td>[O]</td> |
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<td>o</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>αυ</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[aU]</td> |
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<td>[av] before voiced sound; [af] before voiceless sound</td> |
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<td>au, av</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ευ</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[eU]</td> |
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<td>[ev] before voiced sound; [ef] before voiceless sound</td> |
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<td>eu, ev</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ηυ</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[E:U]</td> |
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<td>[iv] before voiced sound; [if] before voiceless sound</td> |
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<td>eu</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ου</td> |
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<td>[oU] [o:]</td> |
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<td>[u:]</td> |
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<td>[u]</td> |
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<td>u, ou</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>γγ (2)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[Ng]</td> |
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<td>[NG]</td> |
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<td>ng</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>γκ (2)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[Nk]</td> |
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<td>[Nk]</td> |
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<td>nc, nk</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>γξ (2)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[Nks]</td> |
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<td>[Nks]</td> |
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<td>nx, nks</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>γχ (2)</td> |
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<td> </td> |
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<td>[Nx]</td> |
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<td>[NC]</td> |
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<td>nch, nkh</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>μπ</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>[b] at the beginning of a word; [mb] otherwise</td> |
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<td>mp</td></tr> |
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<tr><td>ντ</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>-</td> |
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<td>[d] at the beginning of a word; [nd] otherwise</td> |
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<td>nt</td> |
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</table> |
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(2): Some scholars see [[agma]] as a [[phoneme]] in its own right. |
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---- |
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== Greek in Unicode == |
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There are 2 main blocks of Greek characters in [[Unicode]]. |
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The first is "Greek and Coptic" (U+0370 — U+03FF). |
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This block is based on [[ISO 8859-7]] and is sufficient to write Modern Greek. |
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There are also some archaic letters and Greek-based technical symbols. |
|||
This block also supports [[Coptic language]], most Coptic letters sharing codepoints with looking-alike Greek letters. |
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To write polytonic Greek (Old Greek or Katharevousa), one may use [[combining diacritical mark]]s. However, [[Unicode]] also includes a full set of precomposed characters in the "Greek Extended" block (U+1F00 — U+1FFF). |
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=== Greek and Coptic === |
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{| |
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|- align="center" |
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| || ||0||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||A||B||C||D||E||F |
