"x xylophone"
Translation:ξ ξυλόφωνο
47 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
You are not expected to know you are here to learn. Just the way you learned English spelling...."Do you eat meat or meet." "Do you bye a drink or buy a drink? " Word by word, using the hints you will get used to the spelling...and if you don't you can look at the hints again. :)
Look at these tips to help you learn
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.
Can't get the difference in using ο than ω and vice versa. Is a sound difference
No. The two letters represent exactly the same sound in modern Greek.
Greek uses etymological spelling -- words that have been inherited from Ancient Greek (back when the language had more vowel sounds than it does now) are still spelled the same way as back then, which means that you have more vowel letters than vowel sounds.
Kind of like English, where ee and ea used to represent different spellings, and "meet" and "meat" used to be pronounced differently and therefore spelled differently.
Now they're pronounced the same and you simply have to memorise which spelling to use for which word. You have to remember that "green" has ee and "clean" has ea, and which spelling to use for which meaning of "meet" and "meat" (not to mention "mete").
Same in Greek with ε αι (both pronounced /e/), η ι υ ει οι (υι) (all pronounced /i/) and ο ω (both pronounced /o/). At least /a/ and /u/ only have one spelling each. (But /av/ can be either αυ or αβ, /ev/ either ευ or εβ, /af/ either αυ or αφ, and /ef/ either ευ εφ. And sometimes the customary spelling has changed, e.g. whether to spell "egg" as αυγό or αβγό or "ear" as αυτί or αφτί -- Ancient Greek spelling is no help here since the Modern Greek word has changed too much from the original ωόν and ους, ωτ-.)
or there's a grammatical rule?
With grammatical endings, you may be in luck.
For example, the verb ending for εγώ is spelled with -ω: παίζω, κάνω, θέλω, ....
And the noun ending for neuter singular nouns is spelled with -ο: το αυτοκίνητο, ...
But in the stem of a word, it's all memorisation.
For example, δολοφονία "homicide" has an omicron after the phi while τηλεφωνία "telephony" has an omega after the phi, even though the endings sound exactly the same
(Because they're compounds based on φόνος "killing" and φωνή "voice", respectively, and those roots used to be pronounced with a different vowel sound two thousand years ago -- which doesn't help anyone learning the language now.)
Yes, on the Greek keyboard: 1. hold down the :/; key on the right of the LΛ 2. at the same time type the letter you want. That should do it. You should also read the Tips & notes. Find the link on the top left corner of the page. All units have them.
Also, here is are some good links you may want to have on hand: links
Good luck and come back for any other questions.
Historical reasons.
In Ancient Greek, ω/ο were pronounced differently, as were υ/ι/η/ει/οι/υι.
Eventually, the sounds fell together in pronunciation, but Greek still keeps spelling them differently in words derived from Ancient Greek (which is most of them).
A bit like "ee" versus "ea" in English -- the different spellings used to correspond to different pronunciations, but now nearly everyone pronounces "meet" and "meat" completely identically, and you just have to learn which spelling to use for which word.
That is how it is with Greek as well -- you just have to memorise how a given sound is spelled in a given word.
Sometimes it helps if the word has been borrowed into English, as the English spelling may give you a clue. For example, "xylophone" with a "y" in the first syllable may help you remember that the Greek word has an "υ" in the first syllable.
HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD These links will not only show you how to get the Greek keyboard but also how to find the Greek letters on it, how to add accents etc.
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22040507 It will also help you learn the alphabet and where to find other
HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23430663
THE GREEK ALPHABET https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22424028
And here is another to help you navigate Duolingo
FAQ - General Questions, Bugs & Reports https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23799672
Some simple hints to get you started:
Always read the comments before posting.
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Read the Tips & notes right below the list of lessons on your Homepage
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Read the drop down hints. Pass your cursor over a word and a list of words will appear.
These are the official Duolingo guidelines which you should read. https://www.duolingo.com/guidelines And these will answer lots of questions about how Duo works. https://www.duolingo.com/comment/8000024
If you have questions just ask.
Ist there a rule about the use of "ω" and "ο"?
No, just history.
