# transcription



## janecito

I was wondering... Is there a standard (or standardized) system of transcribing Greek alphabet into Latin script? I've come across so many that I started to wonder.  Some are based more in the phonetic resemblance (*θ* > *th*, *ω* > *o*) other in the graphical resemblance of the letter (*θ* > *8*, *ω* > *w*). Somehow the phonetic one seems to be easier to read (for me!). But are there any standards? How do Greek people write SMS messages?


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## ireney

janecito good question!

Well we write our SMSs in Greek hehe. To tell you the truth there is no standard. It's either/or. Most preder a kind of mix: 8 for theta but o for omega. 
I hope someone who chats in Greek using Lating chars more often than I do will be able to help you more, with maybe a list or something.


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## janecito

ireney said:
			
		

> Well we write our SMSs in Greek hehe.


Really!?. Lucky you.  Russians don't seem to be able to use Cyrillic with mobile phones.

As to the transcription ... I never use Latin script when I write in Greek, but sometimes I come across that - above all on the Internet and sometimes it is really hard to read that. And when you already get used to reading one's texts, someone else comes along with a completely different idea of transcribing... It's quite a mess. 

PS:



			
				ireney said:
			
		

> 8 for theta but o for omega


Shouldn't it be '*8 for 8eta*' if that's really what you prefer?


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## Whodunit

janecito said:
			
		

> Really!?. Lucky you.  Russians don't seem to be able to use Cyrillic with mobile phones.


 
Really? I know about a lot of German cell phones that have Cyrillic, Greek, and Arabic characters (even with T9  ) on it. It's surprising that Russians have to use Latin letters.



> As to the transcription ... I never use Latin script when I write in Greek, but sometimes I come across that - above all on the Internet and sometimes it is really hard to read that. And when you already get used to reading one's texts, someone else comes along with a completely different idea of transcribing... It's quite a mess.


 
Well, I'm not sure whether my opinion counts, as I'm not learning Greek, but what I see most often is the phonetic transcription. Words like _8eta_ would look so weird in reference books, that's why people use _theta_ in German (and English?) encyclopedia (what's the correct plural, by the way?) instead.


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## janecito

Whodunit said:
			
		

> Really? I know about a lot of German cell phones that have Cyrillic, Greek, and Arabic characters (even with T9   ) on it. It's surprising that Russians have to use Latin letters.



 You know, I'm not sure. Maybe some do use Cyrillic with mobile phones. But I was just talking to this one person and she said that she (and her friends) always use the Latin transcription.



			
				Whodunit said:
			
		

> Well, I'm not sure whether my opinion counts, as I'm not learning Greek, but what I see most often is the phonetic transcription. Words like _8eta_ would look so weird in reference books, that's why people use _theta_ in German (and English?) encyclopedia (what's the correct plural, by the way?) instead.



 I'm sure that in more official use the “phonetic” transcription is used. Using 8 an w for θ ω respectively would look strange in an encyclopedia (by the way, my dictionary doesn't give any special, irregular plural forms for this word, but it does give another spelling option: encyclopaedia)


 Most of the letters aren't really problematic. But some are.  So, would it be something like this?

*greek letter* / *'phonetic' resemblance* / *'graphical' resemblance*​ *α* / a / a
*β* / v (or b?) / b
*γ* / g / g
*δ* / d / d
*ε* / e / e
*ζ* / z / z
*η* / i / h, n
*θ* / th / 8
*ι* / i (maybe j? - to distinguish it from η) / i
*κ* / k / k
*λ* / l / l
*μ* / m / m
*ν* / n (maybe v? - specially if you use n for η) / n
*ξ* / ks (or x) / ks? x? (but x is already χ)
*ο* / o / o
*π* / p / p
*ρ* / r / r
*σ* / s / s
*τ* / t / t
*υ* / u / u
*φ* / f / f
*χ* / h / x
*ψ* / ps / ps
*ω* / o / w


 This is my “work” I didn't copy it from anywhere. But I'm looking forward to natives (and others, of course) telling me what it is that they use. So, go ahead, complete, add, change the table.


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## ics

Hi janecito,
The official transcription of greek letters in latin characters has specific rules which I admit I don't know!  I did a google search with “μετατροπή του ελληνικού αλφαβήτου με λατινικούς χαρακτήρες» and I found a very interesting site (but unfortunately only in Greek….) with tables and dettails about the transcription.
As for the GREEKLISH (the unofficial cyber-greek ) there is so much freedom that you can call it anarchism! For example the letter ξ can be written “ks”, “x” even “3” !! (an optical transcription if we can call it this way) Personaly I prefer the last one! Ah, the official transcription of “ξ” is “x” 
For SMS I usually use greek letters but sometimes also greeklish, or a mix of the two if I’m in a hurry


