The Greek language may have loaned many words to English and other languages, especially in science. Words such as “philosophy”, “biology”, “theatre”, “history”, “idea”, “politics”, and “Democracy” are of Greek origin. Here is how a few Greek loanwords sound when pronounced in Greek.
Greek Loanwords Pronunciation in Greek Examples
- Philosophy – Φιλοσοφία
- Biology – Βιολογία
- Theatre – Θέατρο
- History – Ιστορία
- Idea – Ιδέα
- Politics – Πολιτική
- Democracy – Δημοκρατία
- Cinematography – Κινηματογράφος
- Photography – Φωτογραφία
- Telephone – Τηλέφωνο
- Autonomy – Αυτονομία
- Ideology – Ιδεολογία
- Ego – Εγώ
- Psyche – Ψυχή
- Psychology – Ψυχολογία
- Analogy – Αναλογία
- Academy – Ακαδημία
- Acoustics – Ακουστική
- Amnesia – Αμνησία
- Antagonist – Ανταγωνιστής
- Catastrophe – Καταστροφή
- Cynic – Κυνικός
- Critic – Κριτικός
- Dogma – Δόγμα
- Economics – Οικονομία
- Aetiology – Αιτιολογία
- Euphoria – Ευφορία
- Grammar – Γραμματική
Many more Greek loanwords are used daily by English speakers. If you use these words, you already speak Greek and you don’t know it. In the next video, we will see how English and other foreign loanwords are pronounced in Greek. It is recommended to watch Helinika’s video titled “You Pronounce Greek Wrong. Here is Why.” and learn how to properly pronounce modern Greek words.