G R E E K  P R O N U N C I A T I O N
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This document uses a system of phonetic transcription called Sampa to represent the 
sounds of Greek. In this system, capital letters represent different sounds from 
small letters, and double quotes (") mean that the following syllable is 
stressed.

1. INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS

1.1. Vowels

i Close front unrounded vowel.
  Like ee in English meet. "ine is
e Lowered close-mid front unrounded vowel.
  Like e in English bet. "ela come!
a Open central unrounded vowel.
  Like a in southern English path, but with the tongue further forward. "kano I 
  do
o Close-mid back rounded vowel.
  Halfway between the o in English stop and the u in English put. "oCi no
u Close back rounded vowel.
  Like oo in English moon, but using an old-fashioned pronunciation with strongly 
  rounded lips and the middle of the tongue pushed down. "supa I told you

1.2. Plosives

p Voiceless bilabial plosive, unaspirated.
  Like English p, but without the following puff of breath. "pame we go
b Voiced bilabial plosive.
  Like English b. "bEni it goes in
t Voiceless alveolar plosive, unaspirated.
  Like English t, but without the following puff of breath. "tora now
d Voiced alveolar plosive.
  Like English d. "dinome I get dressed
kj Voiceless palatal plosive, unaspirated.
  Like the combination of k and y in English Kyoto, but without the following 
  puff of breath. kji"ria madam
gj Voiced palatal plosive.
  Like the gy sound in English regular. tonj "gjirjo the gentleman (acc.)
k Voiceless velar plosive, unaspirated.
  Like English k, but without the following puff of breath. "kani it does
g Voiced velar plosive.
  Like g in English good. toN ga"fe the coffee (acc.)

1.3. Affricates

ts Voiceless alveolar affricate.
   Like ts in English tsetse or tsunami. tsa"bbikos Tsambikos (personal name)
dz Voiced alveolar affricate.
   Like the dz sound in English adds up. "dzami window-glass

1.4. Fricatives

f Voiceless labio-dental fricative.
  Like English f. "filos friend
v Voiced labio-dental fricative.
  Like English v. "varka boat
T Voiceless dental fricative.
  Like th in English think. "Telo I want
D Voiced dental fricative.
  Like th in English this. "Dini he gives
s Voiceless alveolar fricative.
  Like ss in English hiss. e"si you
z Voiced alveolar fricative.
  Like z in English lazy. "zume we live
C Voiceless palatal fricative.
  Like Greek kj, but without the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. "Cerete 
  hallo!
j Voiced palatal fricative.
  Like Greek gj, but without the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. "jasu 
  hallo!
x Voiceless velar fricative.
  Like ch in Scottish loch. "xasame we have lost
G Voiced velar fricative.
  Like Greek x, but with a buzzing sound. e"Go I

1.5. Sonorants

m Voiced bilabial nasal.
  Like English m. "meni he stays
M Voiced labio-dental nasal.
  Like m in English emphasis, with the top teeth gripping the lower lip. "siMfoni 
  agreed!
n Voiced alveolar nasal.
  Like English n. ne yes
nj Voiced palatal nasal.
  Like a combination of n and y, as in English canyon. pa"nja sails
N Voiced velar nasal.
  Like ng in English long. DeN "gani it doesn't do
l Voiced alveolar lateral approximant.
  Like English l. "leme we say
lj Voiced palatal lateral approximant.
  Like the combined l and y sound in English million. Du"lja work
r Voiced alveolar tap.
  A very short trilled or tapped r. "bira beer

2. STRESS

Stress makes a difference to the meaning: "piname we used to drink, pi"name we 
are hungry.

3. SOUNDS IN CONNECTED SPEECH ('SANDHI')

When words are joined together in one phrase in connected speech, their original 
sounds get modified. The linguistic term for changes of this sort is 'sandhi 
changes'. The usage described here is that of educated people speaking 
colloquially: but on more formal occasions speakers may not make some of the 
changes listed below. As ever, you have to listen carefully to native speakers, 
and imitate the usage of those you like.

3.1. Consonants

3.1.1. Final n

When a word ending in n is followed by a word beginning with a plosive, the n is 
modified and the plosive, if voiceless, becomes voiced:
  Den "pai    becomes Dem "bai      it doesn't go
  Den bo"ro           Dem bo"ro     I can't
  min "tros           min "dros     don't eat!
  Den "dinome         Den "dinome   I don't get dressed
  ston "kjipo         stonj "gjipo  in the garden
  stin "ko            stiN "go      to Kos
It will be seen that the n changes to match the quality - bilabial, alveolar, 
palatal or nasal - of the plosive that follows. But note also that different 
speakers treat the n + plosive group differently. Some treat them as above, e.g. 
Dem "pai; some remove the n completely: De "bai; and some double the resultant 
voiced plosive: De "bbai.

