This is Greek without the normal accent marks which we will learn later. The first letter is a capital Greek letter. See any letters that look familiar? E, a, o, and s are what they seem to be. The v, p, x and y are not. The v is a N with a leg missing, p is actually an R with a leg missing, the x is really ch (which is equal to a k sound), and the y is a g (g as in good, not as in George). Look at the following Greek text with its equal in English letters.
Notice that there are two "e" vowels in the Greek alphabet. Greek has a short and a long e. The short Greek E that looks like our capital E is pronounce like "eh" as the e in "pet". The Greek e which looks like our letter n is a long e pronounced like "ay" as in the e in "they".
The Greek also has two o vowels, one long and one short. The o here that looks like our English o is a short o pronounced like "ah" as the first o in "bottom". We will learn the long one later.
One interesting fact that will help you learn is that generally Greek letters only have one pronunciation. In English there can be up to eight different sounds for each letter or combination of letters. Our English "a" is one of those letters with eight different sounds, but in Greek "a" has only one pronunciation. It is pronounced like the a in father (ah).
Note: If you feel overwhelmed or confused, don't worry. Most of this will be covered several times. Take your time with this. Learning any language takes some work. Also, since our brains often rebel at learning new things that don't fit neatly into previously learned facts, give yourself time to digest the information.
To go to Lesson two click here
