Derivation of Latin and Cyrillic from Greek letters

The following overview shows the derivation of the letters of the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic alphabet from letters of the Greek alphabet . The Greek script is a further development of the Phoenician script , which will not be discussed here. The important intermediate step from the Greek alphabet via the Etruscan script to the Roman (Latin) alphabet is also ignored. Pronunciation rules without brackets follow the German standard pronunciation, in square brackets the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) . The pronunciation of the Kyrillica is based on Russian .

The Greek alphabet and the letters derived from it in the Latin and Cyrillic writing system

Α Alpha (uppercase Α, minuscule α)

Latin Α / a
Cyrillic А / а

Β Beta (uppercase Β, lowercase β)

Pronunciation in ancient Greek: [b]
Pronunciation in Modern Greek: [v]
Latin B / b
Cyrillic Б / б (pronunciation: [b] )
Cyrillic В / в (pronunciation: w [v] )

Γ The gamma (Greek neuter γάμμα, uppercase Γ, minuscule γ)

Latin C / c; from this the Latin G / g developed
Cyrillic Г / г (pronunciation: [ɡ] )

Δ The delta (Greek Δέλτα, capital letter: Δ, lower case letter: δ)

Latin D / d
Cyrillic Д / д (Pronunciation: [d] )

Ε The epsilon (Greek neuter Έψιλον, uppercase Ε, minuscule ε or ϵ)

Latin E / e
Cyrillic E / e (pronunciation: [ʲɛ] / [jɛ] )

Ζ The Zeta (Greek neuter Ζήτα, uppercase Ζ, minuscule ζ) (pronounced as a voiced s [z] )

Latin Z / z
German also: ligature from ſ + z (Eszett); derived from this: ẞ / ß

Η The Eta (Greek neuter Ήτα, uppercase Η, minuscule η)

Pronunciation in pre-classical Greek [h] ; the letter was called Heta . (The Etruscans knew the sound [h] and took over the letter with this sound value. The Romans took over the H from the Etruscans.)
classic pronunciation [ɛː] ; see. z. B. the German translation of Ἠλέκτρα as "Elektra"
Modern Greek pronunciation: [i]
Latin H / h
Cyrillic И / и (pronunciation: [i] )

Θ The theta (Greek neuter θῆτα, uppercase Θ, minuscule ϑ or θ)

Cyrillic З / з (pronunciation: voiced s [z] )
The origin of the З is the Glagolitic letter Zemlya, which is probably a variant of the Greek theta.

Ι The iota or iota (Greek neuter Ἰῶτα 'the smallest letter', uppercase Ι, minuscule ι)

Latin I / i
Cyrillic I / i (still available in Ukrainian and Belarusian, earlier also in Russian)

Κ The kappa (Greek neuter Κάππα, uppercase Κ, minuscule κ or ϰ)

Latin K / k
Cyrillic К / к

Λ The lambda (also lambda , lanta or labda, Greek neuter Λάμδα; uppercase Λ, minuscule λ)

Latin L / l
Cyrillic Л / л

Μ My (ancient Greek neuter μῦ and modern Greek Μι, modern Greek pronounced [mi] ; uppercase : Μ, minuscule: μ)

Latin M / m
Cyrillic М / м

Ν The Ny (Greek neuter Νι, today's pronunciation: [ni] ; uppercase Ν, minuscule ν)

Latin N / n
Cyrillic Н / н (Pronunciation: [n] )

Ξ The Xi (Greek ξεῖ, uppercase Ξ, minuscule ξ)

No direct equivalent in the Latin alphabet.
The Latin letter X immigrated via Western Greek, which is native to southern Italy (Magna Graecia). The model for the character of the letter is the Western Greek Ksi, which - in contrast to the Eastern Greek Ξ, which is known to this day - looked X-shaped.

Ο The omicron (Greek neuter Όμικρον, "small O", in short, [compare also Omega]; uppercase Ο, minuscule ο)

Latin O / o
Cyrillic O / o

Π The pi (Greek neuter Πι, uppercase Π, minuscule π)

Latin: P / p (compare the early Greek pi )
Cyrillic: П / п; Pronunciation: [p]

Ρ The Rho (modern Greek neuter Ρω, uppercase Ρ, minuscule ρ or ϱ)

Latin: R / r
Explanation: The Rho was adopted as R in the Etruscan alphabet. The Etruscans also wrote the letter partly with, partly without beginning. When the Romans adopted the Etruscan alphabet, they used the approached version to distinguish it from the P. The approach grew over time and through to Roman antiquity to the base line of the letter.
Cyrillic Р / р (pronunciation: [r] )