If the following word begins with a vowel, the n is retained unchanged:
  stin a"Tina  to Athens
  Den a"njiji  it doesn't open

If the following word begins with any sound other than those mentioned above, 
then the n is removed:
  Den "Telo     becomes De "Telo      I don't want
  min "fevjis           mi "fevjis    don't leave!
  ja tin ma"ria         ja ti ma"ria  for Mary
(Sometimes removing the n leaves a nasalized vowel behind, similar to nasalized 
vowels in French: "a~Tropos person. This feature is not discussed further.)

In some varieties of Greek, final n has survived in a number of grammatical 
forms, and its presence is revealed by the sandhi changes described above: 
"pinumen "uzo we're drinking ouzo instead of the standard "pinume "uzo, but 
"pinume lemo"naDa we're drinking lemonade in both varieties.

3.1.2. Velar and alveolar consonants versus palatal consonants

The velar consonants k, x and G are followed only by central or back vowels (a, o 
and u); their palatal equivalents kj, C and j are followed only by the front 
vowels i and e. But grammatical changes - for example in the endings of verbs and 
adjectives - can change a back vowel into a front vowel, and vice versa, in which 
case the preceding consonant will also change:
         have    depart                   bad
  I:     "exo    "fevGo       sing. masc. ka"kos
  you:   "eCis   "fevjis      sing. fem.  ka"kji
  he:    "eCi    "fevji       sing. neut. ka"ko
  we:    "exume  "fevGume     plur. masc. ka"kji
  you:   "eCete  "fevjete     plur. fem.  ka"kjes
  they:  "exun   "fevGun      plur. neut. ka"ka

Some speakers apply the same principle to the alveolar consonants n and l, 
changing them to their palatal counterparts nj and lj before the front vowel i 
(but not before e):
         do                   good
  I:     "kano    sing. masc. ka"los
  you:   "kanji   sing. fem.  ka"lji
         etc.                 etc.

3.1.3. s before voiced consonants

If a word ending in s is followed by a word beginning with a voiced consonant, 
the s voices to z:
  di"kos tu belonging to him (t is voiceless, s unchanged)
  di"koz mu belonging to me  (m is voiced, s changes to z)

3.2. Vowels

When a word ending an a vowel is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, one 
of the vowels is removed. Vowels have the 'pecking order' u o a e i (u is 
highest), and the vowel that is removed is the one that is lower in the pecking 
order. Disconcertingly, the stressed vowel can be removed, moving the stress to 
the surviving vowel:
  ta "eTela becomes "taTela  I wanted them 
  to "efere becomes "tofere  he brought it 
  su "ipa   becomes "supa    I told you

3.3. Stress

The stress in a Greek phrase cannot fall earlier than on the third syllable from 
the end - i.e. not before the 'dum-di-di' position. If a word that is stressed in 
the 'dum-di-di' position has an unstressed particle added to it, the stress must 
change. It moves to the penultimate syllable:
  to po"dilato  the bike  to podila"to mu  my bike
  "teljose      finish!   teljo"se to      finish it!

4. GLOSSARY

Affricate: a plosive followed immediately by a fricative.
Alveolar: the tip of the tongue articulates with the alveolum.
Alveolum: the bony ridge behind the upper front teeth.
Back: a vowel where the back part of the tongue is tense.
Bilabial: the upper and lower lips articulate together.
Central: a vowel where the centre of the tongue is tense.
Close: a vowel where the tense part of the tongue is near to the roof of the 
mouth.
Close-mid: a vowel where the tense part of the tongue is higher than halfway 
between the floor and the roof of the mouth.
Dental: the tongue articulates with the front teeth.
Fricative: the air-stream through the mouth is made sufficiently narrow to cause 
hiss, but not completely blocked.
Front: a vowel where the front part of the tongue is tense.
Labio-dental: the upper front teeth articulate with the lower lip.
Lateral approximant: the centre of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth at 
the specified point; the sides of the tongue are retracted.
Lowered: a vowel where the tense part of the tongue is slightly lower than the 
specified position.
Nasal: of a consonant, one in which the breath passes through the nose (the 
articulators block the passage through the mouth). Of a vowel, one in which the 
breath passes partly through the nose and partly through the mouth.
Open: a vowel where the tense part of the tongue is near the floor of the mouth.
Palatal: the tongue articulates with the palate, the hard middle part of the roof 
of the mouth.
Plosive: the air-stream through the mouth is blocked: pressure is built up and 
released suddenly.
Rounded: a vowel where the lips are rounded (by pulling in the corners of the 
mouth).
Sonorant: a general term for consonants that are not plosives or fricatives.
Tap: a consonant where one articulator touches the other briefly while in 
movement.
Unaspirated: an unaspirated plosive does not have the puff of breath that 
accompanies most plosives in English.
Unrounded: a vowel where the lips are spread, not rounded.
Velar: the tongue articulates with the velum (the soft back part of the roof of 
the mouth).
Voiced: with a voiced sound, the vocal cords vibrate: the sound can be sung; if 
you put your hands over your ears, you can hear a buzz; if you touch your larynx 
lightly, you can feel vibrations.
Voiceless: with a voiceless sound, the vocal cords do not vibrate: the sound 
cannot be sung; if you put your hands over your ears, you do not hear a buzz; and 
if you touch your larynx lightly, you feel no vibrations.