Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Hi everybody, this is Stefania! Welcome to GreekPod101.com’s Alfaveeto made easy. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn the Greek alphabet: the alfaveeto!
In the previous 8 lessons, we have covered 16 letters out of the 24 in the Greek alphabet. How do you feel? Strong enough for two more? How about for two more unique to Greek? Let’s get started right away!
The first one is unique to the Greek language. Its name is “Delta”, and it sounds like “th”.
Yes, they are quite different from each other –the first is very angular and the other very circular.
This is the uppercase “Delta.
It is handwritten like this: Δ
And this is the lowercase “Delta”.
It is handwritten like this: δ
One thing that might help you with the lowercase “Delta” is to think of it as an eight that’s missing something; like you started writing it and lost interest before you finished! It isn’t that hard is it? As for the uppercase I won’t even dignify it with a comment; it’s just a triangle!
Let’s do it again- Here’s the uppercase form: Δ
And here’s the lowercase form: δ
We’re done with “Delta”. Are you up for the next challenge? Don’t get too worried because this next one is even easier: its sound exists in English and its shape is very close to the “Delta” we just learned. It’s “Lamda”, the Greek version of “L” and it sounds pretty much like English: “L”.
As you can see, the shape is pretty much the same –it’s just that in the lowercase there is a small line protruding at the top. Let’s see them one by one.
Here’s the uppercase “Lamda”.
It is handwritten like this: Λ
And here’s the lowercase “Lamda”.
It is handwritten like this: λ
Easy, right? Just a triangle missing its base.
Let’s do it again- Here’s the uppercase form: Λ
And here’s the lowercase form: λ
Well, there you go. Two more Greek letters under your belt and still going strong. You’ve covered 75% of the Greek alphabet! Let’s see what we can do with our new letters, shall we?
One of the most famous products of Greece is olive oil (which by the way is really delicious and also good for your health!) Do you know the Greek word for it? It is “λαδι” and it is written this way:
λαδι
Not hard, is it? How about another one ... “Ελλαδα” This is the Greek word for Greece: What Greek people call their own country. The rest of the world may call us “Greece”, but if you want to impress your Greek friends, use this. Even better, write it, like this:
Ελλαδα
Like always, let’s see all our letters together for a little recap, OK? We have “Alpha”, “Mee”, “Taf”, “Yota”, “Kappa”, “Omikron”, “Pee”, “Sigma”, “Eeta”, “Psee”, “Gama”, “Epseelon”, “Ro”, “Hee”, “Nee”, “Omega”, “Delta” and “Lamda”.
Now it's time for Stefania’s insights.
I want to make one more point regarding the pronunciation of “Delta”, and “Gama”. It is very easy to forget the way they are pronounced in Greek and go for their English versions: “Delta” and “Gama” Please don’t forget that in Greek the sounds are much softer!
Oh, and another thing: have you ever thought why we call the landform at the mouth of a river, a “delta”? Yes, that’s right! It’s because that formation is a triangle like the capital “Delta” in Greek! Most people don’t know that, so you can use it to impress your friends -especially if you can also write it. And now you can, can’t you?
Have you ever used software which isn’t in its final version? Do you remember what they call this sort of software? The answer is a Greek letter which you’ll learn in the very next lesson!
See you in the next Alfaveeto made easy lesson!
Ya hara!

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