CD 1

Tracks 1-8 Pronouncing Ancient Greek: An Introduction

by David Langslow
Tracks 9-19 1. A-J The insurance scam
Tracks 20-23 2. A -D The glorious past
Tracks 24-28 3. A -E Athens and Sparta

CD 2
Tracks 29-32 4. A -D Lawlessness in Athenian life
Tracks 33-36 9. E-H Aristophanes, Wasps
Tracks 37-39 10. A -C Aristophanes, Lysistrata
Tracks 40-42 14. A -B , E Demosthenes, Against Neaira
Tracks 43-45 15. A -C Euripides, Alkestis
Tracks 46-49 16. A -C , G Demosthenes,
Against Mnesiboulos and Euergos
Tracks 50-51 18. A -B Plato, Protagoras
Tracks 52-54 19. A, E -F Herodotus, The Story of Adrastos
Tracks 55-57 20. D -F Homer, Odyssey 6
C ambridge
U N IV E R S IT Y PR E SS
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©Joint Association ofClassical Teachers’ Greek Course 1981, 2008

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no reproduction of any part may take place without
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First published 1981

Second edition 2008
6th printing 2014

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 eamq ureei< C uk#

Two CDs illustrating the sound of ancient Greek based on the Joint Association
of Classical Teachers’ Reading Greek (2007, second edition).

Acknowledgements

The first edition of Reading Greek (1978) was accompanied by a tape Speaking
Greek, with a discussion of the sound of Greek by Professor W. S. Allen and
readings from the Course directed by David Raeburn. This tape set the
standard forthe pronunciation of Ancient Greek. The second edition has
allowed us to take full advantage of CD technology, with many more readings
and (forthe first time) sound effects. Professor David Langslow has recorded a
new discussion, and the readings from the Course have been directed byjames
Morwood. We admit that, in the heat of the moment, our pronunciation was
not always as accurate as we would have liked, and there are inconsistencies.
Doubtless this can be turned to didactic advantage.

The recording was engineered in the studios of the University of Manchester by

Daniel Power, the University’s drama technician.

P e t e r Jon es (Course Director)

February 2008
CD 1: Tracks 1-8
Pronouncing Ancient Greek: An Introduction
by David Langs low

Tracki Introduction: ourfocus on classical Attic

Track 2 Stop consonants
Track 3 Other consonants (especially combinations)
Track4 Vowels, short and long (including‘spurious diphthongs’)
Track 5 Diphthongs, short and long
Track 6 Accents
Track 7 Summary and conclusion
Track 8 Sample illustrative sentences, spoken by Dr Philomen Probert

Notes to Pronouncing Ancient Greek

Have these notes to hand as you listen to the talk. They are in sequence with
it and will guide you through the examples and explain the technical terms.
These terms, though not essential for understanding howto pronounce
AncientGreek, are ofgeneral linguistic interest. Sounds marked with * will
receive special attention.
For the sake of clarity, we have not accented the Greek in the notes to the first
five tracks.
Tracki Introduction: ourfocus on
classical Attic
Track 2 Stop consonants
A. Stops
[Technical terms
a. A ‘stop’ is a ‘hard’ consonant, which is
articulated by stopping the airflow prior to
release. The sounds ‘b’ and ‘d’ are stops;
contrast the sound ‘f \ when the air comes out
continuously.
b. ‘Voiced’ means that the vocal chords
vibrate. Put your hand onyourchesttofeel the
vibration; it can also be felt by putting your
fingeron your Adam’s apple.
c. ‘Voiceless’ means there is no vibration.
d. ‘Aspirated’ means with an accompanying
burst of air as the stop is released.]
1. Greek β, γ, δ (‘voiced stops’).
2. Greek π, τ, κ (‘voiceless stops’).
3. *Greek φ, θ, χ (‘voiceless aspirated stops’).
Examples
ούκ, ούχ ‘not’: ούχ Όμηρος ‘not Homer’.
Δάφνη - Latin Dafne/Daphne; Φίλιππος- Latin
Phi lip pus; Κόρινθός - Latin Corinto; Άντιοχος
- Latin Antioco.
τείνω Ί stretch’ vs θεινω Ί strike’ / παντα ‘all
things’ vs φαντα ‘having spoken’.
Track3 Otherconsonants (especially
combinations)
B. Nasals
1. Greek μ and v.
Examples of‘assimilation’ of final v
έν πολει vs έμ πολει ‘in the city’
τον λύκον vs τολ λύκον ‘the wolf’
έν 'Ροδω vs έρ ’Ροδφ ‘in Rhodes’.
2. Greeky like English ‘ng’ before κ, χ, γ.
Examples
Before κ: άγκος ‘bend, hollow’.
Before χ: άγχω ‘I squeeze’.
Before γ: άγγος ‘vessel, container’.
3. *Greekyp as ‘ngm ?
Example
πραγμα ‘deed’.
C. Double consonants
ττ, λλ, κκ (but NOTγγ, see B.2 above).
Examples
άγγελλω Ί announce’ vs άγγελω ‘I will
announce’.
το σάκος ‘the shield’ vs ό σακκος ‘the sack’.
D. Consonant clusters
Greek ψ, ξ and ζ.
Example
Άθηνας-δε = Άθηναζε ‘to Athens’.

