Romanization of Greek
Romanization of Greek is the transliteration (letter-mapping) or transcription (sound-mapping) of text from the Greek alphabet into the Latin alphabet.
History
The conventions for
Traditional English renderings of Greek names originated from
"Greeklish" has also spread within Greece itself, owing to the rapid spread of digital telephony from cultures using the Latin alphabet. Since Greek typefaces and fonts are not always supported or robust, Greek email and chatting has adopted a variety of formats for rendering Greek and Greek shorthand using Latin letters. Examples include "8elo" and "thelw" for θέλω, "3ava" for ξανά, and "yuxi" for ψυχή.
Owing to the difficulties encountered in transliterating and transcribing both ancient and modern Greek into the Latin alphabet, a number of regulatory bodies have been established. The Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT), in cooperation with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), released a system in 1983 which has since been formally adopted by the United Nations, the United Kingdom and United States.
Tables
The following tables list several romanization schemes from the Greek alphabet to modern English. Note, however, that the ELOT, UN, and ISO formats for Modern Greek intend themselves as translingual and may be applied in any language using the Latin alphabet.
Ancient Greek
The
For treatment of
Greek | Classical[citation needed] | ALA-LC[3] (2010) |
Beta Code[5] |
---|---|---|---|
α | a | a | A |
αι | ae | ai | AI |
β | b | b | B |
γ | g | g | G |
n[n. 1] | n[n. 1] | ||
δ | d | d | D |
ε | e | e | E |
ει | e or i | ei | EI |
ζ | z | z | Z |
η | e | ē | H |
θ | th | th | Q |
ι | i | i | I |
κ | c | k | K |
λ | l | l | L |
μ | m | m | M |
ν | n | n | N |
ξ | x | x | C |
ο | o | o | O |
οι | oe | oi | OI |
ου | u | ou | OU |
o | |||
π | p | p | P |
ρ | rh[n. 2] | rh[n. 2] | R |
r | r | ||
σ |
s | s | S / S1 |
ς |
S / S2 / J | ||
τ | t | t | T |
υ | y | y | U |
u[n. 3] | u[n. 3] | ||
υι | ui or yi | ui | UI |
φ | ph | ph | F |
χ |
ch | ch | X |
ψ | ps | ps | Y |
ω | o | ō | W |
- ^ a b Before another velar stop, i.e. in the combinations γγ, γκ, γξ, γχ
- ^ a b In ancient Greek, word-initial rho—a rho at the beginning of a word or name—and the second in a pair of medial rhos were always considered to involve rough breathing whether marked or not.
- ^ a b In the diphthongs αυ, ευ, ηυ, ου, υι, ωυ.
Modern Greek
International versions of ELOT 743, with an English language standard document, were approved by the UN (V/19, 1987) and the British and American governments. The ISO approved in 1997 its version, ISO 843, with a different Type 1 transliteration system, which was adopted four years later by ELOT itself, while the U.N. did not update its version. So the transcriptions of Modern Greek into Latin letters used by ELOT, UN and ISO are essentially equivalent, while there remain minor differences in how they approach reversible transliteration.
The American Library Association and Library of Congress romanization scheme employs its "Modern Greek" system for all works and authors following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.[3]
In the table below, the special rules for vowel combinations (αι, αυ, ει, ευ, ηυ, οι, ου, ωυ) only apply when these letters function as
below.Greek | Transcription | Transliteration | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ELOT 743 (Type 2 - transcription) (1982; 2001) |
BGN/PCGN[7] (1962) |
ELOT 743, 2nd ed. (Type 1 - transliteration)[8] (2001) |
UN[9][11] (1987) |
ISO[12][7] (1997) |
ALA-LC[3] (2010) | ||
α | a | a | a | a | a | a | |
αι | ai | e | ai | ai | ai | ai | |
αυ | av | av | au | av̱ | au | au | before vowels or voiced consonants |
af | af | before voiceless consonants and word-finally | |||||
β | v | v | v | v | v | v | |
γ | g | g | g | g | g | g | |
y | before front vowels | ||||||
γγ | ng | ng | gg | ṉg | gg | ng | |
γκ | gk | g | gk | gk | gk | gk | word-initially |
ng | ng | word-medially | |||||
γξ | nx | nx | gx | ṉx | gx | nx | |
γχ | nch | nkh | gch | ṉch | gch | nch | |
δ | d | dh | d | d | d | d | |
d | in the combination νδρ | ||||||
ε | e | e | e | e | e | e | |
ει | ei | i | ei | ei | ei | ei | |
ευ | ev | ev | eu | ev̱ | eu | eu | before vowels or voiced consonants |
ef | ef | before voiceless consonants and word-finally | |||||
ζ | z | z | z | z | z | z | |
η | i | i | ī / i¯ | i̱ | ī | ē | |
ηυ | iv | iv | īu / i¯u | i̱v̱ | īu | ēu | before vowels or voiced consonants |
