I was intrigued by this title because reputable scholars have suggested to me both that one can know almost exactly how first-century Greek was pronounced and that the pronunciation is shrouded in millennia’s worth of dust. Right at the beginning, I should note that this “short guide” regards Judeo-Palestinian Greek and is an abbreviated, reasonably accessible, version of Kantor’s longer and “more academically rigorous volume The Pronunciation of New Testament Greek: Judeo-Palestinian Greek Phonology and Orthography from Alexander to Islam” (PNTG) (p. xiv).  It is clear to me that my students do not pronounce Greek as a first-century Palestinian would have, nor as a typical Erasmian (that is, the convention of pronunciation attributed to Desiderius Erasmus) would. I have opted to make each of my vowel sounds slightly different for ease in spelling. After reading this book, I am rethinking the pedagogical wisdom of such a decision.

In his introduction, Kantor observes that the controversy concerning the pronunciation of biblical Greek finds its roots in pedagogical history, rather than in linguistic data (p. xiii). In fact, later he asserts, with a caveat against overinterpretation, “there is actually considerably more evidence for certain developments in the pronunciation of Koine Greek than for certain contemporaneous historical events” (p. 21)! Chapter one traces a bit of this history. Before the Renaissance, Greek pronunciation was the purview of native Greek speakers. At the period’s beginning, there were few Western scholars who were proficient in Greek. The fall of Constantinople (1453) began to change that; an influx of Byzantine scholars “intensified the revival of Greek learning in Europe” (p. 2). Pronunciation became a problem; there was evidence of dialectical variety in Greek manuscripts and fifteenth-century Byzantines pronounced ι, η, υ, ει, οι, υι as a long e (International Phonetic Alphabet [i]) (p. 3). With virtually no input from native Greek speakers, Western scholars tried “to reconstruct the more ‘original’ or ‘correct’ pronunciation” (p. 3). It appears that ease in spelling was a factor even then.

Of those who made contributions to the Renaissance debate regarding the “correct” pronunciation of Greek, Erasmus remains the most famous. His lion/bear fable, regardless of whether Erasmus was seriously advocating the “right pronunciation of Latin and Greek speech,” is the foundation of Erasmian pronunciation (p. 4). Thus, it is ironic that the system of pronunciation articulated by bear is not reproduced in its entirety by any contemporary Erasmian nor did Erasmus himself elect to use it. From the evidence of his own writings (rhymings), Erasmus pronounced Greek in the contemporary Byzantine fashion (p. 6).

Kantor does well to establish this counterintuitive history. My guess is that few people understand the extent to which native Greek speakers were left out of the conversation concerning their own speech. One also doubts that most scholars are aware that the early acceptance (Calvinists) or rejection (Lutheran and Catholics) of the Erasmian reconstruction was denominational (and very possibly political [p. 19]) rather that pedagogical (p. 7). The fact that Erasmian pronunciation is still the academic standard in the West is an incongruous quirk in the annals of language acquisition. The concomitant fact that some scholarly opposition to all Erasmian conventions of pronunciation has continued (from the time of Erasmus) should be applauded. The penultimate section of Chapter one briefly describes the Neohellenic and “Living Koiné” movements (pp. 15-18). Kantor’s “reflections” on history, especially on recent advances in linguistics, concludes with his hope that the longer version of this work (cited in the first paragraph, hereafter PNTG) offers a compelling alternative to Erasmian pronunciation.

Chapter two, though barely three pages long, adequately (a more sufficient answer can be found in PNTG) answers the question posed in its title, “How do we know how Koine Greek was pronounced?” The simple answer is that one gauges pronunciation from variations in spelling and from how loan words of contemporary languages were spelled. I will quote a more detailed answer, “first, we examine the relevant corpora of papyri and inscriptions and tabulate all the spelling ‘mistakes’—or interchanges—contained therein, and organize them according to time and place” (p. 22). The next step is data interpretation (p. 23). Chapter three addresses an attendant question, “Do I need to be a linguist?” Kantor opines that one who is not linguistically trained can benefit from his shorter book, but “it is near impossible to read any modern linguistic study on pronunciation without understanding the International Phonetic Alphabet” (IPA) (p. 24). As a non-linguist who is barely familiar with the IPA, I heartly concur. Kantor describes the IPA in some detail, but leaves it to his reader to discover how the vowel and consonant notations sound. I am glad to report that an IPA chart, complete with sounds, exists, (https://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ipa-chart-with-sounds/); I commend it to others equally untrained. Kantor also helpfully distinguishes phonology from phonetics and phonemes from allophones. The final section of Chapter three introduces the discipline of Historical Linguistics, or, the manner in which and the reason for, language change (p. 31).

The fourth, and by far the longest chapter, gives Kantor’s reconstruction (the documentary and epigraphic basis for which is in PNTG) of Judeo-Palestinian Greek pronunciation. This chapter cannot be intelligibly read without knowledge of, or access to, the IPA. He begins with consonants (pp. 37-79), then turns to diphthongs (pp. 79-84), and finally to vowels (pp. 84-102). Included are brief treatments of vowel length (pp. 103-107) and accents/stresses (pp. 107-109). At the end are three summary tables for quick reference. Each alphabetic entry suggests a “general” pronunciation, how that letter would have been pronounced in various sound combinations, and how that letter was vocalized throughout the Mediterranean world. On “debatable” entries, e.g., δ, Kantor adds sections on Pedagogy, History, and Modern Greek as necessary. Apart from the justifiable reality that the documentary evidence is found in another volume (PNTG), his entries are persuasive. I must admit that I find the fricativization of the letter β to be fascinating (p. 44).  

The final chapter deals with application, or “How should Greek be pronounced in the classroom tomorrow” (p. 113)? While I agree that proper pronunciation matters a great deal, I am not quite sure that it is “essential for proper understanding, interpretation, exegesis, and experience of the text of the New Testament” (emphasis his, p. 113). Still, I affirm that “advanced proficiency” in Greek requires one’s acceptance that Erasmian pronunciation was never used by a Greek speaker; it is at the very least artificial (p. 122). Unfortunately, few of my students will be truly proficient in Greek, so I still see merit in ease of spelling (this, despite my guilt of choosing “a set of conventions for remembering spelling [rather] than a pronunciation system reflecting a coherent phonology”) (p. 119). However, I am sure that Kantor makes an excellent case for the reexamination of all things Erasmian. He proposes that we should “process” Greek the way a first-century speaker would have (p. 115). For example, Erasmians pronounce η and ει identically, but Koine speakers did not; Koine speakers pronounced ο and ω identically, but most Erasmians do not. Erasmians artificially avoid certain linguistic ambiguities, while introducing others. Without doubt, Byzantine pronunciation would assist or has assisted text critics in rendering many variants comprehensible. Although I do not force students who will take only three semesters of Greek to learn the rules of accent, I do require them to stress accented syllables. I am pleased that one of my practices is a Second Language Acquisition best practice. I am saddened that Erasmian pronunciation in an affront to native Greek speakers. And I am grateful that Kantor includes three transcribed NT texts, one of which is the Matthean Lord’s Prayer, in his appendix. I am committed to teaching Kantor’s pronunciation of the Lord’s Prayer and to see whether my students find it “realer” (p. 117).                                 

Elodie Ballantine Emig
Instructor of NT Greek
Denver Seminary
January 2025