How to pronounce Greek

This is a subject in itself. In many koine Greek classes, the pronounciation taught is the somewhat artificial 'Erasmian' pronounciation, named after the scholar Erasmus, who was working in the 1500s. For an interesting discussion of the pronounciation problem, see the link below, at the Institute for Biblical Studies website:

http://www.biblicalgreek.org/links/pronunciation.php

So the question becomes not only 'how do I pronounce koine Greek?' but also 'which pronounciation system do I use?'

In the Greek Orthodox church, of which I am a member, the answer is clear: we pronounce koine Greek as if it was modern Greek. This method has the advantage of corrresponding to the natural pronounciation of a living language.

Several websites - with sound files - which will review modern Greek pronounciation are listed below. The first is the Filoglossia site: the guide to Greek letters is simple and straightforward. The last two sites are from a series of webpages about the Greek language created by the (apparently) somewhat eccentric Harry Foundalis. They are very detailed.

http://www.xanthi.ilsp.gr/filog/ch1/alphabet/alphabet.asp

http://www.foundalis.com/lan/grkalpha.htm

http://www.foundalis.com/lan/grphdetl.htm


But whatever method you choose to pronounce koine Greek, you should pronounce it out loud as you study. Languages are meant to be spoken and not only read. You will find that hearing the words of the passages as you read them will add greatly to your ease of understanding.