The Greek Transliteration and Pronunciation of the Latin Consonant U

Abstract

The use of the letter β in Greek transliterations of the Latin consonant u was not a development of the Augustan period. Both literary and epigraphic evidence attest that in certain positions β was a viable option for Greek authors and stone cutters by the end of the 3rd century B.C.E., and that its use spread to other positions in the succeeding generations. The increasing β/u substitutions in turn demonstrate a shift in the pronunciation of Latin u from [w] to [β] that occurred among Greek speakers of Latin over the same period.