Greek Fonts
Linotype now offers many typeface families that include Greek alphabets in contemporary TrueType and OpenType formats with Unicode encoding. And among these, in addition to classic fonts such as Sabon®, Rotis and Neue Helvetica®, are also a wealth of fun and display typefaces. Moreover, many recently produced fonts, for instance Mantika™ Sans and DIN Next™, have been published in so-called paneuropean W1G versions that encompass not only an extended Latin alphabet but also support Cyrillic and Greek typesetting.
The first proper alphabetic writing system was developed in ancient Greece from Phoenician script. Latin and Cyrillic script characters were derived from the Greek alphabet. The current Greek alphabet consists of 24 characters. Just as in the case of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet, there are also uppercase and lowercase letters.
The first proper alphabetic writing system was developed in ancient Greece from Phoenician script. Latin and Cyrillic script characters were derived from the Greek alphabet. The current Greek alphabet consists of 24 characters. Just as in the case of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet, there are also uppercase and lowercase letters. In 1982, Greek orthography underwent an extensive reform. Three different accents had previously been used in Greek polytonic orthography; two aspiration symbols (Spiritus asper and Spiritus lenis) and an accent to indicate an “i” sound that had already been suppressed from an early period. The system of diacritics was considerably simplified with the introduction of monotonic orthography, in which only a single stress accent is used. The changes took account of the fact that the Greek language had already lost most of its polytonal character over the years. In modern Greece, monotonic orthography is the standard form in use in the public sector and this is reflected in the form of the numerous monotonic Greek typefaces that have since been produced.
A comparison of the Lord’s Prayer in Greek written in monotonic and polytonic orthography.
The first proper alphabetic writing system was developed in ancient Greece from Phoenician script. Latin and Cyrillic script characters were derived from the Greek alphabet. The current Greek alphabet consists of 24 characters. Just as in the case of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet, there are also uppercase and lowercase letters. In 1982, Greek orthography underwent an extensive reform. Three different accents had previously been used in Greek polytonic orthography; two aspiration symbols (Spiritus asper and Spiritus lenis) and an accent to indicate an “i” sound that had already been suppressed from an early period. The system of diacritics was considerably simplified with the introduction of monotonic orthography, in which only a single stress accent is used. The changes took account of the fact that the Greek language had already lost most of its polytonal character over the years. In modern Greece, monotonic orthography is the standard form in use in the public sector and this is reflected in the form of the numerous monotonic Greek typefaces that have since been produced.
A comparison of the Lord’s Prayer in Greek written in monotonic and polytonic orthography.