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|- align="center" |
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|370|| ||Ͱ||ͱ||Ͳ||ͳ||ʹ||͵||Ͷ||ͷ||͸||͹||ͺ||ͻ||ͼ||ͽ||;||Ϳ |
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|- align="center" |
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|380|| ||΀||΁||΂||΃||΄||΅||Ά||·||Έ||Ή||Ί||΋||Ό||΍||Ύ||Ώ |
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|- align="center" |
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|390|| ||ΐ||Α||Β||Γ||Δ||Ε||Ζ||Η||Θ||Ι||Κ||Λ||Μ||Ν||Ξ||Ο |
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|- align="center" |
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|3A0|| ||Π||Ρ||΢||Σ||Τ||Υ||Φ||Χ||Ψ||Ω||Ϊ||Ϋ||ά||έ||ή||ί |
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|- align="center" |
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|3B0|| ||ΰ||α||β||γ||δ||ε||ζ||η||θ||ι||κ||λ||μ||ν||ξ||ο |
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|- align="center" |
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|3C0|| ||π||ρ||ς||σ||τ||υ||φ||χ||ψ||ω||ϊ||ϋ||ό||ύ||ώ||Ϗ |
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|- align="center" |
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|3D0|| ||ϐ||ϑ||ϒ||ϓ||ϔ||ϕ||ϖ||ϗ||Ϙ||ϙ||Ϛ||ϛ||Ϝ||ϝ||Ϟ||ϟ |
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|- align="center" |
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|3E0|| ||Ϡ||ϡ||Ϣ||ϣ||Ϥ||ϥ||Ϧ||ϧ||Ϩ||ϩ||Ϫ||ϫ||Ϭ||ϭ||Ϯ||ϯ |
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|- align="center" |
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|3F0|| ||ϰ||ϱ||ϲ||ϳ||ϴ||ϵ||϶||Ϸ||ϸ||Ϲ||Ϻ||ϻ||ϼ||Ͻ||Ͼ||Ͽ |
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|} |
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=== Greek Extended (Precomposed polytonic Greek) === |
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{| |
|||
|- align="center" |
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| || ||0||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||A||B||C||D||E||F |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1F00|| ||ἀ||ἁ||ἂ||ἃ||ἄ||ἅ||ἆ||ἇ||Ἀ||Ἁ||Ἂ||Ἃ||Ἄ||Ἅ||Ἆ||Ἇ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F10|| ||ἐ||ἑ||ἒ||ἓ||ἔ||ἕ||἖||἗||Ἐ||Ἑ||Ἒ||Ἓ||Ἔ||Ἕ||἞||἟ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F20|| ||ἠ||ἡ||ἢ||ἣ||ἤ||ἥ||ἦ||ἧ||Ἠ||Ἡ||Ἢ||Ἣ||Ἤ||Ἥ||Ἦ||Ἧ |
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|- align="center" |
|||
|1F30|| ||ἰ||ἱ||ἲ||ἳ||ἴ||ἵ||ἶ||ἷ||Ἰ||Ἱ||Ἲ||Ἳ||Ἴ||Ἵ||Ἶ||Ἷ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F40|| ||ὀ||ὁ||ὂ||ὃ||ὄ||ὅ||὆||὇||Ὀ||Ὁ||Ὂ||Ὃ||Ὄ||Ὅ||὎||὏ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F50|| ||ὐ||ὑ||ὒ||ὓ||ὔ||ὕ||ὖ||ὗ||὘||Ὑ||὚||Ὓ||὜||Ὕ||὞||Ὗ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F60|| ||ὠ||ὡ||ὢ||ὣ||ὤ||ὥ||ὦ||ὧ||Ὠ||Ὡ||Ὢ||Ὣ||Ὤ||Ὥ||Ὦ||Ὧ |
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|- align="center" |
|||
|1F70|| ||ὰ||ά||ὲ||έ||ὴ||ή||ὶ||ί||ὸ||ό||ὺ||ύ||ὼ||ώ||὾||὿ |
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|- align="center" |
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|1F80|| ||ᾀ||ᾁ||ᾂ||ᾃ||ᾄ||ᾅ||ᾆ||ᾇ||ᾈ||ᾉ||ᾊ||ᾋ||ᾌ||ᾍ||ᾎ||ᾏ |
|||
|- align="center" |
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|1F90|| ||ᾐ||ᾑ||ᾒ||ᾓ||ᾔ||ᾕ||ᾖ||ᾗ||ᾘ||ᾙ||ᾚ||ᾛ||ᾜ||ᾝ||ᾞ||ᾟ |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FA0|| ||ᾠ||ᾡ||ᾢ||ᾣ||ᾤ||ᾥ||ᾦ||ᾧ||ᾨ||ᾩ||ᾪ||ᾫ||ᾬ||ᾭ||ᾮ||ᾯ |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FB0|| ||ᾰ||ᾱ||ᾲ||ᾳ||ᾴ||᾵||ᾶ||ᾷ||Ᾰ||Ᾱ||Ὰ||Ά||ᾼ||᾽||ι||᾿ |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FC0|| ||῀||῁||ῂ||ῃ||ῄ||῅||ῆ||ῇ||Ὲ||Έ||Ὴ||Ή||ῌ||῍||῎||῏ |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FD0|| ||ῐ||ῑ||ῒ||ΐ||῔||῕||ῖ||ῗ||Ῐ||Ῑ||Ὶ||Ί||῜||῝||῞||῟ |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FE0|| ||ῠ||ῡ||ῢ||ΰ||ῤ||ῥ||ῦ||ῧ||Ῠ||Ῡ||Ὺ||Ύ||Ῥ||῭||΅||` |
|||
|- align="center" |
|||
|1FF0|| ||῰||῱||ῲ||ῳ||ῴ||῵||ῶ||ῷ||Ὸ||Ό||Ὼ||Ώ||ῼ||´||῾||῿ |
|||
|} |
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=== Combining diacritics === |
|||
[[Combining diacritical mark]]s pertaining to [[Greek language]] are: |
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* U+0300 ( ̀ ) "varia / grave accent" |
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* U+0301 ( ́ ) "oxia / tonos / acute accent" |
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* U+0304 ( ̄ ) "macron" |
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* U+0306 ( ̆ ) "vrachy / breve" |
