While pledging won’t exactly make you bilingual, it certainly will require you to add a new alphabet to your repertoire: Greek. Why? I’m not sure if anyone really knows the true answer as to why the Greek alphabet is so important – it just is. During your time as a pledge, the Greek alphabet is probably even more important than the alphabet of any other language you might speak. Most of the time, you will be given incredibly short notice as to when you will need the Greek alphabet memorized (I’m talking minutes). But, fear not, as I have compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you pass whatever quiz or activity – likely involving matches – that your pledge master might throw your way:
The Ol’ Reliable
If (when) you’re in a pinch, the best way to quickly memorize the Greek alphabet is to grab a pen and some paper and just write out the alphabet until you begin to develop early onset carpal tunnel. Not only do you need to know the symbols – upper and lowercase – but their names as well. I recommend writing the symbols and respective names side-by-side but do whatever tickles your fancy. After a good fifteen minutes, you’ll likely be pretty comfortable with the entire alphabet, but you need to be more than comfortable. You need to be fast.
Sporcle
If you’re not familiar with Sporcle, it’s basically a website with quizzes on almost anything there could possibly be a quiz on. In my opinion, the best feature of Sporcle quizzes is the countdown timer. Especially when it comes to the Greek alphabet, you need to be able to recite the entire thing in twenty to thirty seconds, thirty seconds being very generous. I’d also memorize the alphabet backward, just to be safe. Good thing Sporcle has a quiz for that too!
The Greek Alphabet Rap
Personally, I’m not very musically inclined. But for those who are, the Greek alphabet rap is an incredibly viable option. In exactly one minute and forty-two seconds, you can have the entire Greek alphabet memorized and some sick bars to go with it. If you happen to be the TikTok pledge, memorizing this song will likely kill two birds with one stone as you will surely have to make a video rapping the Greek alphabet at some point during pledgeship. This might be a hot take, but I’m a firm believer that the Greek alphabet rap is a better song than the traditional ABCs.
I hope that this alphabet survival guide can help at least one pure little pledge out there. Even if you end up forgetting it immediately after pledgeship is over, don’t be the guy that consistently messes up the alphabet during a lineup. No one likes that guy. If I could choose between reciting a silly little alphabet over and over again or doing planks on a floor covered in miscellaneous fluids, I’d choose the alphabet every single time. And I’d hope you would too. At the very least, you’ll leave pledgeship with a cool party trick once you inevitably enter corporate America.