Σ The Greek letter Sigma (Greek neuter Σίγμα, uppercase Σ, minuscule in the word σ, minuscule at the end of the word ς)

Latin S / s
Cyrillic С / с (pronunciation: [s] )
Explanation: In the Hellenistic period, the letter in manuscripts became a form known today as the lunar sigma (lunar: "crescent moon"), which developed into the most widely used form in late antiquity and in the Byzantine Empire and is still common today in the ecclesiastical context (Orthodox churches) . The Cyrillic Es (С / с) is derived from this letter form.

Τ The dew (Greek neuter Ταυ, today's pronunciation: [taf] ; uppercase Τ, minuscule τ)

Latin T / t
Cyrillic Т / т

Υ The Ypsilon (Greek neuter Ύψιλον, "simple I" [compare epsilon]; uppercase Υ, minuscule υ)

pre-classical pronunciation: [u] ; classic pronunciation: like German ü [y] ; Modern Greek pronunciation: [i]
Latin V / v; Y / y; U / u; W / w
Cyrillic У / у (pronunciation: [u] )

Φ The Phi (Greek neuter Φι, uppercase Φ; minuscule φ or ϕ)

ancient pronunciation: [pʰ] (aspirated p); see. German "Photography" (from the typeface, not from the pronunciation)
Pronunciation since the first centuries AD: [f] ; see. German "Photography"
Cyrillic Ф / ф (pronunciation: [f] ); see. russ. "фотография"

Χ Chi (Greek neuter Χῖ, uppercase, minuscule χ)

Latin X / x
Cyrillic Х / х (pronunciation: like the German Ach-Laut [x] )

Ψ The psi (Greek neuter Ψι, uppercase Ψ, minuscule ψ)

Ω The omega ('capital O', long spoken [compare also omicron]; uppercase Ω, minuscule ω)

Ϝ The Digamma (Greek δίγαμμα, uppercase Ϝ, minuscule ϝ)

The digamma corresponded to the [w] sound in early Greek
In some dialects, including Attic, the classical form of ancient Greek, the sound [w] dropped out early on. Therefore there was no use for the letter Digamma. When in Athens in 403 BC When the Milesian alphabet was introduced, the obsolete digamma was abolished.
Latin F / f

Ϙ The Koppa or Qoppa (Greek neuter Κόππα, uppercase Ϙ, minuscule ϙ)

The koppa was only used in pre-classical Greek.
Latin Q / q

The Latin alphabet, represented as a subsidiary of the Greek alphabet

This is followed by a concordance of Latin letters with their Greek counterparts, from which they were derived (usually via the Etruscan alphabet).

A / a of Α, α; alpha
B / b of Β, β; beta
C / c of Γ, γ; gamma
D / d of Δ, δ; delta
E / e from Ε, ε; epsilon
F / f from Ϝ, ϝ; Digamma
G / g of Γ, γ; gamma
H / h of Η, η; Eta or Heta
I / I from Ι, ι; Iota
J / j from Ι, ι; Iota
K / k of Κ, κ; Kappa
L / l of Λ, λ; Lambda
M / m of Μ, µ; My
N / n of Ν, ν; Ny
O / o from Ο, ο; Omicron
P / p of Π, π; pi
Q / q from Ϙ, ϙ; Koppa
R / r from Ρ, ρ; Rho
S / s of Σ, σ; Sigma
T / t of Τ, τ; dew
U / u from Υ, υ; Ypsilon
V / v from Υ, υ; Ypsilon
W / w from Υ, υ; Ypsilon
X / x from Χ, χ; Chi
Y / y of Υ, υ; Ypsilon
Z / z of Ζ, ζ; Zeta

literature

Ullman, Berthold Louis: Ancient Writing and Its Influence , 1980
Peter T. Daniels and William Bright ( Eds. ): The World's Writing Systems. Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1996.

Web links

Remarks

↑ The letter ß in broken fonts emerged from a ſʒ ligature, but the form of our modern antiqua fonts from a ſs ligature. Further details of the complicated and sometimes controversial history of this letter can be found in the section on the origin of the article ß .

[1] The letter ß in broken fonts emerged from a ſʒ ligature, but the form of our modern antiqua fonts from a ſs ligature. Further details of the complicated and sometimes controversial history of this letter can be found in the section on the origin of the article ß .