Track4 Vowels, short and long

(including ‘spurious diphthongs’)
E. Simple vowels
[Shut your eyes, concentrate and say ‘oar’ (co),
then ‘ee’ (i, as in ‘tea’). Where in the mouth
do these sounds seem to come from? O a r ’ (co)
comes from quite low in the mouth (tongue
low), and towards the back; ‘ee’ (ΐ) from high
in the mouth (tongue raised), and towards
the front. Now say ‘ah’ (ά), as to a doctor. This
comes lowest of all - the doctor wants you to get
yourtongue out of the w ay-an d in the middle.
In this track we start using these technical
terms ‘front’, ‘back’, ‘high/closed’, ‘low/open’
to describe where in the mouth vowel sounds
are made. Linguisticians often use a visual aid
to help us picture the source of the sounds,
the triangle representing a side-on view of the
mouth. As you can see, long i is high and to the
front, ω low and to the back.]

1. Short vowels,
ee.g. T8‘and’
o e.g. το ‘the’
2. Long or short vowels,
ά /α , e.g. τά ‘the’, τάς ‘the’
i / I , e.g. τϊ ‘what?’, τϊμη ‘honour’
ύ/ϋ, (cf. Latin hymnus, Olympia), e.g. σϋ ‘you’,
σϋκον ‘fig’
3. Long vowels,
η, e.g. 6η ‘indeed’
co, e.g. ώ! ‘Ο Ι’
F. ‘Spurious diphthongs’ - in fact, more long
vowels
1. *ει like nee in French, e.g. ειμι Mshall go’.
2. *ου like eau in French, e.g. σπουδή ‘haste’
(σπεύδω Ί hurry’); change in sound suggested
by Boeotian ούπερ for Attic ύπερ ‘on behalf of’,
κουριος for Attic κύριος ‘valid’.
Historical note
At the start of the fifth century, ει was what it
looks like, ε + 1, a true diphthong (that is, a
vowel + a glide, y or w), pronounced like the ey
in English they. By the end of the fifth century,
this diphthong had become a long high vowel,
like thee in French nee‘born’, or the ee in
German Beet ‘flowerbed’. Greek example: είμι
‘I shall go’ changes in pronunciation from eymi
in 500 BC to emi by 400 BC. (The first sound in
ειμι ‘I shall go’ thus comes to be pronounced
just like the first sound of ειμι ‘I am’, which in
500 BC was written έμι and pronounced emi;
the old diphthong ey changes its pronunciation
but keeps its spelling, while the old long vowel
e keeps its pronunciation but changes its
spelling.)
Similarly, the pronunciation of Attic ου changes
in the course of the fifth century BC from the
diphthongo + wtothe long high vowel like that
of French eau ‘water’, or German Boot ‘boat’.
Greek example: σπουδή ‘haste’ (cf. σπεύδω ‘I
hurry’) changes in pronunciation from spowdair
to spodair. Following the Attic fronting o f long
uto long u (E. above), this long high vowel 0
moved higher in the mouth and became longo.
So, in the fourth century, the Boeotians using
the Attic letters for their sounds used ου for u,
short and long, and wrote e.g. ούπερ for Attic
ύπερ ‘on behalf of’, κουριος for Attic κύριος
‘valid’.
Track 5 True diphthongs
G. Short diphthongs
1. αι, as in ‘high’, e.g. ΰΓεεΙίπαλαιστρα, Latin
palosstra.
2. αυ, as in ‘how’, e.g. Greek γλαυκός. Latin
gidiicus] GreekΚλαυδιος, Latin Claudius.
3. oi, as in ‘coin’, e.g. Greek Φοίβος, Latin
Phoebus.
4. *ευ, as in Cockney ‘well’, e.g. Ζευς, ώ Ζευ!
5- υι, e.g. υίος ‘son’.
6. ι, υ between vowels pronounced as double
yy and ww, e.g. ποέιω ‘I do, make’; παύω,
παύομαι Ί stop’; βασιλεύω ll am king’; κελεύω
Ί command’.
H. Long diphthongs
*άι, ωι, τμ (probably pronounced as diphthongs)
e.g. ήμετεράι (‘our’, dative s. fern.), τωι, τηι
(‘the’, dative s. masc., and dat. s. fern.). Our
practice is to pronounce them as long vowels,
without the i ‘glide’.
[Note: long diphthongs are written ήμετερα,
τφ, τη in the Course. This is a convention
