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Greek alphabet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greek alphabet
Greekalphabet.svg
Type
Alphabet
Languages
Greek
Time period
c. 800 BCE present[1]
Parent systems
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Proto-Sinaitic alphabet
Phoenician alphabet
Greek alphabet
Child systems
Gothic Glagolitic Cyrillic Coptic Armenian Old Italic Latin
Direction
Left-to-right
ISO 15924
Grek, 200
Unicode alias
Greek
Unicode range
U+0370U+03FF Greek and Coptic
U+1F00U+1FFF Greek Extended
The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the 8th centu
ry BC.[2] It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet,[3] and was the fi
rst alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as well as consonants.
It is the ancestor of the Latin and Cyrillic scripts.[4] Apart from its use in
writing the Greek language, in both its ancient and its modern forms, the Greek
alphabet today also serves as a source of technical symbols and labels in many d
omains of mathematics, science and other fields.
In its classical and modern forms, the alphabet has 24 letters, ordered from alp
ha to omega. Like Latin and Cyrillic, Greek originally had only a single form of
each letter; it developed the letter case distinction between upper-case and lo
wer-case forms in parallel with Latin during the modern era.
Sound values and conventional transcriptions for some of the letters differ betw
een Ancient Greek and Modern Greek usage, because the pronunciation of Greek has
changed significantly between the 5th century BC and today. Modern and Ancient
Greek use different diacritics. The traditional orthography, which is used for A
ncient Greek and sometimes for Modern Greek, has many diacritics, such as accent
marks for pitch accent ("polytonic"), the breathing marks for the presence and
absence of the initial /h/ sound, and the iota subscript for the final historica
l /i/ sound. In standard Modern Greek spelling, orthography has been simplified
to the monotonic system, which uses only two diacritics: the acute accent and di
aeresis.
Contents [hide]
1
Letters
1.1
Sound values
1.2
Digraphs and letter combinations
1.3
Diacritics

1.4
Romanization
2
History
2.1
Origins
2.2
Archaic variants
2.3
Letter names
2.4
Letter shapes
3
Derived alphabets
4
Other uses
4.1
Use for other languages
4.1.1 Antiquity
4.1.2 Middle Ages
4.1.3 Early modern
4.2
In mathematics and science
4.3
Astronomy
4.4
International Phonetic Alphabet
4.5
Use as numerals
4.6
Use in naming student fraternities and sororities
5
Glyph variants
6
Computer encodings
6.1
ISO/IEC 8859-7
6.2
Greek in Unicode
6.2.1 Combining and letter-free diacritics
6.3
Encodings with a subset of the Greek alphabet
7
See also
8
References
9
Bibliography
10
External links
Letters
Letter Name
Sound
Ancient[5]
Modern[6]
lph ,
[ ] [ ]
[ ]


[b]
[v]

et ,

 mm ,
[], [][7]
[] ~ [],
[][8] ~ [][9]

[]
[]
el ,

[e]
psilon, [e]

et ,
[zd]A [z]

[]
[i]
 ,

thet ,
[ ]
[]

[] []
[i], [],[10] [][11]
o ,

 pp ,
[k]
[k] ~ [c]

[l]
m
d , [l]

mu, [m]
[m]
A Or [dz].[12]
Lr N m
So
nd
Ancin[5]
Modrn[6]

[n]
u, [n]

[s]
i, [s]

micr ,
[ ]
[ ]

[p]
i, [p]

[]
ho, []
/[13]
[s]
[s]
igm ,

[]
[]
 u,

[i]

psilon, [y] [y]

hi, [p ]

[f]

[x] ~ []
h, [ ]

ps, [ps]
[ps]

ome ,
[]
[ ]
S ud v ue
M i rtic e: Greek rth gr hy

urther i rm ti : M er  rticu ti 

I
th Aciet d M der Greek, the etter  the Greek h
et h ve  ir y
t
e d c itet ym
-t - ud m ig, m kig r uci ti   w rd
rge y redict
e. Aciet Greek e ig w  geer y e r-h emic.  r
um

er  etter,  ud v ue dier c ider
y
etwee Aciet d M der Gree
k,
ec ue their r uci ti  h   wed et  ytem tic h  gic hi
t th t ected the gu ge i it  t-c ic t ge.[14]
Am g c   t etter, etter th t de ted v iced  ive c   t (/
,
d, g/) d ir ted  ive (/ , t , k /) i Aciet Greek t d  r c rre dig
ric tive  ud i M der Greek. The c rre dece re   w:

 rmer v iced  ive  rmer ir te

etter Aciet M der etter Aciet M der

i
/
/
/v/

/ /
//
Det
//
//

/ /
//
Dos l
//
[] ~ []

/ /
[x] ~ []
mon he voel smbols, oen ee soun v lues efle he   l smplf
on of he voel ssem of pos-l ss l ee, men mulple fomel s
n voel phonemes no muh sm lle numbe. hs le s o seve l oups of
voel lees enon en l souns o . oen ee oho ph em ns
ue o he hso l spellns n mos of hese  ses. s
onseuene, he
spellns of os n oen ee e ofen no pe ble fom he ponun 
on lone, hle he evese m ppn, fom spelln o ponun on, s usu ll
eul  n pe ble.
he follon voel lees n  phs

e nvolve n he mees:

Lee nen oen Lee nen oen

> i

>



()
e

> 


() > y
A

o > 
 > y

M der Greek e ker tyic y ue the  me, m der,  ud-ym
m ig i r
e dig Greek  hit ric t ge. I ther c utrie, tudet  Aciet G
reek m y ue v riety  c veti  r xim ti   the hit ric  ud y
tem i r  ucig Aciet Greek.