if | i̱f̱ | before voiceless consonants and word-finally | |||||
θ | th | th | th | th | th | th | |
ι | i | i | i | i | i | i | |
κ | k | k | k | k | k | k | |
λ | l | l | l | l | l | l | |
μ | m | m | m | m | m | m | |
μπ | b | b | mp | b | mp | b | word-initially |
mp | mb | mp | mp | word-medially | |||
ν | n | n | n | n | n | n | |
ντ | nt | d | nt | nt | nt | ḏ / d_ | word-initially |
nd | nt | word-medially and word-finally | |||||
nt | in the combination ντζ | ||||||
ξ | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
ο | o | o | o | o | o | o | |
οι | oi | i | oi | oi | oi | oi | |
ου | ou | ou | ou | ou | ou | ou | |
π | p | p | p | p | p | p | |
ρ | r | r | r | r | r | r | |
ς |
s | s | s | s | s | s | ς (σίγμα τελικό - final sigma) is used as the final letter in a word. |
τ | t | t | t | t | t | t | |
υ | y | i | y | y | y | y | |
υι | yi | i | yi | yi | yi | ui | |
φ | f | f | f | f | f | ph | |
χ |
ch | kh | ch | ch | ch | ch | |
ψ | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | ps | |
ω | o | o | ō / o¯ | o̱ | ō | ō | |
ωυ | oy | ou | ōy / o¯y | o̱y | ōy | ōu |
Diacritical marks
The traditional
When a Greek diphthong is accented, the accent mark is placed over the second letter of the pair. This means that an accent over the first letter of the pair indicates vowels which should be taken (and romanized) separately. Although the second vowel is not marked with a superfluous diaeresis in Greek, the first-edition ELOT 743 and the UN systems place a diaeresis on the Latin vowel for the sake of clarity.[13][9]
Greek | Ancient | Modern | Name | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Classical | ALA-LC[3] (2010) |
Beta Code[5] [n. 1] |
ELOT[8] (2001) |
UN[9] (1987) |
BGN/ PCGN [14] (1996) |
ISO[7] (1997) |
ALA-LC[3] (2010) | ||
́ | / | ´[n. 2] | accent acute accent | ||||||
̀ | \ | ` | — | ´ | ` | grave accent | |||
῾ | h[n. 3] | ( | h[n. 3] | — | h[n. 3] | h[n. 3] | rough breathing | ||
᾿ | ) | ' | — | ' | coronis smooth breathing | ||||
˜ ̑ |
= | ˆ | — | ´ | ˆ | circumflex | |||
¨ | [n. 4] | + | ¨[n. 4] | [n. 4] | diaeresis | ||||
ͺ | | | ¸ | — | ¸ | iota subscript |
- ^ These marks are placed after the letter so that, e.g., Ἐν is written E)N and τῷ is written TW=|.
- ^ In systems where the υ in αυ, ευ, and ηυ is romanized as a consonant v or f, the stressed diphthongs αύ, εύ, and ηύ are romanized with the accent mark over the initial vowel. This should be distinguished from Greek άυ, έυ, and ήυ, which would be romanized as separate letters and not as diphthongs: áÿ, éÿ, and íÿ or ī́ÿ or í̱ÿ.
- ^ a b c d In the ALA-LC system, the h is supplied even where the rough breathing is not marked in ancient and medieval Greek (for example, initial ρ was always considered to possess rough breathing) but not in Greek after 1453.
- On a vowel: h before the vowel.
- On a diphthong: h before the first vowel.
- On ρ: h after the r.
- ^ a b c The diaeresis mark indicates that adjacent vowels should be taken separately and not as a single diphthong.
Apart from the diacritical marks native to Greek itself or used to romanize its characters,
Numerals
Greece's early Attic numerals were based on a small sample of letters (including heta) arranged in multiples of 5 and 10, likely forming the inspiration for the later Etruscan and Roman numerals.
This early system was replaced by
These values are traditionally romanized as
Punctuation marks
Ancient Greek text did not mark word division with
Modern
. Greek punctuation which has been given formal romanizations include:Greek | ELOT[8] (2001) |
ISO[7] (1997) |
Name |
---|---|---|---|
; | ? | ? | erotimatiko )
|
. | . |
. |
teleia )
|
· | ; | ; | ano teleia )
|
: | : | : | ano kato teleia )
|
, | , | , | comma (komma) |
! | ! |
thavmastiko )
| |
’ | ' | ' | apostrophe ( apostrofos )
|
‿ ͜ |
- | - |
enotikon )
|
Uncommon letters
There are many
Uncommon Greek letters which have been given formal romanizations include:
Greek | ISO[7] | ALA-LC[3] | Beta Code[5] | Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ϝ ϝ Ͷ ͷ |
w | w | V | digamma |
Ϙ ϙ Ϟ ϟ |
— | ḳ | #3 | koppa |
Ϡ ϡ Ͳ ͳ |
— | #5 | sampi | |
Ϻ ϻ | — | #711 | san | |
Ϲ ϲ | s | s | S / S3 | lunate sigma |
Ϳ ϳ | j | — | #401 | yot
|
Standardization
The sounds of
See also
- Classical compound
- Cyrillization of Greek
- English words of Greek origin
- Greek alphabet
- List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
- Wiktionary's articles on Ancient Greek romanization and pronunciation, numerals, punctuation and Modern Greek transliteration.