observed in virtually all Greek texts; the i is
written ‘subscript’ to distinguish aifrom at. This
was extended by analogy (though not actually
needed) to ωι and ηι.]
Track 6 Accents
I. Accentuation
1. άλλα ‘other things’, αλλά ‘but’, άλλας
‘sausage’.
2. ποιέω Ί make/do’; imperativeποίει‘make/
do!’; third person s. ποιεί‘(s)he makes/does’.
Tracl<7 Summary and conclusion
Remsionrsome important features
1. φ, Θ, x as aspirated stops.
2. γμ, γν as ngm/ngn?
3. ει as nee, ου as eau.
4. ευ as Cockney ‘well’.
5. άι, ηι, ωι or (without pronouncing final iota)
α η φ.
6. άλλα, άλλά, άλλάς.
Track 8 Sample illustrative sentences
Illustrative readings from Reading Greek 1A by
Dr Philomen Probert. Note that the ‘voiceless’
p of ραψωδός in I. 4 is ‘ rolled’. It is voiceless
because It is at the start of the word.
Books on pronunciation
The best source of information on the
pronunciation of Ancient Greek is W. Sidney
Allen, VoxGraeca (third edition, 1987). For
detailed information on our inscriptional
evidence for the spelling and hence the
pronunciation of classical Attic, see Leslie
Threatte’s Grammar of Attic Inscriptions, in two
volumes, I: Phonology (1980), II: Morphology
(1996).
On the accents, see further Vox Graeca chapter
6 and appendix A2; and Philomen Probert, A
New Short Guide to the Accentuation of Ancient Greek
(2003).
C D 1 (conf.)i Tracks 9 -2 8
Excerpts from Reading Greek,
Sections 1 -3
Dramatis personae 2. A -D The glorious past
The readings are spoken by: Cast: As for 1. A-J
Professor David Langslow (The University of Track 20 2A
Manchester), Ian McAuslan, James McKay, Track 21 2B
James Morwood (Wadham College, Oxford), Track 22 2C
Dr Philomen Probert (Wolfson College, Oxford) Track 23 2D
and Dr Peter Jones.1
3. A -E Athens and Sparta
1. A-J The insurance scam Cast: As for 1. A-J, with the addition of Polos JM,
Cast: Narrator PP, Zenothemis IMcA, Dikaiopolis Protarkhos PJ, Nautes (3C) JMcK, Keleustes PJ, Pais
DL, KubernetesJMcK, HegestratosJM, Nautes PJ, PP, Trierarkhos PJ, Keleustes (3E) IMcA.
Rhapsoidos IMcA. Track 24 3A
Track 9 ιΑ (II. 1-7 ) Track 25 3B
Track 10 ιΑ (II. 8—14) Track 26 3C
Track 11 1B Track 27 3D
Track 12 1C Track 28 3E
Track 13 1D
Track 14 1E
Track 15 1F
Track 16 iG
Track 17 1H
Track 18 1I
Track 19 1J
CD 2 (cont.): Tracks 29-57
Excerpts from R eading Greek,
Sections 4, 9 ,10 ,14 -16 ,18 -2 0
4. A -D Lawlessness in Athenian life 14. A -B , E Demosthenes, Against Neaira
Cast: Rhapsoidos IMcA, Dikaiopolis DL, Speaker: DL
NednidsJMcK, Doulos IMcA, Geron JM, Track 40 14A
Saturos JMcK, Kerux PJ, Xenos JM, Narrator PP. Track 41 14B
Track 29 4A Track 42 14E
Track 30 4B
Track 31 4C 15. A -C Euripides, Alkestis
Track 32 4D Cast: Chorus JMcK, Therapaina PP.
Track 43 15A
9. E-H Aristophanes, Wasps Track 44 15B
Cast: Phiiokleon IMcA, Bde\uk\edn JMcK, Track 45 15C
Xanthias DL, SosiasJM, Narrator PP, Kuon PJ.
Track 33 9E 16. A -C , G Demosthenes, Against Mnesiboulos
Track 34 9F and Euergos
Track 35 9G Cast: Narrator PP, Apollodoros IMcA,
Track 36 9H AristarkhosJMcK.
Track 46 16A
10. A -C Aristophanes, Lysistrata Track 47 16B
Cast: NarratorJM, Lusistrate PP, MurrhineJMcK, Track 48 16C
KleonTke IMcA, Lompito DL, Kinesias IMcA, Track 49 16G
Paldlon PJ.
Track 37 10A
Track 38 10B
Track 39 10C
18. A -B Plato, Protagoras
Speaker: DL
Track 50 18A
Track 51 18B

19. A, E -F Herodotus, The Story of Adrastos

Speaker: IMcA
Track 52 19A
Track 53 19E
Track 54 19F

20. D -F Homer, Odyssey 6

Speaker: PP
Track 55 20D
Track 56 20E
Track 57 20F