Digr h d etter c m
i ti 

Sever etter c m
i ti  h ve eci c veti   ud v ue dieret r
m th e  their ig e c m et. Am g them re ever digr h  v we et
ter th t  rmer y rereeted dihth g
ut re  w m  hth gied. I dditi
 t the three meti ed
ve (, , ) ( n n some  ses he nen ee , fo
here i  , ponoune /u/. he nen ee phhons , n e po
 [v] espevel n von envonmens n oen ee (o len vel s
[ f], [ef] n [f] espevel n evon envonmens). he oen ee 
onson n ombn ons n s n fo [b] n [] (o [mb] n [n]) espevel;
o [z] n s ns fo [s]. n on, boh n nen n oen ee, he le
e , befoe nohe vel  onson n, s ns fo he vel  n s l []; hus n
 le nlsh g. (n loousl o n , s lso use o s n fo [].) h
ombn ons n .
D s
 n le: ee  s
n he polon oho ph  on ll use fo nen ee, he sesse
voel of e h o  es one of hee en m s: ehe he ue en (),
he  ve en (), o he umflex en ( o ). hese sns ee on ll e
sne o m  ffeen foms of he phonolo l ph en n nen ee

. B he me he use be me onvenon l n obl o n ee n, n
l e nu, ph en  s evolvn no snle sess en, n hus
he hee sns h ve no oespone o phonolo l snon n u l sp
eeh eve sne. n on o he en m s, eve o-n l voel mus
  ehe of o so- lle "be hn m s": he ouh be hn (), m n
n /h/ soun  he bennn of o, o he smooh be hn (), m n s
bsene. he lee ho (), lhouh no voel, lso  es
ouh be hn
o, he fs l s
n o-n l poson. f
ho  s emn e hn
h  he smooh be hn n he seon he ouh be hn () le n o he 
nsle on h.

he voel lees , ,   n on l   n e n os, he so- lle
o subsp, hh h s he sh pe of sm ll ve l soe o mn ue belo
 he lee. hs o epesens he fome offle of h  ee on ll l
on phhons, , , (.e. / i, i, i/), which
ec me m  hth gied durig 
A ther di critic ued i Greek i the di erei (), idic tig

hi tu.

I 1982, ew, im iied rth gr hy, k w  "m  t ic", w  d ted  r 

ici ue i M der Greek
y the Greek t te. It ue  y ig e ccet m rk
, the cute (  k w i thi c text  t  , i.e. im y " ccet"), m rkig
the treed y
e   yy
ic w rd, d cc i  y the di erei t
ditiguih dihth g r m digr h re dig i  ir  v we etter. The 
yt ic ytem i ti c veti  y ued  r writig Aciet Greek, whi e i 
me
k ritig d geer y i the u ge  c erv tive writer it c  ti

e  ud i ue  r M der Greek.

R m i ti 
M i rtic e: R m i ti   Greek
There re m y dieret meth d  rederig Greek text r Greek  me i the 
ti crit. The  rm i which c ic Greek  me re c veti  y redered
i g ih g e
ck t the w y Greek w rd were ic r r ted it  ti i
tiuity. I thi ytem, s epl e h c, he phhons n e en
o ,) espevel; n n e smplfe o i n u espevel. n mo
e on of nen ee, ll usu ll be enee s k, n he voel ombn on
s , , , s i, i, ei, u espevel. he lees n e ene ll
 ch o kh; n o-n l s rh.
Fo oen ee, hee e mulple ffeen  nspon onvenons. he 
ffe el, epenn on he pupose, on ho lose he s  o he onven
on l lee oesponenes of nen ee-b se  nspon ssems, n o
h  eee he emp ehe n ex  lee-b-lee  nsle on o 
phone ll b se  nspon.  n ze fom l  nspon sse
he
ms h ve been efne b he nen on l  nz on fo  n z on ( s 
 843),[15] b he ne N ons oup of xpes on eo ph l N mes,[16] b
 he Lb  of !oness,[17] n ohes.

"so
 n le: "so of he ee
ns

lph be

Dplon nspon, one of he oles non s mples of he use of he ee lp
h be, . 740 B!
Dun he en e n peo, fom oun he 16h enu o he 12h enu B!
, Lne  B  s use o e he e les ese fom of he ee l nu e, 
non s en e n ee. hs n ssem, unel e o he ee lph be, l
s ppe e n he 13h enu B!. n he l e 9h enu B! o e l 8h en
u B!, he ee lph be emee.[18] he peo beeen he mes of he o
n ssems, fom hh no ee exs e ese, s  lle he ee D
 es. he ees ope he lph be fom he e le Phoen n lph be, o

ne of he losel el e sps use fo he Wes em l nu es. When he
Phoen n lph be  s ope fo n ee, e n Phoen n onson n
lees ee ope o e voels. hs fe ue m es ee he fs lph be
 n he n o sense,[4] s snushe fom he bj s use fo he em
l nu es, hh onl h ve lees fo onson ns.[19]

ee n ll oo ove ll of he 22 lees of Phoen n. Fve of hem ee
e ssne o enoe voel souns: he le onson ns /j/ (oh) n // ( 
) ee use fo [] (, o ) n [u] (, upslon) espevel; he lo l sop o
nson n // (' leph)  s use fo [ ] (, lph ); he ph ne l // ( n)  s une
no [o] (, omon); n he lee fo /h/ (he)  s une no [e] (, epslon).
 ouble of    s lso booe s onson n fo [] (,  mm ). n 
on, he Phoen n lee fo he emph  lo l // (heh)  s booe n o
ffeen funons b ffeen  les of ee: s lee fo /h/ (, he )
b hose  les h  h  suh soun, n s n on l voel lee fo 
he lon // (, et )
y th e di ect th t cked the c   t. vetu y, eve
th v we etter  r the g // (, ome )  s noue.
ee lso noue hee ne onson n lees fo s sp e plosve soun
s n onson n luses: (p#i) for /p /, (c#i) for / / nd (psi) for /ps/. n s
rn Gr v ri ns,  s ins d
sd for /s/ nd for / / T# oriin of #s l
rs is m r of som db .
P#onici n
Gr
P#onici n lp#.sv
lp#
$h eici 
eth.vg

