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- "Γεια σας!"
"Γεια σας!"
Translation:Hello!
43 Comments
288
Is the pronunciation: a) /ia sas/ b) /kia sas/ or c) /gia sas/? The pronunciation of the first word is puzzling me. I hear /ia/, but in the google translate I hear /kia/, and I think the letter 'y' in Greek should be pronounced /g/. So, can you tell me which version is correct?
I think it should be [ʝa sas].
The first sound is not found in English; it's most similar to the "y" in "yes, yeah" but perhaps a little "stronger" or more "buzzy". If you use the English "y-as-in-yes", it will be fine.
The letter γ (it's not a "y") in Greek is never a [ɡ] sound as in English "get, gas" on its own -- before a front vowel, it's a [ʝ] and before a back vowel it's a [ɣ], which is the voiced version of the "ch" in "Bach, loch" for some speakers of English.
288
Thanks a lot, Mizinamo! =)) (I still haven't installed a Greek keyboard, and cannot write their letters properly. But I can still copy-paste some, of course)
So, I gather it could be even /ʝia sas/, since the diphthong 'ει' is supposed to be /i/ by itself, right?
I've just watched some videos on YouTube, and they all pronounce it the way you suggested [ʝa sas]. So, I guess this is it, although there is still this mystery about why we don't pronounce it /ʝia sas/.
Perhaps, but I think the γι spelling simply marks the sound [ʝ] before a back vowel here and it's just [ʝa].
Unlike the original word υγεία, which is indeed [iʝia] with a definite [i] after the [ʝ].
Unstressed iotas often turn into mere palatalisations of the previous consonant -- have a look at http://www.foundalis.com/lan/grphdetl.htm#p_palatalization if you're interested in the phonological details. (The whole page is good for how to determine the pronunciation from the spelling.)
Unfortunately, you can't always tell whether they do! For example, άδεια famously has two pronunciations, one with two syllables and one with three: the two words are spelled the same and you can only tell from context whether it's the more formal (three-syllable) noun or the more colloquial (two-syllable) adjective.
Similarly with βιάζομαι, which can have three syllables or four; both are verbs, but with rather different meanings depending on whether the iota is just a palatalisation marker or a full vowel!
288
WOW! What a site! I guess, this is the site if you really want to get into it. Thanks a bunch for this prompt and extensive answer to my question! Greetings =))
Instead of installing a Greek keyboard you could us this website that allows you to type Greek letters: http://greek.typeit.org/
288
This is another great solution! Instead of constant changing between 2 keyboards and remembering the position of the new letters, using ; with a letter to get an accent sign above it, you have everything here written out for you. Great site! Thanks a lot, Philip. =))
446
I'm using a Samsung smartphone to study with DL. I installed a greek keyboard, and on the contrary of a physical keyboard on a PC, you have the layout to type. I suppose it's the same with Apple. Another advantage of a smartphone is it's easier to study in bed...
So its another possible solution. The drawback is the app is less complete than the web version.
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