Eleni's Greek Phrase Book: A Beginner's Guide to Greek Culture and the Greek Language

By Eleni Maria Georgiou

—The Perfect Digital Companion for Learning and Travel—

Do you want to learn how to speak Greek? This book will help you to understand and express the basics quickly and successfully. Designed and written for electronic devices, Eleni's GREEK PHRASE BOOK is the perfect easy-to-use resource for anyone working in or traveling to Greece.

Do you already know a little Greek and want to know more? Use this book to expand your knowledge in different situations, including:

Describing People ׀ Driving ׀ Emergencies ׀ Feelings ׀ Entertainment ׀ Food and Drink ׀ General Conversation ׀ Getting Around ׀ Seeing the Sights ׀ Shopping ׀ Festivals and Events ׀ Public Holidays ׀ Sports and Hobbies ׀ Meeting People ׀ Telling the Time ׀ Vegetarian-Vegan-Gluten Free ׀ Weather

This Greek Phrase Book will be the perfect addition to your device.

You'll find over 1,000 practical and everyday Greek words and phrases. Each word or phrase has 3 parts:

1) Word(s) in English
2) Easy-to-read text spelled in English [in square brackets like this] for correct pronunciation each time (NO phonetic symbols!)
3) The Greek version
Here is an example: pasta [pásta] πάστα

Whether you are traveling for business or learning Greek for pleasure, all you need is ELENI'S GREEK PHRASE BOOK on your device.

This book features:

1. Over 60 Topics Arranged by Theme
2. A Detailed Pronunciation Guide and Transliteration System
3. An introduction to the Greek Alphabet
4. A Word List with Over 600 English-To-Greek Translations
5. Links to Useful Webpages
6. Information about Greek Culture
7. An Ingredient List for Popular Greek Foods and Desserts
8. A History of the Greek Language
9. Tips on Eating Vegetarian, Vegan, and Gluten-Free in Greece
10. A List of Public Holidays and Year-Round Festivals and Events
11. LEARN GREEK Activities
12. What to do in Case of an Emergency
13. A Month-to-Month Guide on Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
14. Information about LGBTQ and Greece
15. A Basic Grammar Section


American spelling and vocabulary is used throughout, however, some common British words have also been included for our UK and other international readers.

Enjoy the book!

Eleni

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lenacke Press
• Release date: Dec 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9786199148228

Eleni Maria Georgiou

Eleni Maria Georgiou is a professional non-fiction writer, copy editor, and proofreader, originally from Toronto, Canada.  Since 2004, she has worked with numerous publishing houses, including Sage Publications, Verso Books, Express Publishing, and New Editions. For more details about her non-fiction Proofreading and Translation services, please visit fixyourenglish.com. For four exciting years, Eleni also co-managed XpatAthens, a website that provides information in English about life in Athens and Greece as well as 'What's On' in the city. This experience inspired her to write her first book, Eleni’s GREEK PHRASE BOOK: A Beginner's Guide to Greek Culture and the Greek Language and she continues to write, think about, and come up with creative and original books to add to the Lenacke Press collection. Check out her new series of Greek-English Parallel Text books called Greek Travel Diaries by 19th-century Writers: Greek-English Parallel Text, Volumes 1-4. Eleni currently lives in Athens, Greece with her family. She is fluent in both English and Greek. Her interests include reading (of course!), listening to podcasts or audiobooks, writing, weight lifting, and hiking. And Netflix. If you have any questions, you can reach Eleni at info [at] lenacke.com.

Book preview

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Eleni’s GREEK PHRASE BOOK!

I wrote this book with the intention of creating a useful, practical, and easy-to-understand source of information about Greek culture and the Greek language. You won’t find any phonetic symbols in the book; just 1) words spelled out in English letters [in square brackets, like this] and 2) an accent to show you which syllable to stress.

Use this guide for correct pronunciation each and every time. Well, at least some of the time! ;)

If you choose to visit Greece, you will discover that most Greeks can speak some English. But, trying to communicate in Greek will not only help you get your point across, it will enhance your experience and endear you to the locals, who will be impressed by your efforts.

So, go ahead and spend some time studying the Greek words and phrases in this book. Before you know it, you will be well on your way to good communication and a wonderful experience with the Greek language.

Ya mas! (Cheers!)

Eleni

THE GREEK ALPHABET

THE GREEK ALPHABET has 24 capital letters and 25 lowercase letters. There are 7 vowels: Αα-Εε-Ηη-Ιι-Οο-Υυ-Ωω and 17 consonants: Ββ-Γγ-Δδ-Ζζ-Θθ-Κκ-Λλ-Μμ-Νν-Ξξ-Ππ-Ρρ-Σσς-Ττ-Φφ-Χχ-Ψψ.

Nine of the capital letters [A, E, Z, I, K, M, N, O, and T] look and sound the same as in English. That leaves just 15 more capital letters to learn!

Here are the letters of the Greek alphabet:

A-α [álfa] άλφα – Pronounced as a in alphabet

B-β [víta] βήτα – Pronounced as v in village

Γ-γ [yáma] γάμα – Pronounced as y in yes

Δ-δ [thélta] δέλτα – Pronounced as th in there

E-ε [épsilon] έψιλον – Pronounced as e in red

Ζ-ζ [zíta] ζήτα – Pronounced as z in zip

H-η [íta] ήτα – Pronounced as e in we (1 of 3)

Θ-θ [thíta] θήτα – Pronounced as th in think

I-ι [yóta] γιώτα – Pronounced as e in we (2 of 3)

K-κ [kápa] κάππα – Pronounced as k in keep

Λ-λ [lámtha] λάμδα – Pronounced as l in love

M-μ [mi] μι – Pronounced as m in man

Ν-ν [ni] νι – Pronounced as n in name

Ξ-ξ [xi] ξι – Pronounced as x in wax

O-ο [ómikron] όμικρον – Pronounced as o in over (1 of 2)

