The Greek Alphabet

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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August 8, 2011

00:00: Good morning! It's good to see everybody this morning, and I have been excited all week.
00:07: Actually, I've been excited for a couple of weeks to begin our class in the study of Koine Greek.
00:24: During the time of about 300 B.C.
00:29: to about 300 A.D., it was the common language of the area.
00:34: It was the common Greek.
00:36: It was the language of business.
00:42: The New Testament was written when it began.
00:53: Father, we thank you for an opportunity to begin this study, and we thank you that you have given us so many tools, so many opportunities to learn.
01:15: And we stand, of course, Lord, on thesauruses and dictionaries and many other good tools that we can go to and use to be able to look at it as English.
01:43: We thank you, Lord, to seek and for His sake.
02:15: Before we get started, I want to simply give an introduction that I kind of thought about this weekend and this week in leading up to the class, and I thought it was somewhat humorous, and it might give you guys a little bit of a sigh, let you breathe somewhat a sigh of relief.
02:32: I've heard a lot of people say that Greek is just really, really hard to learn, and it's going to be difficult.
02:38: And a lot of people said, I'm not going to phrase, it's all Greek to me.
02:49: Because by doing that, he made it seem as if Greek is some largely difficult thing that is so hard for people to be able to understand that to compare it, anything that's hard, you would compare it to Greek.
03:01: Well, it's all...
03:06: The truth of the matter is, you all, as English-speaking Americans right now, are speaking the most difficult language in history.
03:17: English, American English, is hugely difficult.
03:21: You don't think it is because you've been doing it ever since birth.
03:24: You've been learning the language.
03:25: You've acclimated to the language.
03:27: But I just brought some simple examples of why English is hard.
03:31: For instance, the words hue, spew, cue, and dew, but none of them are spelled any way the same.
03:43: Live and lie are spelled the same.
03:47: Lead and lead are both spelled the same.
03:50: They sound different, but they don't sound the same.
04:01: But, well I didn't put it up here.
04:03: Some and home don't rhyme.
04:06: If any two words should rhyme, some and home should rhyme, but they don't.
04:10: One and one are said exactly the same.
04:13: This one means you won something, you competed and won, this is a number.
04:18: And then we have three twos.
04:21: And I tell you what, this one, if you've ever...
04:27: This and the there.
04:30: T-H-E-R-E, T-H-E-I-R, or T-H-E-Y.
04:38: We all...
04:40: It's useless.
04:42: The letter C, a lot of people question me, oh, C's not...
04:47: C is a letter that does not...
04:51: We use the letter C to make a suh-suh sound, but we already have a native suh-suh, and that's the S.
04:57: We use the C to make a native kuh-kuh sound, but we already have a native kuh-kuh sound, we call it the K.
05:02: There is no letter, or there's no sound, no chuh-chuh, it's a combination, it's a contraction of C and H.
05:15: So C by itself does not have its own...
05:29: In parentheses it would say this is how we...
05:35: So you already read, speak in, and converse in the most difficult language in history.
05:42: It has some of the most difficult nuances, it's hard, yet you do it every day.
05:48: So when we begin to look at the Greek language, don't let it overwhelm you.
05:53: We are going to go very, very, very...
05:57: We're going to try to learn together in such a way where we have fun.
06:02: In fact, you'll notice there's a lot of young people in here this morning.
06:06: I am...
06:14: Because this morning we're going to learn...
06:27: Your children are going...
06:31: In English...
07:17: The stems and the...
07:31: Simply...
07:33: I have two handouts for you today, they're both...
08:24: The diphthong is where two letters go together, that T-H, A and I, in English together, A-I...
09:06: All right, the first thing we're going to be looking at is the one that Joey has handed to you, and that is the Greek language and development through five stages.
09:17: I just want you to begin on this page, the Greek language through five stages.
09:30: You'll notice you have the formative period.
09:57: If you'll take a look at the one that says the Greek language has developed through five stages, you'll notice the formative period.
