French Orthography - Words From Greek

Words From Greek

The spelling of French words of Greek origin is complicated by a number of digraphs which originated in the Latin transcriptions. The digraphs ⟨ph⟩, ⟨th⟩, and ⟨ch⟩ normally represent /f/, /t/, and /k/ in Greek loanwords, respectively; and the digraphs ⟨ae⟩ and ⟨oe⟩ in Greek loanwords generally represent the same vowel as ⟨e⟩. Further, many words in the international scientific vocabulary were constructed in French from Greek roots and have kept their digraphs (e.g., stratosphère, photographie).

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Famous quotes containing the words words and/or greek:

    Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter,
    Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,
    Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,
    No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor;
    As much as child e’er loved, or father found,
    A love that makes breath poor and speech unable.
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    It is an elegant refinement that God learned Greek when he wanted to become a writer—and that he did not learn it better.
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