eth
$h eici  gime .vg
gime
//
Phoen n  leh.sv
 leh
Phoen n he.sv
he
/e/, /e/[20]
$h eici  w w.vg
w w
)
//
Phoen n z n.sv
z n
P#onici n ##.sv
##
$h eici  teth.vg
teth
$h eici  y dh.vg
y dh
k h
$h eici  k h.vg
P#onici n l md#.sv
l md#
$h eici  mem.vg
mem
Phoen n nun.sv
nun
Greek
$h eici 
$h eici   mekh.vg  mekh
P#onici n in.sv
n
20]
$h eici  e.vg
e
$h eici   de.vg
de
$h eici   h.vg
 h
$h eici  re.vg
re
P#onici n sin.sv
in
Phoen n  .sv
 
Phoen n  .sv
( )
/u/, /u/

Greek $hi rch ic.vg

Greek Chi  rm .vg

Gr Psi sr i#.sv

Gr Om norm l.sv

//
/
/
//

ee lph 03.sv

Greek %et 16.vg

ee  mm
h  1.sv

lph

et

/ /, / /
/
/
 mm

//
/h/

ee Del 04.sv

ee pslon h .sv

el

//
epslon

/w/

Greek Dig mm
iue.vg

( mm

/z/
//
/t/
/j/
/k/
/l/
/m/
/n/

ee
ee
Greek
Greek
Greek
Gr
Greek
ee

mu
u

z
e
thet
io
 pp
m
d
/m/
//

[zd](?)
/h/, //
/t /
/i/, /i/
//
/ /

//
//

Greek Xi rch ic.vg

ee mon 04.sv

/s/
i
omon /o/, /o/[

//
//
//
/r/
//
//
//

Greek
Greek
Greek
Greek
Gr
ee
ee

hi
c#i
psi
ome

Ze h .sv

 h .sv
Thet rch ic.vg
I t  rm .vg
K   rm .vg
L mbd 09.sv
Mu 04.vg
Nu 01.sv

$i rch ic.vg
S  02.vg
K   rm .vg
Rh  ited.vg
Sim norm l.sv

 u nom l.sv
pslon nom l.sv
/ /
/ /
/ps/
//

//
i
( ) //
(k  ) /k/
r#o
/r/
sm
/s/
//
 u

upslon

 r y Greek h
et   ttery i the & ti  Arch e gic Mueum  Athe

Three  the rigi $h eici  etter dr ed ut  ue
e re the h
et
t k it c ic h e: the etter
( ), which h d
ee i c metiti  with (
sm ) enon he s me phoneme /s/; he lee (opp ), hh  s eun n 
h ( pp ) fo //, n ( mm ), hose soun v lue // oppe ou of he spo
en l nu e befoe o un he l ss l peo.
ee  s on ll en peomn nl fom h o lef, jus le Phoen
n
 n, bu sbes oul feel len e beeen eons. Fo
me,
 sle h len n h-o-lef n lef-o-h lnes ( lle bousoph
eon, le ll "ox-unn", fe he m nne of n ox plouhn fel)  s 
ommon, unl n he l ss l peo he lef-o-h n eon be me
he nom. nvu l lee sh pes ee moe epenn on he n e
on of he uen lne.
h  v  ns
 n le: h  ee lph bes
hee ee n ll numeous lo l v  ns of he ee lph be, hh ffe
e n he use n non-use of he on l voel n onson n smbols n seve
 l ohe fe ues.  fom of esen ee n ve o uboe , hh mon ohe
hns h  fo /s/,  s  nspl ne o  l b e l ee olonss, n be
me he neso of he l  l lph bes n ulm el, houh us n, o
f he L n lph be. hens use lo l fom of he lph be unl he 5h en
u B!;  l e he lees n s ell s he voel smbols n . he l ss
l 24-lee lph be h  be me he nom l e  s on ll he lo l lph b
e of on ; hs  s ope b hens n 403 B! une hon ulees n n
mos ohe p s of he ee-spe n ol un he 4h enu B!.
Lee n mes
When he ees  pe he Phoen n lph be, he oo ove no onl he le
e sh pes n soun v lues, bu lso he n mes b hh he seuene of he lp
h be oul be ee n memoze. n Phoen n, e h lee n me  s o
h  be n h he soun epesene b h  lee; hus leph, he o fo "
ox",  s use s he n me fo he lo l sop //, be, o "house", fo he /b/ s
oun, n so on. When he lees ee ope b he ees, mos of he Phoen
 n n mes ee m n ne o mofe slhl o f ee phonolo; hus, le
ph, be, mel be me lph , be ,  mm .

he ee n mes of he follon lees e moe o less s hfo  onn
u ons of he Phoen n neeens. Beeen nen n oen ee he h
ve em ne l el unh ne, exep h  he ponun on h s folloe e
ul  soun h nes lon h ohe os (fo ns ne, n he n me of be , n
en /b/ eul l h ne o moen /v/, n nen // t m der /i/, reu tig
i the m der r uci ti  vit ). The  me  m
d i tteted i e r y  ur
ce  beses ;[21] n oen ee he spelln s ofen , eflen p
, o s somemes spelle n oen ee ([] s onvenon ll  nsbe {,
 ll n nevo l ll befoe b  voels n / /). n he  bles belo, he
ee n mes of ll lees e ven n he  on l polon spelln; 
n moen p e, le h ll ohe os, he e usu ll spelle n he s
mplfe monoon ssem.
ee lph be
N 0:00
he n mes of he lees n spoen  n  oen ee
Poblems pl n hs fle? ee me help.
Lee N me
Ponun on
Phoen n on l
ee
nlsh ee (nen) ee (oen) nlsh
eh
h

