The correct pronunciation of koine Greek

It is the custom in Greece, generally, to pronounce all forms of Greek – from Homer on down – with the pronunciation of modern Greek.  This should be understandable to English speakers, as Shakespeare is most often taught (although I know there are exceptions) with whatever modern accent is closest to hand.

Many college and seminary classes in the United States and Great Britain use an ‘Erasmian’ pronunciation when teaching NT Greek, a partially artificial koine which does include some of the reconstructed sounds of the ancient language.  There have been attempts over the years to reform Erasmus, and more than one version of the system exists as a result.

Native speakers of Greek find this accent . . . well, annoying is one word, I suppose.  Which an English speaker might sympathize with if they imagined Greek universities teaching Shakespeare with their own constructed version of English, perhaps with the spelling regularized to correspond more closely to the sounds  – for pedagogical reasons, of course!

I have not heard a reading of the New Testament with the Erasmian pronunciation which sounds natural; also understandable, I think, since there are no native speakers of this accent to emulate.

There was some movement in the last decades to promote a modern pronunciation in the teaching of koine, although how much traction was achieved I could not say.  There are recordings of the New Testament read using the modern pronunciation, by a native Greek speaker, at the bible.is website: here , for example, is the famous beginning to the Gospel of John.

In my case, I learned modern Greek before koine, and spent a fair amount of time in Greece, which made the choice easy.  I recommend the modern accent in the Workbook series, and use it in teaching my own classes.  If you are going to read the New Testament out loud for your own enjoyment, I do believe that you will be happiest with a modern Greek pronunciation.

In addition, although I don’t know that all Greek Orthodox churches in the United States or Great Britain employ koine Greek, some certainly do; this is one opportunity to hear this language spoken quite naturally, and in the context of a liturgy.  The New Testament readings may, for example, be read in both koine Greek and English, in addition to some or most of the liturgical hymns being sung in Greek.

However . . .

I also recognize that many college and seminary classes use another system of pronunciation, most often some variant of Erasmian.  If you are preparing for such a class, then it makes the most sense to begin as you will need to go on.  Ultimately, ‘how should koine Greek be spoken?’ is a judgment call, and will depend on the context and the goals of each reader.