The two used to be pronounced differently (hence the different spellings), but have fallen together through sound changes.
It's a bit like "ee" versus "ea" in English -- you just have to learn whether to spell "meet" or "meat", "reed" or "read", etc. Unless you speak Ancient Greek or Old English, where the two sounds were still pronounced differently ....
Just go here for information. And by the way this is already mentioned on this page. You should get into the habit of reading the comments..
HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD These links will not only show you how to get the Greek keyboard but also how to find the Greek letters on it, how to add accents etc.
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22040507 It will also help you learn the alphabet and where to find other
HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23430663
THE GREEK ALPHABET https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22424028
And here is another to help you navigate Duolingo
FAQ - General Questions, Bugs & Reports https://www.duolingo.com/comment/23799672
Some simple hints to get you started:
Always read the comments before posting.
Read the Tips & notes right below the list of lessons on your Homepage
Read the drop down hints. Pass your cursor over a word and a list of words will appear.
These are the official Duolingo guidelines which you should read. https://www.duolingo.com/guidelines And these will answer lots of questions about how Duo works. https://www.duolingo.com/comment/8000024https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21928011
the sound is kind of the same
The sound of η, ι, υ, ει, οι is completely identical.
You simply have to learn which way that sound is written in any given word.
Like with "ee" versus "ea" in English -- you have to learn that "reed" is a plant while "read" is what you do to a book; that "meat" is from animals but "meet" is encountering someone; that "speech" has ee but "speak" has ea; and so on.
In both cases, Greek and English, there are historical reasons for the different spellings (i.e. they represent what used to be different pronunciations), but in today's language, it's just memorisation.
And sometimes, there's disagreement about spelling, e.g. whether "purple" in Greek should be spelled μοβ or μωβ or whether either spelling is possible.
We moderators cannot see your sentence therefore before you posted your comment here you should have made a REPORT.
Here's how to report.
Go to the bottom of the exercise page where you'll see REPORT Click on that:
Then choose what you want to REPORT: (You'll see these to choose from.)
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This is the one you should click on if your translation was not accepted. After choosing the REPORT you want to make you should post on the comment page.
876
I don't have a greek keyboard. Can i change the settings so i dont get this type of question?
How do you know if you're supposed to use ι or υ and ο or ω?
Memorisation, I'm afraid.
Like with English ee versus ea, those letters used to represent different sounds, but now they're pronounced identically, but the spelling has been kept the same, and today's speakers simply have to memorise which goes where -- why, for example, "green" is spelled with ee but "clean" with ea.
However, if the word stem was borrowed into English, you may be able to get a hint, since ι turns into i, η into e, and υ into y.
So since you know that "xylophone" is spelled with a -y- in the first syllable, the Greek word almost certainly has a -υ- in the first syllable (and indeed it does).
That doesn't help with ο versus ω, unfortunately -- and English e could come not only from η but also from ε, ει, οι. (For example, "cemetery" from κοιμητήριον, where English only has "e" but Greek has οι in one syllable and η in the others.)
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Read the other comments on this page. You'll find a lot of help.
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Check out these on how to use Duolingo.
TIPS TO MAKE LEARNING EASIER + HOW TO REPORT A PROBLEM
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/22424028
THE MODERN GREEK ALPHABET and HOW TO GET THE GREEK KEYBOARD https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/23430853
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22040507
This is the Greek Forum with more information.
Why do we say "I"ll mee
t you on Sunday." but "We eat mea
t for dinner." or he said: "I want to buy
some shoes." But "bye
, see you later." etc
It's a difference in spelling. Greek has basically very easy spelling and these two letters are some of the few that you need to be careful of.
In other words, you have to learn the spelling.
But there is one place you can be sure to use ω. That is at the end of most verbs, first-person, present tense.....for example.
παίζω
, => I play
γράφω
=> I write
διαβάζω
=> I read,
πίνω
=> I drink....
And please READ THE OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS PAGE...THERE'S A LOT OF HELP.
https://www.duolingo.com/skill/el/Warm-Up/tips-and-notes
"To use the accent mark : press the semicolon key and then the vowel."