[  ] [  ] itei/ /

b#
b
[bt ] [vit ] /
it/, US /
et/

mel  mm
[ mm ] [ m ] /m/

d l# dl
[dl ] [e t ]
/dl/

[#t ], [t ] [it ] /it/, US /et/

##


[ t ]
[it ] /it/, US itei/et/
#
#

od#
io
[it ] [o ] Lsen/ t/

k h
k 
[k  ] [k  ] itei/k/
itei/ md/

l meh l mb
[l mb ]
[ m ]
itei/mju/; cc i  y US /mu/

mem
mu
[m] [mi]

nun
nu
[n] [i]
/ju/ (US /u/)

r
r#o
[r] [r ]
itei/r /

[ u] [ f] /t / r /t/
 
 u
I the c e  the three hit ric i
i t etter
e w, the c rre dece

etwee $h eici  d Aciet Greek i e c e r, with  ret mim tche
t
h i etter  me d  ud v ue. The e r y hit ry  thee etter ( d the
 urth i
i t etter,
 ete  ) h 
ee m tter   me de
te. "ere t
, the ch ge i the r uci ti   the etter  me
etwee Aciet d M der
 Greek re regu r.

etter & me
$r uci ti 
$h eici  rigi
Greek
g ih Greek (Aciet) Greek (M der) g ih

z in z
[dzt ]
[it ] /it/, US /et/

, s m# i
[s] [ki] / /, /k /

n
sm
[sm ] [im ]
/m/
I the  wig gr u  c   t etter, the der  rm  the  me i Ac
iet Greek were e ed with -, indic in n oriin l pron
nci ion i# -. n Mod
rn Gr #s n ms r splld i# -.

Lee N me
Ponun on
ee nlsh ee (nen) ee (oen) nlsh

, i
[s] [ki] / /, /k /

, pi
[p] [i]
/ /

, p#i
[p ] [i]
/ /

, c#i
[ ] [i]
itei/k /

, psi
[ps] [i] / /, itei/ /
The  wig gr u  v we etter were rigi y c ed im y
y their  u
d v ue  g v we : , , , nd . he moen n mes on n jev l u lfe
s h  ee e un he Bz nne peo, o snush beeen lees h
 h  beome onfus ble. hus, he lees n , ponoune en ll b hs m
, ee  lle o mon ("sm ll o") n o me ("b o") espevel. he lee
 s  lle e pslon ("pl n e") o snush  fom he en ll ponoune
 ph , hle, sml l, , hh  hs me  s ponoune [],  s  lle  p
on ("pl n ") o snush  fom he en ll ponoune  ph .

Lee N me
Ponun on
ee (nen) ee (eev l)
ee (oen) nlsh ee (nen)
ee (oen) nlsh

ei  [e]
[ei ]
/ps ln/, som ' /p
itei/m rn/,

micr  [ ]
[ mikr ]

ui  [u], [y]

[ii ]
/ju /, / 

ome
[]
[ me ]
 /o me/, tr diti 
S me di ect  the Aege  d Cyri t h ve ret ied g c   t d r  u
ce [ m ] d [k  ];  , # s com o b prono
ncd [it ] i Cyri t.[22]

etter h e
A 16th-cetury editi  
y C ude G r m d
ike  ti d ther h
 e ch etter, with ut
ticti  i  i v ti 

the &ew Tet met, rited i

re i ce tye ce

etic crit, Greek rigi y h d  y

ig e  rm
diticti 
etwee uerc e d werc e. Thi di
 the m der er , dr wig  dieret ie  deve

 met  the etter h e i e r ier h dwritig.

The det  rm  the etter i tiuity re m jucu e  rm. %eide the u
right, tr ight icriti   rm (c it )  ud i t e c rvig r icie
d  ttery, m re  uet writig ty e d ted  r h dwritig   t m teri 
were  deve ed durig tiuity. Such h dwritig h 
ee reerved eeci
y r m  yru m ucrit i gyt ice the "e eitic eri d. Aciet h 
dwritig deve ed tw ditict ty e: uci writig, with c reu y dr w, r
uded
ck etter 
ut eu ie, ued 
k h d  r c reu y r du
ced iter ry d re igi u m ucrit, d curive writig, ued  r everyd y 
ur e.[23] The curive  rm r ched the ty e  werc e etter  rm, w
ith ceder d deceder,  we  m y c ectig ie d ig ture
et
wee etter.
I the 9th d 10th cetury, uci
k h d were re ced with ew, m re c
m ct writig ty e, with etter  rm  rt y d ted r m the e r ier curive.[
23] Thi miucu e ty e rem ied the d mi t  rm  h dwritte Greek it th
e m der er . Durig the Re i ce, weter riter d ted the miucu e et
ter  rm  werc e rited tye ce, whi e m de ig uerc e etter  t
he ciet icriti   rm. The rth gr hic r ctice  uig the etter c
e diticti   r m rkig r er  me, tit e etc. deve ed i  r e t th
e r ctice i  ti d ther weter gu ge.
Icriti 
M ucrit
M der rit
Arch ic C ic
Uci Miucu e
 werc e
Uerc e
Greek A h 03.vg
Greek A h c ic .vg
Greek uci A h .vg
Greek miucu e A h .vg

ee Be 16.sv

ee Be l ss l.sv
ee un l Be .sv
ee mnusule Be .sv

Greek G mm rch ic 1.vg

Greek G mm c ic .vg
Greek uci G m
m .vg Greek miucu e G mm .vg

ee Del 04.sv

ee Del l ss l.sv
ee un l Del .sv
ee mnusule Del .sv

ee pslon h .sv

ee pslon l ss l.sv
ee un l ps
ee mnusule pslon.sv

lon.sv
Gr ( rc# ic.sv Gr ( cl ssic l.sv
Gr
nci l ( .sv
Gr min
sc
l ( .sv

Greek t rch ic.vg Greek t c ic .vg Greek uci t .vg

Greek mi

ucu e t .vg
Gr T#
rc# ic.sv Gr T# cl ssic l.sv
Gr
nci l T# .sv
Gr min
sc
l T# .sv

