"β"
Translation:veeta
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2954
This can appear as a "type what you hear" exercise as well. It definitely seems to me that "βήτα" should be accepted when the correct answer is "β."
- 2954
It's a good question. Here's a phonological answer. The sound [b] is a voiced bilabial plosive, while [v] is a voiced interdental fricative. Interdentality and bilability are quite similar, so as two of the three main articulatory features are the same or close to the same (i.e., the only major difference between the phones is the manner of articulation), it's not surprising that they should be treated similarly.
Note, however, that Greek does indeed have completely separate sounds for both [v] and [b]. The former is of course represented by the letter β; the latter is written μπ. That is, "μπράβο" is pronounced [bɾavo]. From a linguistic perspective, this also makes sense: the phone [m] is a voiced bilabial nasal, which is essentially the quintessence of voicing; when an unvoiced consonant follows it, the resulting sound is the same as the sound of the corresponding voiced consonant (albeit with a high voice-onset time). As [p] is the unvoiced version of [b] (an unvoiced bilabial plosive), the result follows.
wcchargin: 'It's a good question. Here's a ...' and then I got stuck :o) I have copied the rest of your text to my Greek notes for further reading. It's packed with peanuts. Super. Thanks.
Okay, so in Greek, "β" used to be a "b", but turned into a "ν", while the ultra accurate digraph "μπ" acts like a "b".
When this comes up in a listening exercise, "βήτα" is still marked as incorrect.
I don't know whether it's possible to accept spelling alternatives for a listening exercise.
As a workaround, I've disabled the audio on this particular item -- it's impossible to guess whether the audio wants to the letter name spelled out, or the individual letter.
What we are showing here is the correct Modern Greek pronunciation of the Greek letter Ββ. See here for a fuller view of the alphabet: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/22424028
Knowing the name of the letter will not assist you in using the langauge it's the way it's pronounced that you'll need.
And for other resources see here:https://forum.duolingo.com/topic/936
In a listening exercise ("Type what you hear"), and hearing βήτα, why is it wrong to type the greek word βήτα?
How do you know when it wants the letter itself or spelled out? Goes back and forth
'Type what you hear'! The name of the letter is certainly correct. They should fix this.
Hi, everyone. Here's a tip. Just hover over the word and you'll see some of the accepted answers.
So in Greek there is no single letter for the phonem b (as in boat) if I understood correctly? The only way is with the digraph μπ.
Given that b is a common sound in many languages (maybe not in Greek) then I assume μπ is seens pretty commonly?
So in Greek there is no single letter for the phonem b (as in boat) if I understood correctly? The only way is with the digraph μπ.
That's right.
Given that b is a common sound in many languages (maybe not in Greek) then I assume μπ is seens pretty commonly?
Well, /b/ was a reasonably common sound in Ancient Greek, but nearly all those /b/s shifted to /v/.
There are some occurrences of /b/ μπ deriving from old /mb/ μβ (e.g. κουμπί "button" from κομβίον, μπαίνω "enter" from εμβαίνω) or other Greek sources through various sound changes, but most /b/s are probably from loanwords from other languages that do have that sound.
So it's a mix. It's not that common in "original" Greek words, but some such words are very common, e.g. μπορώ "be able to, can"; and depending on how many loanwords you use, it may be more or less common in total.
I hear "veeta" but if you think it's wrong you should have made a Report at the bottom of the exercise page. -The audio does not sound correct.
This is a technical problem and this forum is for lanugare-related discussions we have no jurisdiction over the audio.
TIPS TO MAKE LEARNING EASIER and EFFECTIVE + HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM…..
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/22424028
And check out the Greek Forum here with more links.
https://forum.duolingo.com/topic/936
Do you want us to quit this program. How and when are we to know what you want the letter or the word
How and when do we know what you want the letter or the word. They both sound the same. Is this a guessing game or a teaching lesson. Do you want us to quit. or tell FB how bad this APP is.
How and when do we know what you want the letter or the word. They both sound the same. Is this a guessing game or a teaching lesson. Do you want us to quit. or tell FB how bad this APP is.