READING GREEK.
Greek words sometimes appear in copy, and are somewhat vexatious to printers who never had the good fortune to study Greek at school—or elsewhere. In a proof-sheet, we once met a word whose etymology was given thus in the copy: “From Ἕλιος the sun, and φιλος a lover” (the epsilon was the author’s mistake). The compositor, not aware of a Greek alphabet, set up the passage in those English letters which most nearly resemble the Hellenic characters, and it appeared in this guise: “From Ediog the sun, and pidog a lover.” We advise proof-readers, and compositors and copy-holders as well, to acquire—if they do not already possess—so much knowledge of Greek letters and characters as will enable them to acquit themselves without discredit, though “Ediog” and “pidog” condog (v. Wb.) to annoy them. A few hours’ attention to the alphabet and characters given below, and to the annexed practical directions, will suffice to fix in the memory as much knowledge of Greek as will serve for the mechanical following of the copy,—mechanical following,—for, if you are setting up or reading a reprint of the 450th page of Webster’s Dictionary, and meet with the word ἐννενήκοντα you must put in the eleven letters as they stand: and if copying Worcester’s 486th page, you find ἐννεήκοντα, put in {p54} the ten letters. If you have any doubts, submit your query.
The Greek alphabet consists of twenty-four letters.
| Alpha | Α α | a |
| Beta | Β β | b |
| Gamma | Γ γ | g |
| Delta | Δ δ | d |
| Epsilon | Ε ε | ĕ |
| Zeta | Ζ ζ | z |
| Eta | Η η | ē |
| Theta | Θ ϑ θ | th |
| Iota | Ι ι | i |
| Kappa | Κ κ | k |
| Lambda | Λ λ | l |
| Mu | Μ μ | m |
| Nu | Ν ν | n |
| Xi | Ξ ξ | x |
| Omicron | Ο ο | ŏ |
| Pi | Π π | p |
| Rho | Ρ ϱ ρ | r |
| Sigma | Σ σ, final ς | s |
| Tau | Τ τ | t |
| Upsilon | Υ υ | u |
| Phi | Φ φ | ph |
| Chi | Χ χ | ch |
| Psi | Ψ ψ | ps |
| Omega | Ω ω | ō |
In reading Greek, mention each letter by its English equivalent.
Ε is read, “cap. short e”; ε, “short e”; Η is read, “cap. long e”; η, “long e.”
Ο is read, “cap. short o”; ο, “short o”; Ω is read, “cap. long o”; ω, “long o.” {p55}
There are three accents,—the acute ( ΄ ), the grave (
), and the circumflex (
).
ύ is read, “acute u”; ὶ is read, “grave i”; ᾶ is read, “circumflex a.”
Over every vowel or diphthong beginning a word is placed one of two characters, called breathings, which, for the purpose of reading, we may designate as the smooth ( ᾿ ) and the rough ( ῾ ).
ἀ is read, “smooth a”; ἱ is read, “rough i.”
When two marks appear over a letter, both should be mentioned by the copy-holder.
ὔ is read, “smooth, acute u”; ὅ is read, “rough, acute, short o”; ὃ, “rough, grave, short o”; ὦ, “circumflex, smooth, long o.”
The compositor and proof-reader should be careful that accented letters are used according to the copy, as in many cases the difference of accentuation serves also to mark the difference of signification. Thus, νέος signifies new; νεὸς, a field: ἴον, a violet; ἰὸν, going.
ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ, are diphthongs; their second vowel (ι), being silent, is placed underneath, or subscribed. These should be read thus: ᾳ, “a, subscript”; ῃ, “long e, subscript”; ῳ, “long o, subscript.”
In Greek, only four points or stops are used: the comma (,); the note of interrogation (;); the colon, or point at top (·); and the full stop (.). These should be mentioned as they occur. {p56}