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* U+0308 ( ̈ ) "dialytika / diaeresis" |
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* U+0313 ( ̓ ) "psili / comma above" |
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* U+0314 ( ̔ ) "dasia / reversed comma above" |
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* U+0342 ( ͂ ) "perispomeni" |
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* U+0343 ( ̓ ) "koronis" (= U+0313) |
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* U+0344 ( ̈́ ) "dialytika tonos" (deprecated, = U+0308 U+0301) |
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* U+0345 ( ͅ ) "ypogegrammeni / iota subscript" |
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---- |
|||
== History == |
|||
The most notable change, compared to its predecessor, the [[Phoenician alphabet]], is the introduction of vowels, without which Greek — unlike Phoenician — would be unintelligible. In fact many alphabets that contain vowels, notably the [[Roman alphabet]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]], are derived ultimately from Greek. (For alphabets with signs solely used to designate vowels ''not'' derived from the Greek, see [[Orkhon script]], [[Ethiopic alphabet]], [[Indic alphabets]], and [[Old Hungarian script]].) The first vowels were alpha, epsilon, iota, omicron, and upsilon (copied from waw), modifications of either glides or breathing marks, which were mostly superfluous in Greek. In eastern Greek, which lacked breaths entirely, the letter eta was also used for a long e, and eventually the letter omega was introduced for a long o. Vowels were originally not used in Semitic alphabets, but even in the very old Ugaritic alphabet [[matres lectionis]] were used, i.e. consonant signs were used to denote vowels. |
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Greek also introduced three new consonants, appended to the end of the alphabet as they were developed. The consonants were to mainly to make up for the lack of aspirates in Phoenician. In west Greek, actually, chi was used for /ks/ and psi for /k_h/ - hence the value of our letter x, derived from chi. Over the middle ages these aspirates disappeared, so now theta, phi, and chi stand for /T/, /f/, and /x/. The origin of those letters is disputed: |
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'''''XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Three paragraphs removed (the last half of the above paragraph and two whole paragraphs). Summary: They all seem to involve the rather complex origins of kappa, ypsilon, digamma, Ψ, psi, qoppa, phi, khi and sampi (and maybe a few others, it's pretty in-depth). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''''' |
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The letter san was used at variance with sigma, and by classical times the latter won out, san disappearing from the alphabet. The letters waw (later called digamma) and qoppa disappeared, too, the former only needed for the western dialects and the latter never really needed at all. These lived on in the [[Ionic numeral system]], however, which consisted of writing a series letters with precise numerical values. Sampi (apparently in a rare local glyph form from Ionia) was introduced at the end - to stand for 900. Thousands were written with a mark at the upper left ('A for 1000, etc). |
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Originally there were several variants of the Greek alphabet, most importantly western (Chalcidian) and eastern (Ionic) Greek; the former gave rise to the [[Etruscan alphabet]] and thence to the [[Roman alphabet]]. Athens took the Ionic script to be its standard in 403 BC, and shortly thereafter the other versions disappeared. By then Greek was always written left to right, but originally it had been written right to left (with asymmetrical characters flipped), and in-between written either way - or, most likely, ''[[boustrophedon]]'', so that the lines alternate direction. |
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During the Middle ages, the Greek scripts underwent changes paralleling those of the Roman alphabet: while the old forms were retained as a monumental script, uncial and eventually [[minuscule letter|minuscule]] hands came to dominate. The letter σ is even written ς at the ends of words, paralleling the use of the long and short s at the time. [[Aristophanes of Byzantium]] also introduced the process of accenting Greek letters for easier pronunciation. |
