Summary

Classical Attic Greek had only one fricative phoneme: /s/ (Sigma). In contrast, Messapic, an ancient Illyrian or Albanoid language, possessed a rich fricative system including /s/, /z/, /v/, /h/, /θ/, /ʃ/, and possibly /ð/. Modern Albanian maintains one of Europe’s richest fricative inventories with nine distinct sounds (/f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/). Modern Greek evolved from a single fricative in antiquity to a similarly large system (/f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /x/, /ɣ/). Such extensive fricative inventories are relatively rare worldwide, appearing in only about 7.6% of languages according to WALS.

Classical Greek originally had essentially one native fricative phoneme, /s/, represented by Sigma (Σ).

According to the provided text, there was only one fricative phoneme in classical Attic, namely σ (s). It is fairly clearly described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus as being produced by an elevation of the tongue to the palate, with the air passing between them and producing a whistling or hissing sound (σύριγμα) around the teeth.

In contrast, Messapic, considered an Illyrian or Albanoid language, appears to have possessed a much richer fricative inventory, including /s/, /z/, /v/, /h/, /θ/, /ʃ/, and possibly /ð/.

Modern Albanian likewise preserves one of the richest fricative systems in Europe, with ⟨f⟩ /f/, ⟨v⟩ /v/, ⟨th⟩ /θ/, ⟨dh⟩ /ð/, ⟨s⟩ /s/, ⟨z⟩ /z/, ⟨sh⟩ /ʃ/, ⟨zh⟩ /ʒ/, and ⟨h⟩ /h/.

Meanwhile, Modern Greek evolved from having essentially one fricative phoneme in antiquity to developing almost the same large fricative system as Albanian: /f/ (Φ), /v/ (Β), /θ/ (Θ), /ð/ (Δ), /s/ (Σ), /z/ (Ζ), /x/ (Χ), and /ɣ/ (Γ).

Note: /x/ (Χ) — Slavs have it, not Albanians.

According to the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS), this type of extensive fricative inventory is documented in only 43 languages, or roughly 7.6% of the languages surveyed, making it relatively uncommon worldwide.

Sources

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, De Compositione Verborum (cited in the image text).

Linguistic descriptions of Messapic (Illyrian/Albanoid) from comparative Indo-European studies.

Modern Albanian phonology: standard descriptions in Albanian linguistics.Modern Greek phonology: standard historical linguistics sources on the development of Greek fricatives.

World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) – chapter on fricative inventories.