Gr o norm l.sv

Gr o cl ssic l.sv
Gr
nci l o .sv
Gr min
sc
l o .sv

ee ' pp nom l.sv ee ' pp l ss l.sv

ee un l ' pp .sv
ee mnusule ' pp .sv

ee L mb 09.sv

ee L mb l ss l.sv
ee un l L mb .sv
ee mnusule L mb .sv

Greek Mu 04.vg Greek Mu c ic .vg Greek uci Mu.vg

Greek miucu e
Mu.vg

ee Nu 01.sv ee Nu l ss l.sv ee un l Nu.sv

ee mnusule
Nu.sv

Greek Xi rch ic.vg

Greek Xi c ic .vg Greek uci Xi.vg
Greek mi

ucu e Xi.vg
Gr Omicron 04.sv
Gr Omicron cl ssic l.sv
Gr
nci l Omicron.sv
Gr min
sc
l Omicron.sv

Greek $i rch ic.vg

Greek $i c ic .vg Greek uci $i.vg
Greek mi

ucu e $i.vg
Greek Rh  ited.vg Greek Rh c ic .vg Greek uci Rh .vg
Greek mi

ucu e Rh .vg
ee m nom l.sv ee m l ss l.sv
ee un l m .sv

ee mnusule m .sv

ee  u nom l.sv

ee  u l ss l.sv ee
nusule  u.sv

ee pslon nom l.sv

ee pslon l ss
ee mnusule pslon.sv

lon.sv
Gr P#i 03.sv
Gr P#i rc# ic.sv
Gr
n
sc
l P#i.sv

Greek Chi  rm .vg

Greek Chi c ic .vg Greek

ucu e Chi.vg
ee Ps s h.sv ee Ps l ss l.sv ee
nusule Ps.sv

ee me nom l.sv ee me l ss l.sv

ee mnusule me .sv

Deve lph bes

un l  u.sv

ee m

ee un l ps
l.sv

Gr mi

nci l P#i.sv
uci Chi.vg

Greek mi

un l Ps.sv

ee m

ee un l me .sv

he e les us n bee um, fom  sl n 'lben , sll lmos en
 l h onempo neous h  ee lph bes
 p e fom he !oex eneus, 6h-enu bble m nusp n oh
he ee lph be  s he moel fo v ous ohes:[4]
he L n lph be, oehe h v ous ohe nen sps n  l, ope
 fom n h  fom of he ee lph be bouh o  l b ee olonss
n he l e 8h enu B!, v us n
he oh lph be, evse n he 4h enu D o e he oh l nu e,
b se on ombn on of ee n L n moels[24]
he l ol lph be, evse n he 9h enu D fo n l !huh l
von
he !ll sp, hh epl e he l ol lph be shol fe s
possble neso of he men n lph be, hh n u
 s lso onsee
n nfluene he evelopmen of he eo n lph be.[25]
he uses
se fo ohe l nu es
p  fom he  uhe lph bes lse bove, hh ee  pe fom ee bu
 evelope no sep  e n ssems, he ee lph be h s lso been op
e  v ous mes n n v ous pl es o e ohe l nu es.[26] Fo som
e of hem, on l lees ee noue.
nu
os of he lph bes of s no, n use . 800300 B! o e l nu es le
L n n Ph n, ee he e l ee lph be h onl slh mof on
s s ee he on l l  l lph bes.
ome P leo-B l n l nu es, nlun h  n. Fo ohe nehbon l nu es
o  les, suh s nen  eon n, sol e os e peseve n ee
exs, bu no onnuous exs e peseve.
he eo-be n lph be  s use fo n he nen be n l nu e n
p s of moen p n.
 ulsh nspons (n moen F ne) use he ee lph be unl he )om n
onues
he "ebe n  m  ex of he Bble  s en n ee lees n en'
s "ex pl .
he B  n l nu e, n  n n l nu e spoen n h  s no fh ns n, 
s en n he ee lph be un he 'ush n mpe (65250 D).  s n e
x lee fo he sh soun [].[27]
T# !opic lp# b dds i# lrs drivd from Dmoic.  is sill
sd o
d , mosl in p, o ri !opic, # li
ric l l n
 of pi n !#ris
i ns. Lrs
s
ll r in n
nci l form diffrn from # forms
sd for G
r od .
Middl As