10:02: This began around 1200 B.C., and it went through the time of Homer, and with B.C., this was the time of Homer down to Alexander the Great.
10:23: There were numerous dialects during this period.
10:31: You'll notice from 330 B.C.
10:33: to 330 A.D., there was what we call the Koine Period, and that is the period that we're going to be studying, because that is the period in which the New Testament was written.
10:45: In fact, there have been some...
10:49: There have been some who have argued that...
12:36: This is your alphabet sheet, and it gives you how all the letters are to be pronounced and how we're going to pronounce them.
12:48: There are three different ways to pronounce Koine Greek.
12:55: Well, there's three different ways to pronounce Greek.
12:57: There is the modern way, which we are not going to...
13:03: There is historical reconstructionist, and then there is what is called the traditional or the Erasmian pronunciation.
13:16: That is the one that we are going to use, and the reason why we're going to use the traditional, it is the one that uses all the sounds of all the letters when you're speaking a word, because when Erasmus was translating, or when he was rather producing the Greek and trying to sound out words, because they didn't know how the language was supposed to sound, they said, well, what we'll do is we'll sound out every letter.
13:50: What has happened with that is it doesn't really sound like a language.
13:54: It sounds more robotic, but it's good because it helps you understand what words are being used when we're reading.
14:03: For instance, when we begin our first translational exercise, and it's going to be in a few weeks, when you hear it said, it's not going to sound like a language.
14:19: En archaim en halagas prostanteam.
14:22: You'll hear those words.
14:23: It doesn't really sound like a language.
14:25: It sounds like a robot spitting out, you know, how a robot would speak.
14:29: However, at the same time, when you begin understanding how the letters fit together in the traditional or Erasmian way, it will make a lot of sense to you.
14:38: You'll be able to look at a page.
14:39: You'll be able to sound it out as you go.
14:41: It will sound more like a language.
14:45: However, like I said, if you are translating or reading a Greek New Testament, and somebody from modern Greece heard you, they would probably laugh at you.
14:57: They would probably say, oh, that's not the way that word's supposed to sound.
15:00: We know.
15:01: We're not trying to read the modern Greek.
15:05: We're not trying to read using the modern Greek.
15:10: Don't let it bother you if it doesn't.
15:11: If you look up a modern Greek-speaking person on YouTube to listen.
15:22: Because we are going to be reading aloud in Greek.
15:25: We're going to sound out words.
15:27: We're going to...
15:28: Because in doing so, it's going to help us determine roots.
15:32: It helps us in our translation.
15:34: Because, again, translation will begin with the root, to the stems, to the endings, and you begin to see how sentences...
15:45: All right.
15:46: So we're going to begin today.
15:47: We're going to look...
15:51: Interestingly enough, we talk about the alphabet all the time.
15:53: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P.
15:55: Where do we get the term alphabet? We get the term alphabet from the Greek alphabet.
16:02: We get it from the term, the letters, alpha.
16:08: Most of us know that.
16:09: Most of us, very quickly, can identify the alpha and the beta.
16:13: Because the alpha and the beta look just like the English alpha, beta.
16:18: But you'll notice that the Greeks are smarter than us because they don't have a C.
16:23: That was said earlier.
16:26: They don't have a C.
16:28: I'm just going to say them all one time.
16:42: Alpha, beta, gamma, zeta, eta, theta, Yoda.
17:02: Whether it's modern or ancient, whatever.
17:05: The only people who call it iota.
17:09: Yoda.
17:10: Yeah, Yoda.
17:11: Not even iota.
17:16: Mu, nu, xi, xi, like an acronym.
17:26: Omicron.
17:28: P.
17:29: It's not pi.
17:30: Now, if you say pi because you were in math class and everybody said you know pi or square roots.
17:40: P.
17:44: Rho.
17:47: Sigma.
17:52: Upsilon.
17:53: Upsilon.
17:56: Phi.
17:59: T.
17:59: Well, that guy didn't say it right.
18:01: T.
