Question about pronunciation

Biblical Greek morphology and syntax, aspect, linguistics, discourse analysis, and related topics
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joyeuxwrite
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Joined: December 26th, 2023, 10:03 pm
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Question about pronunciation

Post by joyeuxwrite »

Hi everyone,

One of those terms, γεωργέω, has the gamma pronounced as a "y" because of the following epsilon, which makes it look a little strange. This would be correct in accordance with Buth's system, and I'm confident that my hesitation stems from the fact that I first learned it with a "g." For the sake of my sanity, however, are both gammas supposed to be pronounced with a y in this scheme, or am I overlooking something?

Furthermore, I'm not entirely clear on the protocol in the case of an epsilon or iota double gamma γγ. Surely the ending keeps its "g" sound and doesn't change to a "y" instead? εὐαγγέλιοv
Jason Hare
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Re: Question about pronunciation

Post by Jason Hare »

Hello, joyeuxwrite.

I’ve released this post, but before you continue to participate on the forum, make sure to read through the policy on User Names and Profiles and get this issue resolved. I’m sure that “joyeuxwrite” is not your name, and we do not have anonymous posting on B-Greek. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

I don’t personally use Buth’s reconstructed pronunciation, so I’ll allow someone else to answer your question on that.
Jason A. Hare
The Hebrew Café
Tel Aviv, Israel
Shirley Rollinson
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Joined: June 4th, 2011, 6:19 pm
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Re: Question about pronunciation

Post by Shirley Rollinson »

joyeuxwrite wrote: December 26th, 2023, 10:03 pm Hi everyone,

One of those terms, γεωργέω, has the gamma pronounced as a "y" because of the following epsilon, which makes it look a little strange. This would be correct in accordance with Buth's system, and I'm confident that my hesitation stems from the fact that I first learned it with a "g." For the sake of my sanity, however, are both gammas supposed to be pronounced with a y in this scheme, or am I overlooking something?

Furthermore, I'm not entirely clear on the protocol in the case of an epsilon or iota double gamma γγ. Surely the ending keeps its "g" sound and doesn't change to a "y" instead? εὐαγγέλιοv
There is no "correct" way to pronounce koine Greek - there are no native koine Greek speakers to correct us. There probably was no "correct" way even at the time of the NT. There were dialects and regional variants.
When my students get hung up on "I want to speak like a proper Greek" I direct them to a set of videos on YouTube produced by a native Greek speaker named "Maria" (she does not give a last name). She has the clearest diction and expressive cadence I have heard. She has a series of Greek videos with Erasmian and Modern Greek pronunciations. "Reading the Bible in Greek with Maria" https://www.youtube.com/@readingthebibleingreekwith679.
Most of the rest of us speak any foreign language with an accent - even with modern languages where we can go live for years in a foreign country, we still have an accent, but we're happy when we can understand and make ourselves understood. Don't kid yourself that you'll ever speak like a native.
The pronunciation is much less important than understanding the meaning and (in the case of the GNT) letting the text speak to us and correct our lives rather than our pronunciation.
BTW γεωργέω is a contract verb, so although it is written (lexical form) with an epsilon at the end of the stem, that epsilon is not pronounced when reading the word in a text - one gets an omega with a circumflex accent (for the First Person Singular) - a perispomenon. Also, a double gamma is usually pronounced like English "ng" in "sing, sang, song"
Listen to a few koine Greek videos on YouTube and you'll start to pick up on a whole slew of different accents (American, British, French, Latin American . . . . )
Don't worry about pronunciation - read and enjoy
Shirley Rollinson
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