Travel Out & About It's all Greek to me!
It's all Greek to me!
When most of us consider the Greek alphabet it takes us back to schooldays where strange symbols used to crop up in Mathematics and Science lessons! Personally, I can remember coming face to face with 'Pi' on more than one occasion. Here we will take a look at the Greek alphabet, the sounds of the letters and then move on to reading and understanding a typical taverna menu. Hopefully, after this brief introduction you will be able to read, write and speak your first few words of the Greek language.
The Alphabet:
The alphabet consists of twenty-four characters that have been around since the 8th century BC. The Greek alphabet has also evolved into many other alphabets used in Europe and the Middle East, including the Latin alphabet. In addition to being used for writing Modern Greek, its letters are also used as names of stars and many other purposes.
Let's take a look at the modern alphabet and discuss each character in turn:
| Αα | Alpha | Sounds as an 'a' in cat |
| Ββ | Beta | Hard 'b' consonant as in bat |
| Γγ | Gamma | Hard 'g' consonant as in grape |
| Δδ | Delta | Hard 'd' consonant is in dog |
| Εε | Epsilon | Short 'e' vowel as in egg |
| Ζζ | Zeta | Hard 'z' consonant as in zulu |
| Ηη | Eta | Long 'a' sound as in say |
| Θθ | Theta | Double 'th' consonant as in theme |
| Ιι | Iota | Can be a long or short vowel as in 'police' or hit |
| Κκ | Kappa | Hard 'k' consonant as in kick |
| Λλ | Lambda | Consonant 'l' as in lamb |
| Μμ | Mu | Consonant 'm' as in man |
| Νν | Nu | Consonant 'n' as in new |
| Ξξ | Xi | Hard 'x' consonant as in fax |
| Οο | Omicron | Short 'o' vowel as in box |
| ωπ | Pi | Hard 'p' consonant as in pea |
| Ρρ | Rho | Consanant 'r' as in river |
| Σσ | Sigma | Consonant 's' as in stream |
| Ττ | Tau | Hard consonant 't' as in tap |
| Υυ | Upsilon | Long vowel 'u' as in ruler |
| Φφ | Phi | Double consonant 'ph' as in phone |
| Χχ | Chi | Hard double consonant 'ch' as in chrome |
| Ψψ | Psi | Double consonant 'ps' as in psychic |
| Ωω | Omega | Long vowel 'o' as in over |
Once you have grasped the basics of the alphabet please try and read the following menu outside a Greek Islands Taverna:
Translation:
ΣΤΙΦΑΔΟ = Stifado (Traditional Greek Stew - View Recipe)
ΓΙΟΥΒΕΤΣΙ = Giouvetsi (Lamb and Pasta casserole)
ΚΛΕΦΤΙΚΟ = Kleftiko (Slow braised Lamb)
ΧΟΙΡΙΝΗ = Hoirinh (Pork Chop)
ΨΑΡΟΝΕΦΡΙ = Psaronefri (Pork Fillet)
ΣΟΥΒΛΑΚΙ = Souvlaki (Grilled Pork on skewers)
ΠΑΙΔΑΚΙΑ = Paidakia (Grilled Lamb Chops)
ΓΥΡΟΣ = Gyros (Greek kebab in Pita bread)