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'''''XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX One paragraph removed. Summary: It regarded the distinction between vowels and consonants in the alphabet. Also about how the Greek alphabet over time may have derived from many Semitic alphabets due to the need for people to be multilingual in order to facilitate commerce. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''''' |
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== See also: == |
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(see [[Early Semitic alphabet]] for bibliography. See also [[Greek language]].) |
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For extended discussion of problematic Greek letter forms see: [http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/unicode.html Greek Unicode Issues] |
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See also: [[Greeklish]] |
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[[bg:Гръцка азбука]] |
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[[ca:Alfabet grec]] |
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[[cs:%C5%98eck%C3%A1_abeceda]] |
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[[da:Græske alfabet]] |
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[[de:Griechisches Alphabet]] |
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[[el:Ελληνικό Αλφάβητο]] |
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[[es:Alfabeto griego]] |
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[[eo:Greka alfabeto]] |
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[[fr:Alphabet grec]] |
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[[nl:Grieks alfabet]] |
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[[ja:ギリシャ文字]] |
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[[pl:Alfabet grecki]] |
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[[ro:Alfabetul grec]] |
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[[ru:Греческий алфавит]] |
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[[sv:Grekiska alfabetet]] |
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[[zh:希腊字母表]] |
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[[Category:Alphabetic writing systems]] |
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Revision as of 20:05, 24 June 2004
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| Greek alphabet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Diacritics and other symbols | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Use in other languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related topics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: This is a copy of the original Greek alphabet article with parts removed due to copyright violation. It is hoped that people knowledgable in this subject can fill in the removed parts with original work. The places that the removed sections used to occupy are surrounded by pairs of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, and between each of those pairs is a short explanation of what the content consisted of (to the best of my ability to summarize it). If any of the removed portions are deemed unnecesary, their placeholders can just be removed instead of replaced.
The Greek language is written in the Greek alphabet, developed in classical times (around the 9th century BC) and passed down to the present. Its letters are nowadays used for a variety of other purposes: as mathematical symbols, as names of stars, as names of fraternities and sororities, and so forth.
Overview
It is believed that the Greek alphabet was brought to Greece via Phoenician traders. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A few sentences removed. Summary: Greek is derived from a Semitic script, but there is controversy as to which one, with both Proto-Canaanite and Phoenician as possibilities. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Other theories include as its sources Egypt, Assyria, and Minoan Crete or even many different languages and nations (Polygenetic theory).
Because Greek minuscules are from a (much) later date, no historic minuscule actually exists for San. Minuscule forms for the other letters were only used numerically.
But for number 6 modern Greeks use an old digraph called stigma (Ϛ, ϛ) instead of digamma or use στ if it is not available. For 90 they use modern z-shaped qoppa forms (Ϟ, ϟ).
