Why is the phi in alpha phi pronounced fee and not fye

[bruinaphi]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

I always say Alpha "Fye" Alpha but always say Alpha "Fee," anyway, because the Alpha Phis on my campus said it that way.

The Alpha Phis on EVERY campus say it that way. That is how our name is pronounced. Just like there are different pronunciations of various people's names, and one is correct while the other is incorrect for that person, Fi is correct for some organizations, but not for Alpha Phi.

[DSTCHAOS]

Eh...I know that all Alpha Phis say it that way and that's how it's pronounced for you all. Plus, I already read this thread.

My point is that before I knew why it's pronounced that way and before I did a poll to see how all Alpha Phis pronounced it, I was saying "Fee" because the Alpha Phis on my campus said it. Following their lead since they would know.

[DSTCHAOS]

I loved the Oscar Meyer rendition, btw!!!

[Wolfman]

In essence, the difference lies in the pronunciation of classical vs. modern (Demotic) Greek. In modern Greek, diphthongs and some vowels are spoken as e-class vowels. (e.g., oi as in oil = long e; eta= long e).