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Update Upcasing.md #14

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gerryleonidas Apr 20, 2026
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gerryleonidas Apr 22, 2026
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17 changes: 14 additions & 3 deletions Upcasing.md
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Expand Up @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ When writing Greek in all uppercase letters (e.g., for titles, signs, or emphasi

## Rule 1: Remove Accents (Τόνοι)

The simplest rule is that **all accents (τόνοι) are removed when a word is written in uppercase.**
The primary rule is that **all accents (τόνοι) are removed when a word is written in uppercase.**

* Modern Greek uses a single accent mark (τόνος), which can appear on one of the last three syllables of a word.

Expand All @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Examples:
* `Ελλάδα` becomes `ΕΛΛΑΔΑ`
* `τραπέζι` becomes `ΤΡΑΠΕΖΙ`

**Exception**: the disjoint preposition `ή` (a single-letter word) *keeps* the accent and becomes `Ή`.
**Exception**: the disjoint preposition `ή` (a single-letter word) *keeps* the accent and becomes `Ή`. In this case, _and this case only_, is it acceptable to have a tonos to the left of a capital letter in all-cap setting.

@zvr zvr Apr 22, 2026

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Why restrict it to "all-cap setting" ?

Although rare, there could be an sentence-initial Ή (and the rest of the sentence not in all caps).

@gerryleonidas gerryleonidas Apr 22, 2026

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Good point, my phrasing is not clear. How about:
Exception: the disjoint preposition ή (a single-letter word) always keeps the accent and becomes Ή. This includes when the Ή is at the beginning of a sentence, whether followed by lowercase or capital letters.


---

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ Examples:
* `νεράιδα` (nerá-i-da - fairy): The accent on `ά` separates it from `ι`.
In uppercase: `ΝΕΡΑΪΔΑ`.


Note that regular diphthongs in lowercase do **not** require adding dialytika in uppercase.

Examples:
Expand All @@ -58,11 +59,21 @@ Examples:
* `Ευρώπη` becomes `ΕΥΡΩΠΗ` (`ΕΥ` is a diphthong)
* `αυτοκίνητο` becomes `ΑΥΤΟΚΙΝΗΤΟ` (`ΑΥ` is a diphthong)

---
Note that this makes round-trip case conversion significantly harder

A capital Iota or Upsilon with dialytika may result from either an unaccented iota/upsilon following an accented vowel (and therefore carrying no dialytika in lowercase) or a lowercase iota/upsilon with dialytika or dialytika+tonos.

Examples:

• `Μάιος` (from Rule 3 above) converts to `ΜΑΪΟΣ`, `προϋπόθεση` converts to `ΠΡΟΫΠΟΘΕΣΗ`
• `Μαΐστρος` converts to `ΜΑΪΣΤΡΟΣ` and `προΰπαρξη` converts to `ΠΡΟΫΠΑΡΞΗ`

---

## Summary of Dialytika on Uppercase Ι/Υ

* If lowercase has `αϊ, εϊ, ηϊ, οϊ, ωϊ, υϊ` or `αϋ, εϋ, ηϋ, οϋ, ωϋ`, then uppercase keeps it: `ΑΪ, ΕΪ, ΗΪ, ΟΪ, ΩΪ, ΥΪ` or `ΑΫ, ΕΫ, ΗΫ, ΟΫ, ΩΫ`.
* If lowercase has an accented vowel followed by `ι`/`υ` that is pronounced separately (e.g., `άι, έι, όι, άυ, έυ`), then uppercase ADDS the dialytika to the `Ι`/`Υ`: `ΑΪ, ΕΪ, ΟΪ, ΑΫ, ΕΫ`.

This system ensures that the pronunciation cues present in lowercase (either through existing dialytika or the placement of accents) are not lost when words are converted to uppercase.
This system ensures that the pronunciation cues present in lowercase (either through existing dialytika or the placement of accents) are not lost when words are converted to uppercase.