English Words of Greek Origin - Pronunciation

Pronunciation

In clusters such as ps-, pn-, or gn- which are not allowed by English phonotactics, the usual English pronunciation drops the first consonant (e.g. psychology) at the start of a word; compare gnostic and agnostic ; there are a few exceptions: tmesis . Initial x- is pronounced z. Ch is pronounced like k rather than as in "church": e.g. character, chaos. Consecutive vowels are often pronounced separately rather than forming a single vowel sound or one of them becoming silent (e.g. "theatre" vs. "feat").