Lesson 2: Breathing Marks

When ρ begins a word, it must have what is called the rough breathing mark, ῾, and when any word begins with a vowel it also must have either a rough breathing mark, or a smooth breathing mark ᾽. For example:

ῥ = a rough breathing mark (pronounced with an "h" sound)

ἀ = a smooth breathing mark pronounced simply as "a"

The marks found above letters in Greek are called accent marks (apart from the rough and smooth breathing marks we have already discussed). These marks help in pronunciation of words; but we will simply note them and not memorize them. Usage will, in the long run, make these marks self explanatory.

In Greek there are 4 punctuation marks; the comma , and period . correspond to the English comma and period. The colon · appears above the line and corresponds to the English colon. The question mark ; is this sign.