Main Table
The Greek letters and their derivations are as follows (pronunciations transcribed according to SAMPA):
| Letter | Name | Pronunciation | Numeric value | Corresponding Hebrew letter | HTML entity | Latin transliteration (but see diphthongs, etc.) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek | Traditional transcription | Pronunciation | |||||||||
| classical | modern | old | classical | modern | |||||||
| Α α | ἄλφα / ἄλφα | Alpha | ["alfa] | ["alfa] | [a] [a:] | [a] | 1 | א 'Aleph | α | a | |
| Β β | βῆτα / βῆτα | Beta | ["bE:ta] | ["vita] | [b] | [v] | 2 | ב Bet | β | b | |
| Γ γ | γάμμα / γάμμα | Gamma | ["gamma] | ["Gama] | [g] | [j] before [e] or [i]; [G] otherwise | 3 | ג Gimel | γ | g | |
| Δ δ | δέλτα / δέλτα | Delta | ["delta] | ["Delta] | [d] | [D] | 4 | ד Dalet | δ | d | |
| Ε ε | ἒ ψιλόν / ἒ ψιλόν | Epsilon | [e psi"lon] | [e psi"lon] | [e] | [e] | 5 | ה He | ε | e | |
| F (1) (Ϝ ϝ) | Digamma | [w] | - | - | 6 | ו Vav | ϝ | ||||
| Ζ ζ | ζῆτα / ζῆτα | Zeta | ["zdE:ta] | ["zita] | [zd], later [z:] | [z] | 7 | ז Zayin | ζ | z, s (between vowels) | |
| Η η | ἦτα / ῆτα | Eta | ["E:ta] | ["ita] | [E:] [h] | [E:] | [i] | 8 | ח Het | η | e, ê, i, a (final: Hêra) |
| Θ θ | θῆτα / θῆτα | Theta | ["TE:ta] | ["Tita] | [t_h] | [T] | [T] | 9 | ט Tet | θ | th |
| Ι ι | ἰῶτα / ἰῶτα | Iota | ["iO:ta] | ["jota] | [i] [i:] | [i] [j] | 10 | י Yod | ι | i | |
| Κ κ | κάππα / κάππα | Kappa | ["kappa] | ["kapa] | [k] | [k] | 20 | ך כ Kaf | κ | k, c | |
| Λ λ | λάμβδα / λάμβδα | Lambda | ["lambda] | ["lamda] | [l] | [l] | 30 | ל Lamed | λ | l | |
| Μ μ | μῦ / μῦ | Mu | [my:] | [mi] | [m] | [m] | 40 | ם מ Mem | μ | m | |
| Ν ν | νῦ / νῦ | Nu | [ny:] | [ni] | [n] | [n] | 50 | ן נ Nun | ν | n | |
| Ξ ξ | ξῖ / ξῖ | Xi | [ksi:] | [ksi] | [ks] | [ks] | 60 | ס Samekh | ξ | x, ks | |
| Ο ο | Ὂ μικρόν / ὂ μικρόν | Omicron | [o mi"kron] | [o mi"kron] | [o] | [o] | 70 | ע `Ayin | ο | o | |
| Π π | πῖ / πῖ | Pi | [pi:] | [pi] | [p] | [p] | 80 | ף פ Pe | π | p | |
| M (1) (Ϻ ϻ) | San | [z] | - | - | - | ץ צ Tzadik | Ϻ ϻ | s | |||
| Q (1) (Ϙ ϙ) | Qoppa | [k] | - | - | 90 | ק Kuf | Ϙ ϙ | q | |||
| Ρ ρ | ῥῶ / ῥῶ | Rho | [rO:] | [ro] | [r] | [r] | 100 | ר Resh | ρ | r, rh (beginning a word), rrh (doubled) | |
| Σ σ | σῖγμα / σῖγμα | Sigma | ["si:gma] | ["sigma] | [s] | [s] | 200 | ש Shin | σ | s, ss (between vowels) | |
| ς | Sigma (final) | 6 (modern) | ς | s | |||||||
| Τ τ | ταῦ / ταῦ | Tau | [tau] | [taf] | [t] | [t] | 300 | ת Tav | τ | t | |
| Υ υ | ὒ ψιλόν / ὖ ψιλόν | Upsilon | [y: psi"lon] | [i psi"lon] | [u] | [y] [y:] | [i] | 400 | from Vav | υ | u, y (between consonants) |
| Φ φ | φῖ / φῖ | Phi | [fi:] | [fi] | [p_h] | [f] | [f] | 500 | origin disputed (see text) | φ | ph |
| Χ χ | χῖ / χῖ | Chi | [Ci:] | [Ci] | [k_h] [ks] | [C] | [C] | 600 | χ | ch, kh | |
| Ψ ψ | ψῖ / ψῖ | Psi | [psi:] | [psi] | [ps] | [ps] | 700 | ψ | ps | ||
| Ω ω | ὦ μέγα / ὦ μέγα | Omega | [O: "mega] | [o "meGa] | [O:] | [o] | 800 | ω | o, ô | ||
| Ϡ ϡ (1) | Sampi | [ss] [ks] | - | - | 900 | Ϡ ϡ | |||||
(1): Letter removed from the alphabet in early times, before the period that is now called "classical".
