For Greek, we have at least three significant sets in the ancient aeras: Homeric, Attic, and the Greek pronunciation of the Apostles, the same as the Greek of Classical Rome (Caesar to Augustus). Just the same, I can change from an Ecclesiastical to a Classical Latin accent when I wish I practice both with a friend of mine. It's a fairly easy thing to switch between accents once you get used to it I can switch between British, Irish, German, Italian, French, and various American accents in English at will, which comes from practice (usually for comic purposes). IreneY wrote:Ok, I have to ask then! How many different pronunciations should one master for Ancient Greek?Īs many as are required for accurate interpretation. I cannot for the life of me understand why they plan on using a monotonic (modern Greek after 1982) accent system though unless the reason is that it's simpler to use for searching words maybe? Still puzzling though (if you visit myriobiblos, the Greek Orthodox Church's site, you'll see that all biblical exts are written using all the accent and breathing marks
Homeric Greek should learn a different way of pronouncing Koine Greek I don't bother with utilising my knowledge of how to pronounce Homeric and Classical Greek (there are distinct differences between the two especially after the 400 - 300 BC) and use MG pronunciation after all Mind you, I am not saying that someone who has learnt i.e. Since therefore there are roughly two models of pronouncing it to choose from (different reconstructed ones and modern Greek) it is more "correct" to go with the modern Greek. Koine though, biblical Greek, was pronounced almost exactly as modern Greek is. Classical Greek (and Homeric Greek) were not pronounced as modern Greek. No matter what the story behind how Erasmus came up with the reconstructed pronunciation (and there are many theories afloat) it doesn't matter. Where Divine Liturgy is in Greek, it is often a mixture of modern and biblical (Koine) Greek (similar to how English-speaking churches retain some archaic English phrases in their liturgies).Whoa there Equus! Biblical Greek should be pronounced differently than Classical Greek. Increasingly, Greek Orthodox churches use the predominant language of the country where services are held. The type of Greek used in Divine Liturgy varies by jurisdiction and local conventions. The Greek version has a list of translations. I refer you to this Wikipedia article for some additional context, but it is quite biased and often unsourced. The history of translating the Bible into modern Greek is fascinating and filled with lots of controversy, but such a review is beyond the scope of this answer.
Given that Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant Greek religion, I've stuck to this.
Going beyond this into the realm of what every Christian group in Greece prefers is too broad. There are other translations of the Bible into modern Greek, and it must be noted that the underlying manuscript(s) used vary just as they do in English translations, but perhaps more so because of Greek Orthodox distinctions.
Today's Greek Bible is often used, and translations by the Hellenic Bible Society have the Blessing and Approval of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Holy Synod of the Greek Church and the Patriarchates. As such, translations into modern Greek are used.