"λάμδα"
Translation:lamda
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It is pronounced /ð/, like "th" in the words "the" and "then". The sound /d/ in Greek is written "ντ".
Every word of two or more syllables has one of them which carries the main stress of the word.
The vowel in that stressed syllable gets a little tonos mark above it.
So you use ά (alpha with tonos) if it is the vowel of a stressed syllable.
The letter λάμδα is pronounce "LAM-tha" with stress on the first syllable, so it's written λάμδα.
If the accent had been on the second syllable, lam-THA, then it would have been λαμδά.
Leaving off the accent completely, as in λαμδα, is just wrong -- the accents are part of the spelling of the word.
"λάμδα is the name of one of the letters in the Greek alphabet. It looks like this when used in a word: Λ or λ.
See here for more information about the Greek alphabet...and much more.
These links will not only show you how to get the Greek keyboard but also how to find the Greek letters on it.
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22040507
It will also help you learn the alphabet and where to find other useful links.
And here is another to help you navigate Duolingo
FAQ - General Questions, Bugs & Reports
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23799672
Some simple rules to get you started:
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Always read the comments before posting.
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Read the Tips & notes right below the list of lessons on your Home page
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Read the drop down hints. Pass your cursor over a word and a list of words will appear.
Every word of more than one syllable has a stressed syllable (which has to be one of the last three syllables).
That stressed syllable is, as in English, pronounced a bit more loudly. (Rather than, say, at a higher pitch.)
The vowel in that stressed syllable is marked with an accent (called tonos in Greek).
For example, the words νόμος "law" and νομός "nome, prefecture" are distinguished by the fact that the first word is accented on the first syllable (NO-mos) and the second word is accented on the second syllable (no-MOS).
Thus the spelling λάμδα shows that the word is stressed on the first syllable, because the first alpha has the tonos on it.
There is no difference in pronunciation (as in vowel quality or quantity) between a vowel with tonos and one without; the vowel is not pronounced longer or slightly differently (as with English "long e" in "beet" versus "short e" in "bet", or the like); the tonos just indicates the position of the word accent.
Yes, it's the letter. Just go here to get a good review of the Greek alphabet and then move on to other Skills.
HINTS ON HOW TO LEARN THE MODERN GREEK ALPHABET and HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/23430853
I presume this was a listening exercise -- we can't make alternatives for those and so only one version is accepted.
The good news is that individual letters should only have listening exercises for the spelled-out version of the name, so if you hear "λάμδα" then you know that you have to type "λάμδα" and not just "λ" (which would sound like "llllll" rather than like "lamtha" after all).
For little phrases such as το κακό τ, it's still ambiguous unfortunately.
This is something we hope to improve in the next version of the course.
See this list which you might find helpful.
THE MODERN GREEK ALPHABET and HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/23430853
And these tips:
TIPS TO MAKE LEARNING EASIER + 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
Does greek letters also have accents like in french?
Greek has accents, but they're not used like in French (with a handful of exceptions).
French uses accents to change the sound of the vowel (e.g. élève with three different vowel sounds) or to distinguish words otherwise written the same (e.g. a - à "has - to"; ou - où "or - where").
In Greek, the accent shows the position of the stressed syllable -- as if we were to distinguish "presént" (the verb) from "présent" (the adjective or the noun) in English writing.
For example, αλλά means "but" and is stressed on the last syllable, άλλα means "other(s)" and is stressed on the first syllable.
(The handful of exceptions are the single-syllable words ή πού πώς "or; where; how" that get written with an accent to distinguish them in writing from η που πως "the; which; that"; the pronunciation is the same since a single-syllable word can only be stressed on one way.)
Because here here is a weird symbol on top of a after small greek l letter
That's to show that the word is stressed on the first syllable -- λάμδα is pronounced LAM-dha and not lam-DHA.