Letter combinations and diphthongs
| Letters | Pronunciation | Latin transliteration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| old | classical | modern | ||
| αι | [aI] | [E] | ae | |
| ει | [eI] [e:] | [eI] | [i] | i |
| οι | [oI] | [i] | oe, i (final) | |
| υι | [yI] | [i] | ui | |
| ωι | [OI] | [O] | o | |
| αυ | [aU] | [av] before voiced sound; [af] before voiceless sound | au, av | |
| ευ | [eU] | [ev] before voiced sound; [ef] before voiceless sound | eu, ev | |
| ηυ | [E:U] | [iv] before voiced sound; [if] before voiceless sound | eu | |
| ου | [oU] [o:] | [u:] | [u] | u, ou |
| γγ (2) | [Ng] | [NG] | ng | |
| γκ (2) | [Nk] | [Nk] | nc, nk | |
| γξ (2) | [Nks] | [Nks] | nx, nks | |
| γχ (2) | [Nx] | [NC] | nch, nkh | |
| μπ | - | - | [b] at the beginning of a word; [mb] otherwise | mp |
| ντ | - | - | [d] at the beginning of a word; [nd] otherwise | nt |
(2): Some scholars see agma as a phoneme in its own right.
Greek in Unicode
There are 2 main blocks of Greek characters in Unicode. The first is "Greek and Coptic" (U+0370 — U+03FF). This block is based on ISO 8859-7 and is sufficient to write Modern Greek. There are also some archaic letters and Greek-based technical symbols.
This block also supports Coptic language, most Coptic letters sharing codepoints with looking-alike Greek letters.
To write polytonic Greek (Old Greek or Katharevousa), one may use combining diacritical marks. However, Unicode also includes a full set of precomposed characters in the "Greek Extended" block (U+1F00 — U+1FFF).
Greek and Coptic
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | ||
| 370 | Ͱ | ͱ | Ͳ | ͳ | ʹ | ͵ | Ͷ | ͷ | | | ͺ | ͻ | ͼ | ͽ | ; | Ϳ | |
| 380 | | | | | ΄ | ΅ | Ά | · | Έ | Ή | Ί | | Ό | | Ύ | Ώ | |
| 390 | ΐ | Α | Β | Γ | Δ | Ε | Ζ | Η | Θ | Ι | Κ | Λ | Μ | Ν | Ξ | Ο | |
| 3A0 | Π | Ρ | | Σ | Τ | Υ | Φ | Χ | Ψ | Ω | Ϊ | Ϋ | ά | έ | ή | ί | |
| 3B0 | ΰ | α | β | γ | δ | ε | ζ | η | θ | ι | κ | λ | μ | ν | ξ | ο | |
| 3C0 | π | ρ | ς | σ | τ | υ | φ | χ | ψ | ω | ϊ | ϋ | ό | ύ | ώ | Ϗ | |
| 3D0 | ϐ | ϑ | ϒ | ϓ | ϔ | ϕ | ϖ | ϗ | Ϙ | ϙ | Ϛ | ϛ | Ϝ | ϝ | Ϟ | ϟ | |
| 3E0 | Ϡ | ϡ | Ϣ | ϣ | Ϥ | ϥ | Ϧ | ϧ | Ϩ | ϩ | Ϫ | ϫ | Ϭ | ϭ | Ϯ | ϯ | |
| 3F0 | ϰ | ϱ | ϲ | ϳ | ϴ | ϵ | ϶ | Ϸ | ϸ | Ϲ | Ϻ | ϻ | ϼ | Ͻ | Ͼ | Ͽ |
Greek Extended (Precomposed polytonic Greek)
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | ||
| 1F00 | ἀ | ἁ | ἂ | ἃ | ἄ | ἅ | ἆ | ἇ | Ἀ | Ἁ | Ἂ | Ἃ | Ἄ | Ἅ | Ἆ | Ἇ | |
| 1F10 | ἐ | ἑ | ἒ | ἓ | ἔ | ἕ | | | Ἐ | Ἑ | Ἒ | Ἓ | Ἔ | Ἕ | | | |
| 1F20 | ἠ | ἡ | ἢ | ἣ | ἤ | ἥ | ἦ | ἧ | Ἠ | Ἡ | Ἢ | Ἣ | Ἤ | Ἥ | Ἦ | Ἧ | |
| 1F30 | ἰ | ἱ | ἲ | ἳ | ἴ | ἵ | ἶ | ἷ | Ἰ | Ἱ | Ἲ | Ἳ | Ἴ | Ἵ | Ἶ | Ἷ | |
