day one: the alpha-beta

hoi poloi!  Today was the γενοσις, that is genesis or beginning of my 8am Greek class.  We learned the alphabet, or the alpha-beta, the first two Greek letters. 

Interesting note: when people started sending their kin to Athens for education (this is way back when), the Latin speakers found that there were Greek sounds that were not present in Latin and the Latin alphabet, the one that we English speakers are accustomed to, added these sounds to the end of the alphabet: χυζ or X, Y and Z.  Of course for us these letters come at the end of the alphabet as an addendum to our other letters, but in the Greek, they are found all over the place. 
See the Greek alpha-beta here.

Also, our "sometimes y" rule that applies to vowels has to do with our use of Greek words and sounds.  The upsilon has a y-sound, similar to the French u or German ü.

Fa-assinating.

Comments

[Dash]

Ack! Narf! Ugh! 8 A.M. Greek! You have my deepest admiration and sympathy, my dear. But--you GO girl!