18:02: But it's not T.
18:03: Because we already have a ka, ka, kappa here.
18:07: We have ka.
18:07: It's ka.
18:09: It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, this is where later would become cha.
18:14: Okay, so if you imagine a, a K and an H together or a C and an H later would become the cha sound.
18:21: This is the first letter in the name of T.
18:29: And then the rest of the, this one is C.
18:35: C.
18:38: Omega.
18:39: Omega.
18:40: Alright, so 24 letters.
18:43: Who wants to give it a shot and do them all? We're going to learn them in a couple of different ways.
18:51: I'm going to teach them to you in a memorization tool.
18:54: I sent a video out to help some of you.
18:57: I don't know how many of you watched the video that I sent out to help.
19:00: I'm going to go through that.
19:01: It's, it's goofy.
19:03: Some of you are going to probably laugh and you're going to think it's dorky.
19:07: But you know what? It works.
19:10: Number one, it works.
19:12: Number two, A.
19:13: Most of you came in this morning not knowing the alphabet, right? Today, you'll be able to recall each other.
19:22: Oh, by the way, before I run away with myself.
19:25: The blue are capitals.
19:27: The black are what we call minuscule.
19:34: The original New Testament was written in all capital letters.
19:37: No spaces, no punctuation.
19:40: So, if you were to look at an ancient Greek manuscript, the Alexandrian text, you would look at it with awe.
19:51: Even though the modern, it would behoove you to learn both.
20:00: I mean, you know, because some of them don't look the same.
20:04: But there are, like this one here, alpha, beta, gamma.
20:08: Gamma.
20:09: The gamma looks like what? The little g.
20:12: What does it look like? It looks like a Jesus fish pointing down.
20:15: But also, if you think about it, if you think about a modern person, that's a quick way to remember what the gamma, lowercase gamma, it's just a cursive g.
20:32: However, this doesn't look anything like any of our letters.
20:36: What does it look like? You said it earlier.
20:39: It looks like a hangman or a gallows.
20:42: And a gallows starts with a delta.
20:54: Yeah, let's look.
20:59: Weren't they the ones who loved to fly? It's e.
21:12: It looks just like ours.
21:13: Zeta, capital, looks just like our z.
21:17: Lowercase.
21:18: All of it is fancy.
21:21: But really, if you look at it, it's just the z.
21:28: If you took off the tail.
21:34: Eta.
21:35: Eta.
21:36: You have the capital H, but then you have the lowercase, which looks like what? It looks like our n.
21:43: That one is going to throw you off big time when you first start.
21:46: Because every time you see it, you're going to be thinking n.
21:49: Okay? Theta.
21:52: Theta.
21:53: Big important letter, because this, just like this one, is the first letter in Christos, which is Christ.
21:59: This is the first letter in Phaos.
22:04: So, Theta.
22:07: Capital and lowercase look similar.
22:09: The difference in the capital.
22:18: Delta.
22:19: Here's the thing I don't want to see.
22:20: If you write something, don't do this.
22:23: Okay? The dot above is necessary in Greek.
22:31: In fact, it can be confusing, because Greek does use accent marks.
22:37: There are certain accent marks that help you to know how to say certain letters.
22:40: If it begins with an epsilon, but if it has a different accent, it might be supposed to be a ha.
22:57: If you begin putting dots above, seriously, don't cross your feet either.
23:08: We'll get there in a minute.
23:10: All right.
23:11: Kappa.
23:11: Easy.
23:12: Lambda.
23:21: This is three.
23:23: It's three arrowheads.
23:29: If you look at it again, I try to associate things in my mind.
23:35: And one of the things about the Lambda, you'll see a lot of times when it's written, and it's calligraphy, and there's almost a loop at the top.
23:55: Well, if you extend that up, our cursive L.
24:05: New.
24:08: New.
24:09: This one's going to kill you.
24:11: Because for the first couple of weeks, every time you see that, you're going to think, and it's really, because it's new.
24:22: It's still like once in a while.
