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).
Read more about this topic: French Orthography
Famous quotes containing the words words and/or greek:
“Certainly, words can be as abusive as any blow. . . . When a three-year-old yells, “You’re so stupid! What a dummy!” it doesn’t carry the same weight as when a mother yells those words to a child. . . . Even if you don’t physically abuse young children, you can still drive them nuts with your words.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“The student may read Homer or Æschylus in the Greek without danger of dissipation or luxuriousness, for it implies that he in some measure emulate their heroes, and consecrate morning hours to their pages.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)