References
- ^ Dubin, Marc. Rough Guide to the Dodecanese & East Aegean Islands, p. vi. Rough Guides (London), 2002.
- ^ Jeffery, Lilian H. The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece, p. 79. Clarendon Press (Oxford), 1961.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Library of Congress. ALA-LC Romanization Tables: "Greek". 2010.
- ^ "Greece" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. XI. 1880.
- ^ a b c Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. "The TLG Beta Code Manual 2013". University of California (Irvine), 2013.
- ^ Hellenic Organization for Standardization. "ELOT 743, 2ī Ekdosī" ΕΛΟΤ 743 2η Έκδοση [ELOT 743, 2nd ed.] (PDF) (in Greek). Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Pedersen, Thomas T. Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts: "Greek". 31 July 2005. Accessed 22 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Ελληνικός Οργανισμός Τυποποίησης [Ellīnikós Organismós Typopoíīsīs, "Hellenic Organization for Standardization"]. ΕΛΟΤ 743, 2η Έκδοση [ELOT 743, 2ī Ekdosī, "ELOT 743, 2nd ed."]. ELOT (Athens), 2001. (in Greek).
- ^ a b c d Department of Technical Co-operation for Development. "Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names: Montreal, 18—31 August 1987", Vol. I. "Report of the Conference", pp. 42–43. United Nations (New York), 1987.
- ^ Μπάμπης Κουτρούλης [Bámpīs Koutroúlīs, Babis G. Kutrulis]. Μετατροπή του ελληνικού αλφαβήτου με λατινικούς χαρακτήρες (ΕΛΟΤ 743) [Metatropī́ tou ellīnikoú alfavī́tou me latinikoús charaktī́res (ELOT 743), "Conversion of the Greek alphabet to Latin characters (ELOT 743)"]. Accessed 3 Oct 2014. 2008. (in Greek)
- ^ a b c d United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Working Group on Romanization Systems. Report on the Current Status of United Nations Romanization Systems for Geographical Names: "Greek". United Nations (New York), 2003. Accessed 6 Oct 2014.
- ^ Μπάμπης Κουτρούλης [Bámpīs Koutroúlīs, Babis G. Kutrulis]. Μετατροπή του ελληνικού αλφαβήτου με λατινικούς χαρακτήρες (ΕΛΟΤ 743) Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine [Metatropī́ tou ellīnikoú alfavī́tou me latinikoús charaktī́res (ELOT 743), "Conversion of the Greek alphabet to Latin characters (ELOT 743)"]. Accessed 3 Oct 2014. 2008. (in Greek)
- ^ a b United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Romanization Systems and Policies Archived 2013-02-13 at the Wayback Machine: "Romanization System for Greek". 1996. Accessed 2 Oct 2014.
- ^ Jeffery, Lilian H. The local scripts of archaic Greece, p. 23. Clarendon Press (Oxford), 1961.
- ^ International Organization for Standardization. "ISO 843:1997 (Conversion of Greek characters into Latin characters)". 2010.
- ^ Συνήγορος του Πολίτη [Synī́goros tou Polítī, "The Greek Ombudsman".] "Λατινική γραφή κατά παρέκκλιση ΕΛΟΤ 743 στις ταυτότητες και τα διαβατήρια" [Latinikī́ grafī́ katá parékklisī ELOT 743 stis taftótītes kai ta diavatī́ria, "Latin Script Exceptions to ELOT 743 on Passports and ID Cards"]. Accessed 3 Oct 2014. (in Greek)
- ^ Hellenic National Passport Center. Press Releases: "Transliteration of the Passport Holder's Name in Latin Archived 2017-11-14 at the Wayback Machine". 12 Feb 2012. Accessed 3 Oct 2014. (in English)
External links
- ELOT 743 Converter, a free online tool by the Greek government for official purposes using 2nd-edition ELOT transcription (in Greek)
- Google Translate, a free online tool providing UN transliteration of Modern Greek. Also comes as application
- Transliterate.com, a free online tool providing transliteration of Ancient Greek
- Transliteration of Non-Roman Scripts, tables in pdf format by Thomas T. Pedersen
- Greeklish converter Greeklish to Greek conversion and Greek transliteration with user-selectable options