Greek Language Tutorial > Alphabet Index > Introduction > Ancient vs. Modern Greek

Ancient vs. Modern Greek

If you study Ancient or Biblical Greek, the pronunciation that you learn will be very different than that of Modern Greek. This is because the “defining work” on how Ancient Greek was pronounced was written by a gentleman named Erasmus. As I understand it, Erasmus came from the Latin tradition, and did his very best to turn Greek pronunciation into Latin.

This is truly unfortunate, because it’s wrong. Unlike Latin, which is truly a dead language, the Greek language has an unbroken line from ancient times to the present. Although there have certainly been changes in the way Greek has been pronounced over the ages, it is also an absolute certainty that it was never pronounced as Erasmus proclaimed. Had Erasmus bothered to consult with the Greek Orthodox monks at the time that he did his research, he would have found this out. Am I saying that Erasmus was evil or stupid? No, probably just very well-intentioned and horribly misguided.

It’s too late to change things now, so we have to live with it. If you have already studied some ancient or biblical Greek, you’ll have to make a shift in pronunciation. If you intend to study the ancient or Biblical version of Greek, be aware that you’ll have to learn it as Erasmus wrongly recorded it.

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