Π-π [pi] πι – Pronounced as p in peer

Ρ-ρ [ro] ρο – Pronounced as r in rain

Σ-σ-ς [síyma] σίγμα – Pronounced as s in sand*

T-τ [taf] ταυ – Pronounced as t in tank

Y-υ [ípsilon] ύψιλον – Pronounced as e in we (3 of 3)

Φ-φ [fi] φι – Pronounced as f in feel

X-χ [hi] xι – Pronounced as h in here

Ψ-ψ [psi] ψι – Pronounced as ps in caps

Ω-ω [oméya] ωμέγα – Pronounced as o in over (2 of 2)

* But pronounced as z—like in the word ‘is’—before the consonants β-γ-δ-λ-μ-ν-ρ

Notes:

The letter Σ [síyma] has two lowercase letters. The first is the medial síyma ‘σ,’—used in any position inside a word— and the second, called the final síyma, looks like this ‘ς’ and is used only at the end of a word.

There are 3 different letters (η, ι and υ) + 2 letter combinations (οι, ει) that make the ‘ee’ sound like in ‘we.’ These sounds will be represented by ‘i’ (not ‘ee’) in the square brackets.

For example: key [klithí] κλειδί

There are 2 different letters that make the ‘oh’ sound (ο and ω).

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

THIS PRONUNCIATION guide is for people who don’t know how to read or speak Greek. The transliteration system— text in square brackets—is based on American English pronunciation. In some cases it may not be 100 percent accurate, but it will be very close. So don’t be afraid to give it a try!

You’ll be happy to know that Greek is a phonetic language. This means that when reading and speaking Greek, you must pronounce all the letters in a word; there are no silent letters, like in English.

TRANSLITERATION

The transliteration system in this book has been designed to help you with your Greek pronunciation. Look for the square brackets to find:

- the English spelling of the Greek words

- how a word should be stressed.

ACCENT

In the square brackets, you will see an accent on the vowel of the syllable that must be stressed. e.g., pentagon [pedáyono] πεντάγωνο

Stress is placed on words with 2 or more syllables. There are some exceptions, though, like πού (where) and πώς (how).

Just like in English, the meaning of a word can change depending on which syllable in a word is stressed. If a Greek word begins with a vowel and is capitalized, it is accented like this: Ά, Έ, Ή, Ί, Ό, Ύ, Ώ. But, for words written in all capital letters we don’t use stress marks.

VOWELS

α – Sounds like bat, not but

ε – Sounds like red, not reed

ι, η, υ – Sounds like meet, not mitt

ο, ω – Sounds like no, not got

DIPHTHONG VOWELS

αι – Pronounced as ‘e’ in red

ει – Pronounced as ‘e’ in we

οι – Pronounced as ‘e’ in we

ου – Pronounced as ‘oo’ in cool

αυ-ευ-ηυ – Before the consonants θ-κ-ξ-π-σ-τ-φ-χ-ψ, these diphthongs are pronounced as af-ef-if respectively.

Before the consonants β-γ-δ-ζ-λ-μ-ν-ρ or a vowel, these diphthongs are pronounced as av-ev-iv respectively.

THE LETTERS A AND I

In some Greek words, the letters ‘α’ and ‘ι’ are paired up but are meant to be pronounced separately. In this case, you will see a double accent mark (ï). So, in the transliteration, if you see ‘ai’, it is meant to sound like ‘aee’ in ice.

e.g., European [evropaikó] ευρωπαϊκό

THE LETTERS O AND I

In some Greek words the letters ‘o’ and ‘i’ are paired but are meant to be pronounced separately. So, if you see ‘oi’ in a word in square brackets, it is meant to sound like the ‘oy’ in ‘ahoy.’

e.g., breakfast [proinó] πρωινό

PAIRS OF CONSONANTS

γγ – Sounds like g in gum

γχ – Sounds like nh in enhance τσ – Sounds like ts in nuts or child τζ – Sounds like j in jeans

ντ – Sounds like d in drill OR nd in and

γκ – Sounds like g in gum OR ng in English but not angel μπ – Sounds like b in bat OR mb in number

Δ (THÉLTA) + Θ (thíta)

In the transliteration, when I want you to pronounce the ‘th’ as in ‘then,’ you will see: dollar [tholário] δολάριο.

When I want you to pronounce the ‘th’ as in ‘thanks,’ the ‘th’ in the square brackets will be underlined: sea [thálasa] θάλασσα.

Σ (SÍYMA)

In Greek, the síyma usually sounds like ‘s’ as in ‘sit:’ pasta [pásta] πάστα.

But, when the letter síyma is followed by a voiced consonant—β, γ, δ, μ, ν, ρ—the ‘σ’ is pronounced ‘z’ as in ‘is,’ like this: broken [spazména] σπασμένα.

Σ (SÍYMA) + Χ (HI)

In Greek, the ‘s’ and ‘h’ sounds are frequently paired together but are pronounced separately; meaning, they do not combine to create a new sound like ‘sh‘ in the word shape.

So when you see sch together in a word in square brackets, pretend that the c is silent. Then pronounce the s and h separately. For example: shape [schíma] σχήμα

Two Same-Letter Consonants

Wherever there are two same-letter consonants in a Greek word, you will see one letter in the transliteration for simplicity’s sake: sea [thálasa] θάλασσα

The question mark: Instead of ? the Greeks use a semi-colon ;

ABOUT GREEKS

GREEKS ARE GENERALLY considered friendly, talkative, and loud people. They make direct eye

Reviews for Eleni's Greek Phrase Book

[Nomayne McIntosh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent cultural information and helpful common phrases needed for tourists.