In this series, you'll master Greek pronunciation. Proper pronunciation is essential in Greek,

and in this series, you'll learn it in a fast, comprehensive, and easy way.

In this first lesson, you'll learn about the building blocks of the Greek pronunciation

system that will help you in future lessons.

Greek is one of the oldest languages in the world and

it's writing system is amongst one of the oldest on record.

The modern Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with a capital and a lowercase form.

The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form used in the final position.

But be careful not to fall into a very common trap.

As you're learning to speak correctly, you shouldn't concern yourself with all the letters.

That's right—forget them! You care about the sounds of Greek and here they are.

There are 34 consonant sounds, and 5 vowel sounds. You can form every single word in Greek by using these sounds.

Still seem complicated? Well how about this: of the 34 consonant sounds in Greek, you already know 26 of them.

That's right, if you're a native English speaker then you already make these sounds every day.

You can also ignore all of the vowel sounds for the same reason!

The only thing standing between you and perfect Greek pronunciation, are 8 new consonant sounds.

You can handle that!

Now let me introduce Stefania, who will be helping you to master these new sounds.

Γεια χαρά! Είμαι η Στεφανία. Stefania will be giving you native pronunciation examples for you to imitate.

But for this first lesson, just sit back and listen to the foreign sounds of Greek.

In the next lesson, we'll look at the top 5 pronunciation mistakes Greek learners make.

You'll want to make sure not to fall into these common traps.

After that, we'll begin going through the vowels and consonants of Greek.

This is your chance to learn how to correctly say all of the words you just heard.

We'll finish up the series by covering some special topics that will really make your Greek sound natural!

To close this lesson, here's a question for you.

Why is it important to spend time on learning proper pronunciation, even if you're already an advanced speaker?

The answer... You will be understood, and this will help you build more confidence as you communicate in Greek.

For beginners, you're creating a strong foundation to build on.

And for more advanced students, this is your chance to improve your accent and lose any bad habits you may have picked up.

See you in the next Ultimate Greek Pronunciation Guide lesson!