An 8#-cn
r Ar bic fr mn prsrvs  in # Gr lp# b.
An Old Ossic inscripion of # 10-12c AD fo
nd in Arz, # olds non 
s ion of n Ossic l n
.
T# Old N
bi n l n
 of M 
ri (modrn S
d n) dds #r !opic lrs, o
lrs drivd from Mroiic scrip, nd
dir p# of o Gr  mm s
sd fo
r # vl r n s l so
nd.
V rio
s So
# Sl vic di lcs, simil r o # modrn B
l ri n nd M cdoni n l
n
s, # v bn rin in Gr scrip.[28][29][30][31] T# modrn So
# Sl
vic l n
s no
s modifid !rillic lp# bs.
 rl modrn
18# cn
r il p  of boo prind in ' r m nli T
ris#
T
ris# spon b Or#odo !#risi ns (' r m nlids)  s ofn rin in Gr
scrip, nd c lld ' r m nlidi .
Tos Alb ni n  s ofn rin
sin # Gr lp# b, s rin in bo
 1500
.[32] T# prinin prss  Mosc#opolis p
blis#d svr l Alb ni n s in Gr
 scrip d
rin # 18# cn
r.   s onl in 1908 #  # Mon sir confrn
c s nd rdizd L in or#or p# for bo# Tos nd G#. Gr spllin is s
ill occ sion ll
sd for # loc l Alb ni n di lcs (Arv nii ) in Grc.
Arom ni n (Vl c#) # s bn rin in Gr c# r crs. T#r is no  s nd
rdizd or#or p# for Arom ni n, b
 i pp rs #  on b sd on # )om ni n
or#or p# ill b dopd.
G 
z,
T
ric l n
 of # nor# s B l ns.
S
r
c#, T
ric l n
 spon b
sm ll ro
p of Or#odo !#risi ns in nor
#rn Grc.
r
m or Gr T  r.
Pom  l n
 in Wsrn T#r c.
n m #m ics nd scinc
M in ricl: Gr lrs
sd in m #m ics, scinc, nd ninrin
Gr smbols r r diion ll
sd s n ms in m #m ics, p#sics nd o#r
scincs. M n smbols # v r diion l
ss, s
c# s lor c s psilon () for
n rbir ril sm ll posiiv n
mbr, lor c s pi ()  r the r ti  the circum
erece 
circ e t it di meter, c it igm () fo summ on, n loe 
se sm ()  r t d rd devi ti .
Atr  my
M i rtic e: % yer deig ti 
Greek etter re ued t de te the
righter t r withi e ch  the eighty-ei
ght c te ti . I m t c te ti  the
rightet t r i deig ted A h
d the ext
rightet %et etc.  r ex m e, the
rightet t r i the c te
ti   Cet uru i k w  A h Cet uri. " wever,  r hit ric re  
, the Greek deig ti    me c te ti 
egi with
wer r ked etter
.
Iter ti  $h etic A h
et
Sever Greek etter re ued  h etic ym
 i the Iter ti  $h etic
A h
et (I$A).[33] Sever  them de te ric tive c   t; the ret t d
 r v ri t  v we  ud. The g yh h e ued  r thee etter i eci
ied h etic  t i  metime  ight y dieret r m the c veti  h e
 i Greek ty gr hy r er, with g yh tyic y
eig m re uright d uig
eri, t m ke them c  rm m re with the ty gr hic ch r cter  ther, 
ti-
ed etter i the h etic h
et. &everthe e, i the Uic de ec di
g t d rd, the  wig three h etic ym
 re c idered the  me ch r ct
er  the c rre dig Greek etter r er:

U+03%2 v iced
i
i ric tive

et

thet
U+03%8 v ice e det ric tive

+03!7 voeless uvul  f ve

h
n he ohe h n, he follon phone lees h ve noe epesen ons s
ep  e fom he ee lph be use, ehe be use he onvenon l po

 ph sh pe s oo ffeen fom he on l, o be use he lso h ve seon
  uses s eul  lph be h  es n some L n-b se lph bes, nlu
n sep  e L n uppe se lees sn fom he ee ones.

ee lee
Phone lee ppe se

U+0278  ti m etter hi V ice e
i
i ric tive

hi
 mm

+0263 L n sm ll lee  mm

Voe vel  f ve

+025B L in sm ll lr opn 

psilon
( li s: psilon)
Opn-mid fron
nro
ndd vol +0190

lp#

+0251 L in sm ll lr lp#

Opn b c
nro
ndd vol
+2!6D

psilon

+028A L in sm ll lr

psilon
n r-clos n r-b c ro
nd
+01B1
l

+0269 L n sm ll lee o bsolee fo ne -lose ne -fon

o
ne voel no
U+0196
The ym
i Americ it h etic  t ti   r the v ice e ve r ter 
ric tive i the Greek etter m
d , bu n he P. he P smbol fo he p l  l
l e l ppoxm n s , hh loos sml  o l mb , bu s u ll n nvee
loe se .
on ll, noe on ns h  s no use n P. noe 8.0 ll  , , , ,
n
fo use n em n n f n l nu es.

se s nume ls
 n le: ee nume ls
ee lees ee lso use o e numbes. n he l ss l on n ssem, 
he fs nne lees of he lph be soo fo he numbes fom 1 o 9, he nex
 nne lees soo fo he mulples of 10, fom 10 o 90, n he nex nne l
ees soo fo he mulples of 100, fom 100 o 900. Fo hs pupose, n 
on o he 24 lees hh b h  me m e up he s n  lph be, hee
ohese obsolee lees ee e ne o evve:  mm fo 6, opp fo 90,
  e on n lee fo [ss], o   lle s mp , fo 900. hs ssem h s em
ne n use n ee up o he pesen  , lhouh o   s onl emploe f
o lme puposes suh s enume n h pes n boo, sml  o he   )
om n nume ls e use n nlsh. he hee ex smbols e o  en s , n
espevel. o m 
lee s nume l sn, sm ll soe  lle e  s
e o he h of .