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## metis

> *greek letter*​*α* / a
> *β* / b
> *γ* / g
> *δ* / d
> *ε* / e
> *ζ* / z
> *η* / h
> *θ* / th
> *ι* / i
> *κ* / k
> *λ* / l
> *μ* / m
> *ν* / n
> *ξ* / ks
> *ο* / o
> *π* / p
> *ρ* / r
> *σ* / s
> *τ* / t
> *υ* / y/u
> *φ* / f
> *χ* / x
> *ψ* / ps
> *ω* /  w


Dear Janecito, I am not a native speaker but this is the letters I use when I write in greeklish. For what concernes  θ i think that th is more evident and practical. How many words with τχ you know in greek? Anyhow other suggestions are welcome. Giulio


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## janecito

ics said:
			
		

> The official transcription of greek letters in latin characters has specific rules which I admit I don't know!  I did a google search with “μετατροπή του ελληνικού αλφαβήτου με λατινικούς χαρακτήρες» and I found a very interesting site (but unfortunately only in Greek….) with tables and dettails about the transcription.



Yes, I think I found the site. It's in Greek, but it's not all Greek to me.  Still it's going to take me all summer to get through it, but then again, I've got time.  Thank you!


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## ireney

Hmmm nothing else come to mind right now, exept "ch" for "Χι"


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## Kevman

This issue drives me up the wall! 

My computer's operating system is in English of course, but I often want to give Greek names to files and I can't decide on a consistent system. Sometimes my preference differs depending on the hour of the day!

These are the points that bother me:
θ as 'th' or '8'? (I don't like '8' much, but the 'h' in 'th' could also be confused with η.)
ξ as 'x' or 'ks'?
χ as 'x' or 'h' or 'ch'?

I sort of waver back and forth between:
β as 'b' or 'v'
η as 'i' or 'h' (I don't think I would ever use 'n', though.)
υ as 'i' or 'y' (I usually go with 'y' on this one. I mostly use 'u' when it's part of ου)
φ as 'f' or 'ph'
ω as 'o' or 'w'

And sometimes I render γ as 'y' in the appropriate environments.

I guess this is mainly a personal problem since I don't tend to have _too_ much trouble understanding other people's Greeklish in whichever form I encounter it. I think if I could ever settle on a personal standard I'd be fine, but for now I've just been trying to accept inconsistency rather than having to go rename all my files every time I change my mind! 

Here's a site that transliterates Greeklish into Greek and vice-versa. I haven't played with it much, so I know nothing about which standard or what algorithm it employs, but you might like to check it out. 


P.S. It may not be the 'proper' plural form, but I don't think many native speakers would wince too much at "encyclopedias".


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## ics

> but it's not all Greek to me.


  

*Something like this:*
* *
*greek letter* / * transcription * / *greeklish*
*α* / a / a
*β* / v / b / v
*γ* / g / g
*δ* / d / d
*ε* / e / e
*ζ* / z / z
*η* / i / h / i
*θ* / th / 8 / th / u (the corresponding Θ letter on the keybord)
*ι* / i / i
*κ* / k / k
*λ* / l / l
*μ* / m / m
*ν* / n / n
*ξ* / x / ks / x / 3 / j (the corresponding Ξ letter on the keybord)
*ο* / o / o
*π* / p / p
*ρ* / r / r
*σ* / s / s
*τ* / t / t
*υ* / y / y / i
*φ* / f / f
*χ* / ch / x / h
*ψ* / ps / ps
*ω* / o / w / o


bye!


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## skatoulitsa

I've NEVER used greek when writing sms. I have to admit thought that most people in greece do.
I use greeklish *a lot* (sms, msn, email etc) and personally I prefer the phonetic spelling for those letters for which there is no equivalent. The "8" and the "3" aren't worth the trouble. From my perspective we're trying to communicate and not make it look like greek. If I wanted it to look greek I would just switch languages on my keyboard.

here is my list:

A=A
B=B
Γ=G
Δ=D
E=E
Z=Z
Η=H (if I write in caps) i (if i write in small letters)
Θ=TH
Ι=I
Κ=K
Λ=L
Μ=M
Ν=N
Ξ=KS (and accasionally "x" for efficiency, and only if the word doesn't also contain "χ")
Ο=O
Π=P
Ρ=R
Σ=S
Τ=T
Υ=Y (and when in small letters, sometimes "i": all /ee/ sounds are translated to "i")
Φ=F
Χ=X
Ψ=PS
Ω=O

I've used caps because although sometimes the small letters don't look the same, the caps are still the same, so to me they are equivalent.

I also want to add that in greeklish people sometimes also tend to symplify spelling. For example the diphthong "αι" is pronounced the same as "ε", and I often find myself "misspelling" words (if there is such a thing as misspelling in greeklish), not using "ai" but "e", which I would never do if I actually write in greek.


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