| 1F40 | ὀ | ὁ | ὂ | ὃ | ὄ | ὅ | | | Ὀ | Ὁ | Ὂ | Ὃ | Ὄ | Ὅ | | | |
| 1F50 | ὐ | ὑ | ὒ | ὓ | ὔ | ὕ | ὖ | ὗ | | Ὑ | | Ὓ | | Ὕ | | Ὗ | |
| 1F60 | ὠ | ὡ | ὢ | ὣ | ὤ | ὥ | ὦ | ὧ | Ὠ | Ὡ | Ὢ | Ὣ | Ὤ | Ὥ | Ὦ | Ὧ | |
| 1F70 | ὰ | ά | ὲ | έ | ὴ | ή | ὶ | ί | ὸ | ό | ὺ | ύ | ὼ | ώ | | | |
| 1F80 | ᾀ | ᾁ | ᾂ | ᾃ | ᾄ | ᾅ | ᾆ | ᾇ | ᾈ | ᾉ | ᾊ | ᾋ | ᾌ | ᾍ | ᾎ | ᾏ | |
| 1F90 | ᾐ | ᾑ | ᾒ | ᾓ | ᾔ | ᾕ | ᾖ | ᾗ | ᾘ | ᾙ | ᾚ | ᾛ | ᾜ | ᾝ | ᾞ | ᾟ | |
| 1FA0 | ᾠ | ᾡ | ᾢ | ᾣ | ᾤ | ᾥ | ᾦ | ᾧ | ᾨ | ᾩ | ᾪ | ᾫ | ᾬ | ᾭ | ᾮ | ᾯ | |
| 1FB0 | ᾰ | ᾱ | ᾲ | ᾳ | ᾴ | | ᾶ | ᾷ | Ᾰ | Ᾱ | Ὰ | Ά | ᾼ | ᾽ | ι | ᾿ | |
| 1FC0 | ῀ | ῁ | ῂ | ῃ | ῄ | | ῆ | ῇ | Ὲ | Έ | Ὴ | Ή | ῌ | ῍ | ῎ | ῏ | |
| 1FD0 | ῐ | ῑ | ῒ | ΐ | | | ῖ | ῗ | Ῐ | Ῑ | Ὶ | Ί | | ῝ | ῞ | ῟ | |
| 1FE0 | ῠ | ῡ | ῢ | ΰ | ῤ | ῥ | ῦ | ῧ | Ῠ | Ῡ | Ὺ | Ύ | Ῥ | ῭ | ΅ | ` | |
| 1FF0 | | | ῲ | ῳ | ῴ | | ῶ | ῷ | Ὸ | Ό | Ὼ | Ώ | ῼ | ´ | ῾ | |
Combining diacritics
Combining diacritical marks pertaining to Greek language are:
- U+0300 ( ̀ ) "varia / grave accent"
- U+0301 ( ́ ) "oxia / tonos / acute accent"
- U+0304 ( ̄ ) "macron"
- U+0306 ( ̆ ) "vrachy / breve"
- U+0308 ( ̈ ) "dialytika / diaeresis"
- U+0313 ( ̓ ) "psili / comma above"
- U+0314 ( ̔ ) "dasia / reversed comma above"
- U+0342 ( ͂ ) "perispomeni"
- U+0343 ( ̓ ) "koronis" (= U+0313)
- U+0344 ( ̈́ ) "dialytika tonos" (deprecated, = U+0308 U+0301)
- U+0345 ( ͅ ) "ypogegrammeni / iota subscript"
History
The most notable change, compared to its predecessor, the Phoenician alphabet, is the introduction of vowels, without which Greek — unlike Phoenician — would be unintelligible. In fact many alphabets that contain vowels, notably the Roman alphabet and Cyrillic alphabet, are derived ultimately from Greek. (For alphabets with signs solely used to designate vowels not derived from the Greek, see Orkhon script, Ethiopic alphabet, Indic alphabets, and Old Hungarian script.) The first vowels were alpha, epsilon, iota, omicron, and upsilon (copied from waw), modifications of either glides or breathing marks, which were mostly superfluous in Greek. In eastern Greek, which lacked breaths entirely, the letter eta was also used for a long e, and eventually the letter omega was introduced for a long o. Vowels were originally not used in Semitic alphabets, but even in the very old Ugaritic alphabet matres lectionis were used, i.e. consonant signs were used to denote vowels.