lph

et
 mm
el
psilon
dig mm
et

#
o
 pp
m
d
mu
u
i
micr 
i
k 
ho
igm
 u

psilon

1
2
3
4
5
(tigm )
7
8
9
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
200
300
400

hi
h
ps
ome
s mp

500
600
700
800
900

se n n mn suen f enes n sooes

n Noh me , m n ollee f enes n sooes e n me h ombn
ons of ee lees, n e hene lso non s "ee lee o nz ons
". hs n mn  on  s n e b he foun on of he Ph Be ' pp 
oe, n 1776.[34]

lph v  ns
ome lees  n ou n v  n sh pes, mosl nhee fom meev l mnusu
le h nn. Whle he use n nom l po ph of ee s puel
m e
of fon sles, some suh v  ns h ve been ven sep  e enons n no
e.
he smbol ("ule be ") s
usve v  n fom of be (). I the rech tr
diti   Aciet Greek ty gr hy, i ued w rd-iiti y, d s use o-n
en ll.
he lee epslon  n ou n o eu ll feuen sls v  ns, ehe
sh pe {\spl sle \epslon \,\!} ('lun e epslon', le semle h
soe) o {\spl sle \v epslon \,\!} (sml  o
evese numbe 3).
he smbol ( +03F5) s esn e spef ll fo he lun e fom, use s 
ehn l smbol.
he smbol ("sp he ") s usve fom of he (), feuen n h nn
, n use h spe lze me nn s ehn l smbol.
he smbol (" pp smbol") s usve fom of  pp (), use s ehn l s
mbol.
tech
he smbol ("v  n p") s n h  sp fom of p (),  ued 
ic ym
.
The etter rh ()  n ou n ffeen sls v  ns, h he esenn
 l ehe on s h on o ule o he h. he smbol ( +03F1) s 
esn e spef ll fo he ule fom, use s ehn l smbol.
he lee sm , n s n  oho ph, h s o v  ns: , ued  y t the e
d  w rd, d , ued e ewhere. The  rm (" u te igm ", reem
ig  ti
c) i mediev ty itic v ri t th t c 
e ued i
th evir met with ut
the i / -i diticti .
The c it etter ui  () c n occ
r in diffrn slisic v ri ns, i# #

ppr sros i#r sr i# li L in *, or sli#l c

rld. T# smbol (
+03D2) is dsin d spcific ll for # c
rld form,
sd s c#nic l smbo
l.
T# lr p#i c n occ
r in o 
ll fr
n slisic v ri ns, i#r s# p
vric l sro #r
d s {\displ sl \sl \p#i \,\!} ( circl i#
o
# i) or s {\displ sl \sl \v rp#i \,\!} ( c
rld s# p opn 
# op). T# smbol ( +03D5) is dsin d spcific ll for # closd form,
s
d s c#nic l smbol.
!omp
r ncodins
or #
s  in comp
rs, v ri of ncodins # v bn
sd for Gr onli
n, m n of #m doc
mnd in )! 1947.
T# o princip l ons sill
sd od  r SO/! 8859-7 nd nicod. SO 8859
-7 s
ppors onl # monoonic or#or p#; nicod s
ppors bo# # monoonic
nd polonic or#or p#is.

SO/! 8859-7
or # r n A0 (#) i follos # nicod r n 3703! (s blo) cp #
 som smbols, li , , c. r
sd #r nicod # s
n
sd loc ions. Li

ll SO-8859 ncodins i is 
l o AS! for 007 (#).
Gr in nicod
M in ricls: Gr nd !opic nd Gr ndd
nicod s
ppors polonic or#or p# ll no
# for ordin r conin
o
s 
in modrn nd ncin Gr, nd vn m n rc# ic forms for pir p#. Wi# #

s of combinin c# r crs, nicod lso s

ppors Gr p#ilolo nd di lco
lo nd v rio
s o#r spci lizd r
irmns. Mos c
rrn  rndrin n
ins do no rndr di criics ll, so, #o
# lp# i# m cron nd c
 c n b
 rprsnd s +03B1 +0304 +0301, #is r rl rndrs ll: .[cit ti  eeded
]
There re tw m i
ck  Greek ch r cter i Uic de. The irt i "Greek 
d C tic" (U+0370 t U+03). Thi
ck i
ed  IS 8859-7 d i uicie
t t write M der Greek. There re   me rch ic etter d Greek-
ed tec
hic ym
.
Thi
ck  u rt the C tic h
et.  rmer y m t C tic etter h re
d c de it with imi r- kig Greek etter;
ut i m y ch r y w rk,

th crit ccur, with uite dieret etter h e,    Uic de 4.1, C t
ic d Greek were diuiied. Th e C tic etter with  Greek euiv et ti
rem i i thi
ck (U+032 t U+03).
T write  yt ic Greek, e m y ue c m
iig di critic m rk r the rec m
ed ch r cter i the "Greek xteded"
ck (U+100 t U+1).
Greek d C tic[1][2]
ici Uic de C  rtium c de ch rt ($D)
0
1
2
3
4
5
9
A
C
D
%


U+037x
U+038x

U+039x

U+03Ax

U+03%x

U+03Cx

+03Dx

+03x
+03Fx
Noes
1.^ s of noe veson 8.0
2.^ e e s n e non- ssne oe pons
ee xene[1][2]
ff l noe !onsoum oe h  (PDF)
0
1
2
3
4
5
9
B
D
F

!

+1F0x

+1F1x

U+12x

U+13x

+14

U+1F5x

U+16x

+1F7x

U+1F8x

U+1F9x

U+1FAx

U+1FBx

U+1Cx

U+1Dx

+1
+1FFx
Nos
1.^ As of
2.^ Gr
!ombinin
!ombinin
:

nicod vrsion 8.0

r s indic  non- ssind cod poins
nd lr-fr di criics
nd sp cin (lr-fr) di criic l m rs pr inin o Gr l n

combinin
sp cin s mpl dscripion
+0300 +0060 ( )
"v ri / r v ccn"
+0301 +00B4, +0384 ( )
" xi / t   / cute ccet"
U+0304 U+00A ( )
"m cr "
U+0306 U+02D8 ( )
"vr chy /
reve"
U+0308 U+00A8 ( )
"di ytik / di erei"
U+0313 U+02%C ( )
"i i / c mm

ve" (iritu ei)
U+0314 U+02%D ( )
"d i / revered c mm
ve" (iritu er)
U+0342
( )
"eri mei" (circum ex)
U+0343
( )
"k r i" (= U+0313)
U+0344 U+0385 ( )
"di ytik t  " (derec ted, = U+0308 U+0301)
U+0345 U+037A ( )
"y gegr mmei / i t u
crit".
c dig with u
et  the Greek h
et
I%M c de  ge 437, 860, 861, 862, 863, d 865 c t i the etter (lu a
nrraion or ).

