The Alphabet Greek , an adaptation of the Phoenician alphabet, is a composite phonetic writing system by 24 letters which can represent vowels and consonants.
It is only used in the Greek language, but as it was the basis of most of the alphabets existing in the West, it is common to be used to this day.
This is what can be seen in sciences such as Astronomy, in which letters are used in the naming of stars.
In the archaeological record, the earliest occurrences of the Greek alphabet appear in ceramic engravings, the best known of which were found in Athens in the mid-8th century BC. From it comes the alphabet used in the Portuguese language.
Full Greek Alphabet
| Uppercase | Lower case | Values | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α | α | a | alpha |
| B | β | b | beta |
| Γ | γ | c | gamma |
| Δ | δ | d | delta |
| Ε | ε | and | epsilon |
| Ζ | δ | z | dzeta |
| Η | η | ye | eta |
| Θ | θ | t | tit |
| Ι | ι | j | iota |
| Κ | k | k | cover |
| Λ | λ | L | lambda |
| M | μ | m | mü |
| N | ν | n | nu |
| Ξ | ξ | x | ksi |
| Ο | ο | the | omicron |
| Π | π | p | pi |
| Ρ | ρ | r | ro |
| Σ | σ | s | sigma |
| Τ | τ | t | tau |
| Υ | υ | u | upsilon |
| Φ | φ | f | fi |
| Χ | χ | what | thu |
| Ψ | ψ | ps | psi |
| Ω | ω | oh | omega |
Check the pronunciation of the lyrics in the audio.
Origin
The alphabet Phoenician originated in Lebanon and reached the Greeks through Phoenician merchants, whose commercial activity was on the rise.
As these people traded their goods, so did their writing system.
The Phoenician alphabet was phonetic and not based on ideograms. It was composed only of consonants, like Arabic and Hebrew.
The Greeks felt the need to adapt this alphabet by introducing vowels. He was so precise in transmitting speech that it soon became accessible writing.
Before, there were few who mastered the art of writing; were actually experts, known as scribes.
In addition to the introduction of vowels, another feature that distinguishes the Greek and Phoenician alphabets is the fact that the Phoenicians wrote from right to left.
This form was initially adopted by the Greeks, who later took on the left-hand direction used in Portuguese to this day.
But according to historians, the Greek alphabet was not the first writing system used in Greece.
Around 1100 BC there was a script named Linear B , which, however, was lost, so that only centuries later would the Greek alphabet appear.
Portuguese alphabet
Initially there were a number of versions for the Greek alphabet. Only after an official version was adopted did it become widespread and, given the Greek influence at the time, writing systems were developed that were based on the Greek model.
The alphabet of the Portuguese language arises, therefore, through Greek settlers who inhabited the Italian Peninsula in the 7th century BC, giving rise to the alphabet Latin , or Roman - the most used in the world.
Note that the word alphabet is of Greek origin, results from the junction of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha and beta).
Want to know more about this topic? Read:
- Alphabet Origin
- Alphabet Types
- History of Writing
- Morse code