Expertlatin
- How do we know how Ancient Greek was pronounced?
- How was Phi pronounced in Ancient Greek?
- Did Ancient Greek have a soft C sound?
How do we know how Ancient Greek was pronounced?
No, we do not know what ancient Greek sounded like. We do know it did not exactly sound like standard modern Greek. There were several dialects in ancient Greek (Attic, which was a version of Ionic, Doric, Aeolic…) and certainly many local accents. In addition, pronunciation must have underwent some changes over time.
How was Phi pronounced in Ancient Greek?
Φ φ phi, pronounced like the p in pot (an aspirated p) originally, later like the f in foot. Χ χ chi, pronounced like the k in kill (an aspirated k) originally, later like the ch in loch.
Did Ancient Greek have a soft C sound?
(This is quite unhistorical; in ancient times all "c"s were hard, but we are used to pronouncing "Caesar," "Circe," etc. with a soft "c.") The same applies to "g"; soft (as in "giant") before "e" and "i" sounds, hard (as in "gate") otherwise.