24:38: C.
24:40: C.
24:41: C.
24:45: Our letter that would be similar and equivalent.
24:54: Omicron.
24:55: Oh, by the way, this one, the way you write it is kind of funky.
25:02: To an epsilon.
25:04: If you notice, there's a little, but also, P.
25:33: This one's going to, this is another one that's going to kill you.
25:38: Rho.
25:48: Here's the thing, though.
25:49: When you're pronouncing R in the Greek, when you're pronouncing R in the, when we begin pronouncing things, roll your R.
26:01: Not because you're trying to be fancy.
26:03: It'll help your pronunciation.
26:06: And really, English is the only language, American English is the only place where we don't roll the R.
26:20: He said, or the Greek language instruction a few weeks ago with John Swan, and he made a point that I thought was interesting.
26:29: He said, he said, what sound do you think is distinctly American? He said, if you think about, if you think about different languages, you think about German.
26:37: It's hot, hot.
26:38: You know, that guttural sound is very different.
26:42: French, it's very distinctly, you know, it's very smooth.
26:46: He said, if you hear Chinese, it's ping-pong, you know, it's very, it's very sharp.
26:52: It is.
26:53: It's very sharp and distinct sounds.
26:58: He said, but what is the distinctly English sound? He said, it's the hard R.
27:04: He said, if somebody wants to sound American, you have this, we'll make, we might joke around and say we're sounding like somebody, if they want to sound like us, they go rah, rah, rah, because we're the only people that make the rrrr.
27:22: Ro.
27:22: It's not ro.
27:27: When you're pronouncing, roll your ro.
27:32: Roll your, roll, roll your ro.
27:36: And know it's going to look like a P, and that's going to throw you off, because ever since you were in, in, first learning your letters, that one made a puh, puh, puh sound.
27:51: Sigma.
27:53: Sigma.
27:54: Sigma.
27:54: Looks like a O with a little line at the top, but really to me what it looks like, is it looks like an S with a big box.
28:04: I mean, that's just, again, that's just how my mind works, and when I see this, I see an S with a big little box.
28:12: Now, I want to tell you something.
28:17: Sigma is one of the confusing letters, because if sigma is used in the middle of a, what was used at the beginning, if it's a, if it's, if it's a capitalized sigma, it's going to look like sigma, the little sigma, at the end of a word, but hey, that's pretty easy, because it's just like, can you confuse your two letters, two different, all it is, this, they connect, and this, they drop the next letter, do not cross your T.
29:21: The tau is capital T, lowercase, it is T with a tail.
29:31: Upsilon.
29:32: The next letter, Upsilon, where we, our letter is, the letter U, lowercase, easy, uppercase, looks like a palm tree to me, it goes down and back up, it's sometimes, sometimes, in a certain way, people write, it looks U, that's why I like writing it this way, because it distinguishes that, when you see a capital Y, I've been doing English for 31 years, you think, yeah, yeah.
30:14: Phi, phi, phi is, this is the reason why we spell phone, P-H-O-N-E, instead of, F-O-N.
30:30: It's why we, it's why in a lot of our words, when you see a P-H, if you see a P-H in English, and that P-H is making a Puh sound, that letter, that word is, has to, phi.
30:48: Key, key, a key, sound, I'm trying to say this, it sometimes doesn't come out, but it's, key, key, that's, that's what I'm trying to pronounce.
31:08: This one is fun, this one is fun, because, just real quickly, what does this look like? It's like a trident, right? And if you think, about, popping, something, with a trident, if you think about taking a poke, a fork stick, and popping something, what noise would it make? Well, that's the noise this letter makes, and then the P-S, you get this sound.
31:41: And then finally, omega.
31:44: But what does it look like? The lower case, the menu school.
31:47: It looks like a W.
31:49: And for the first couple times you see it, that's, the omega here, is real for us to distinguish, because most of us are used to seeing the symbol, for alpha, and omega.
32:01: This is where that term comes from, and the N, because, see that, which letter? Key.