Greek also introduced three new consonants, appended to the end of the alphabet as they were developed. The consonants were to mainly to make up for the lack of aspirates in Phoenician. In west Greek, actually, chi was used for /ks/ and psi for /k_h/ - hence the value of our letter x, derived from chi. Over the middle ages these aspirates disappeared, so now theta, phi, and chi stand for /T/, /f/, and /x/. The origin of those letters is disputed:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Three paragraphs removed (the last half of the above paragraph and two whole paragraphs). Summary: They all seem to involve the rather complex origins of kappa, ypsilon, digamma, Ψ, psi, qoppa, phi, khi and sampi (and maybe a few others, it's pretty in-depth). XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The letter san was used at variance with sigma, and by classical times the latter won out, san disappearing from the alphabet. The letters waw (later called digamma) and qoppa disappeared, too, the former only needed for the western dialects and the latter never really needed at all. These lived on in the Ionic numeral system, however, which consisted of writing a series letters with precise numerical values. Sampi (apparently in a rare local glyph form from Ionia) was introduced at the end - to stand for 900. Thousands were written with a mark at the upper left ('A for 1000, etc).
Originally there were several variants of the Greek alphabet, most importantly western (Chalcidian) and eastern (Ionic) Greek; the former gave rise to the Etruscan alphabet and thence to the Roman alphabet. Athens took the Ionic script to be its standard in 403 BC, and shortly thereafter the other versions disappeared. By then Greek was always written left to right, but originally it had been written right to left (with asymmetrical characters flipped), and in-between written either way - or, most likely, boustrophedon, so that the lines alternate direction.
During the Middle ages, the Greek scripts underwent changes paralleling those of the Roman alphabet: while the old forms were retained as a monumental script, uncial and eventually minuscule hands came to dominate. The letter σ is even written ς at the ends of words, paralleling the use of the long and short s at the time. Aristophanes of Byzantium also introduced the process of accenting Greek letters for easier pronunciation.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX One paragraph removed. Summary: It regarded the distinction between vowels and consonants in the alphabet. Also about how the Greek alphabet over time may have derived from many Semitic alphabets due to the need for people to be multilingual in order to facilitate commerce. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
See also:
(see Early Semitic alphabet for bibliography. See also Greek language.)
For extended discussion of problematic Greek letter forms see: Greek Unicode Issues
See also: Greeklish