 alo
rk ligaur
Palamd
Rrnc
Jum u ^ wiggr 1996.
Jum u ^ Cook 1987, . 9.
Jum u ^ Th Dvlomn o h rk Alha
 wihin h Chronology o h ANE
(2009), +uo: "Navh giv our major raon why i i univrally agrd ha
 h rk alha
 wa dvlod rom an arly Phonician alha
.
1 According o Hroduou h Phonician who cam wih Cadmu...
rough ino H
lla h alha
, which had hihro
n unknown, a I hink, o h rk.
2 Th rk Lr, alha,
a, gimml hav no maning in rk
u h manin
g o mo o hir miic quivaln i known. For xaml, alh man ox,
 ma
 hou and gimml man hrow ick.
3 Early rk lr ar vry imilar and omim idnical o h W mi
ic lr.
4 Th lr qunc
wn h miic and rk alha
 i idnical. (Nav
h 1982)"
^ Jum u o: a
c Coulma 1996.
^ Jum u o: a
Woodard 2008, . 1517
^ Jum u o: a
Holon, Mackridg & Philiaki-War
uron 1998, . 31
Jum u ^ For xaml .
Jum u ^  r ex m e .
Jum u ^  r ex m e .
Jum u ^  r ex m e .
,ump up ^ Fo ex mple .
,ump up ^ "ne 2001, pp. 212234
,ump up ^ he lee sm h s o ffeen loe se foms, n , h be
-fn l poson n elsehee. (n some 19h-enu pesen,  s lso use 
-me ll  he en of ompoun mopheme, e.. "", m rkig the m rheme

"-" ("diicu t t udert d"); m der t d rd r ctice i t e "
, &ick (2004). "Sigm : i veru  -i ". Retrieved 2012-07-15.
Jum u ^ " rr ck 2008, . 231250
Jum u ^ IS (2010). "IS 843:1997 (C veri   Greek ch r cter it  ti c
h r cter)".

Jum u ^ U&GG& W rkig Gr u  R m i ti  Sytem (2003). "Greek". Retrieve

d 2012-07-15.
Jum u ^ "Greek (AA-C R m i ti  T
e)". 2010.
Jum u ^ J ht  2003.
Jum u ^ D ie  & %right 1996, . 4.
^ Jum u t :

i  n omon on ll oul enoe boh sho n lon v
els n pe-l ss l h  ee spelln, jus le ohe voel lees. he
 ee ese o he funon of sho voel sns n l ss l ee, s h
e lon voels /e/ d / / c me t
e e ed ite d with the digr h n , h v
lo ll mee h
oesponn p  of fome phhons /e/ n /ou/ e
spevel.
,ump up ^ Lell & o 1940, s.v. ""
,ump up ^ Neon, B. . (1968). "pon neous emn on n !po ee". Lnu
20: 1557. o:10.1016/0024-3841(68)90130-. N 0024-3841.
^ ,ump up o: b hompson 1912, pp. 102103
,ump up ^ uoh & 2004 156
,ump up ^ evenson 2007, p. 1158
,ump up ^   s 1996.
,ump up ^ ms-Wll ms 1997.
,ump up ^ leh 1920.
,ump up ^  zon & V ll n 1938.
,ump up ^ 'sophson 1974, p. 11.
,ump up ^ Pefuss 1989.
,ump up ^ lse 1991.
,ump up ^ " nboo of he nen on l Phone sso on. ! mbe: nves
 Pess. 1999. pp. 176181.
,ump up ^ Vnen, F n.he hso of ollee f enes.eelfe.om, 1996,
p. 1.
Bblo ph
!oo, B. F. (1987). ee nspons. nves of ! lfon Pess/Bsh 
useum.
!oulm s, Flo n (1996). he Bl ell nlope of Wn sems. xfo:
Bl ell Publshes L. BN 0-631-21481--.
D nels, Pee ; Bh, Wll m (1996). he Wol's Wn sems. xfo n
ves Pess.
lse, )obe (1991). "lb n n Le ue n ee p: he heenh n 
l Nneeenh-!enu hoox  on n lb n n Wn" (PDF). Bz nne
n oen ee ues 15 (20).
"ne, eoe (2001). De p he lm ns: exeshhe un p heshhe (
Ph.D.). nves of  hus.
"olon, D v;  e, Pee; Phlpp -W buon, n (1998).  mm 
s ellns loss s. hens: P  .
"oos, eoffe (2006). lln : so s loss s   on omlon s. 
hens: s . [ee  nsl on of ee: hso of he l nu e n s spe
es, Lonon 1997]
,ohnson, . W. (2003). "he lph be". n  mpols, N.; '  eohs, V. e
)oues fom on o "uelv : neonneons n he ee ne n 16h 6h .
B.!. hens: useum of !l  . pp. 263276.
'sophson, ,en (1974). "D s Lexon e losson es D nl oshopols". Z
eshf f B l noloe 10: 4128.
Lell, "en ; o, )obe (1940).  ee-nlsh Lexon. xfo: !l en
on.
  s,  vos  (1996). "!h  e oes fo ee: Poblems n moen solu
ons". n   s, h el. ee lees: fom  bles o pxels. Ne sle:
  'noll Pess. p. 265.
 zon, n; V ll n, n (1938). L'v nl e e 'ul  , un p le sl ve e B
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enlope of  nsl on sues 2. Beln: e ue. pp. 11571159.
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: !l enon.
Woo , )oe D. (2008). " ee". n Woo , )oe D. he nen l nu
es of uope. ! mbe: nves Pess. pp. 1449.
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