32:44: Yeah, it's just key.
32:45: Key.
32:46: It's this, this is what I'm trying to say.
32:56: It still, it still has, that, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, there is not a, expression, fee, keep, see, keep this, see, give it back, that, just fee, keep, see.
36:45: That's cheesy.
36:46: If you want to watch the video again, watch it online.
36:48: The guy really goes through each thing and gives you a little visual thing to go with it.
36:52: I always thought it was cute.
36:56: Alright, last but not least, and, boy, we didn't get anywhere I wanted to, but we're running out of time.
37:08: Last thing for today, I want to do diphthongs.
37:10: Diphthongs.
37:17: Alright, a diphthong is where two vowels go together to make a distinct sound within a word.
37:41: Vowels are alpha, if you want to mark this out, alpha, epsilon, eta, yoda, omicron, upsilon, omega.
37:58: Seven vowels.
38:04: Alpha, epsilon, eta, yoda, omega, I'm sorry, omicron, upsilon.
38:18: And you should be very familiar with these, because most of them are, they have, if you see these in a word, they're on your sheet that I just want to go over with you.
38:48: Just like in the English word aisle, which is not spelled I, beginning with an I, but it begins with an A.
38:59: Yoda makes the I.
39:04: Upsilon makes the O.
39:11: Epsilon Yoda makes the A sound.
39:15: The letter eight.
39:24: E-I would make an A sound.
39:31: Epsilon, upsilon makes a U sound.
39:37: Omicron Yoda makes an O as in oil or boy.
39:42: Omicron, upsilon makes a O sound as in boot, boot.
39:48: And then, upsilon, yoda makes the W sound.
39:58: Now that you have all the letters and their sounds, and you have all of the diphthongs, you should be able to at least form out a word the way it sounds.
40:12: So, let's try that real quickly with one Greek word.
40:20: We helped earlier.
40:22: We're going to do one Greek word.
40:43: Before anybody says anything, let's give everybody an opportunity.
41:00: Do we know what it is? Does anybody not know what it is? Okay, a few people haven't got it.
41:07: Alpha, nu.
41:21: Alpha, nu, theos, on.
41:23: And then what is this letter? Omega.
41:34: P.
41:34: Omicron, sigma.
41:38: Throw.
41:58: Hard O.
42:00: On, throw.
42:04: That's your first Greek word.
42:05: Yay, now everybody can say you got one down.
42:08: Mini, mini, mini, mini, mini.
42:09: Mini board game.
42:11: Alright, so you know the letters.
42:12: You know how they're supposed to sound.
42:13: You can sound them out in your mind.
42:15: If you want to take an opportunity, write something out in English.
42:18: Like if you were just going to write something like...
42:44: That's what I'm saying.
42:45: Take an English word, write it in Greek letters.
42:47: See if you can form the letters together and make it work.
42:54: It'll be fun, and it'll get you ready to where you can start looking at a page with these letters on it, and it won't seem so weird to you.
43:00: Yes, baby? Bill Mounce is...
43:31: And if you want to know a song...
43:33: Everybody in here know Mama's Little Baby? Go, shortening, shortening.
43:36: Anybody know that? Alright.
43:38: Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon.
43:41: Zeta, eta, theta, yoda, kappa, lambda, mu.
43:43: Nu, c, omicron, p, rho, sigma, tau, epsilon, p, keep, c, omega.
43:50: There it is.
43:50: So, just remember.
43:52: Mama's Little Baby.
43:52: Go, shortening.
43:53: Think of that.
43:54: Take the letters and do it, and you'll have it memorized by next week.
43:58: Alright? So I'm going to hear you singing that when you come in next week.
44:01: Alright.
44:02: Next week we'll go a little further.
44:03: We'll start forming words.
44:04: I'm going to start giving you vocabulary lists to study.
44:07: We've got a lot of fun stuff to do.
44:08: Did you guys have fun? Excellent.
44:10: Alright.
44:11: We'll just...
44:16: Yes.