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).

Read more about this topic:  French Orthography

Famous quotes containing the words words and/or greek:

    We have the words in our pockets,
    obscure directions. The old ones
    have taken away the light of their presence....
    Denise Levertov (b. 1923)

    The decline of a culture
    Mourned by scholars who dream of the ghosts of Greek boys.
    Stephen Spender (1909–1995)