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Why learn Modern Greek?
Greece is an amazing country:
a fusion of west and east, of ancient and modern; a beautiful,
exciting, disparate land with an extraordinary, 4000-year
history of civilisation, philosophy, mythology, oppression,
bloodshed, resistance and creativity.
Although Greece is currently
a fairly quiet player on the world stage, it is remarkable
how much the nation has contributed, over the centuries, to
world culture. Among a huge number of other achievements,
the Greeks invented democracy, developed a great many of the
mathematical theorems we still use today, created a form of
tragic drama that is still popular today and founded the Olympic
Games.
If you would like to find out
more, the following websites will give you a good overview
of Greece and Greek culture, from the Bronze Age to modern
times:
Matt
Barrett's Short History of Greece
Wikipedia
on Greek culture
Alexander
the Great (brief)
Alexander
the Great (comprehensive)
The
Greek Philosophers
A
history of Greek tragic theatre
Greek
Mythology
A
history of the Olympic Games
Here at JMJ in Manchester, our focus is on language - and
this is another significant area where the ancient Greeks
left a lasting legacy. For a start, the Roman alphabet we
use in English was derived, indirectly, from the Greek. And
then there are all the thousands of English words with Greek
origins. The word alphabet itself, of course, comes from the
names of the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta. (Actually
it's vita in Greek).
If you are not familiar with the Greek alphabet, you may feel
it would be hard for you to learn it. In fact, in our experience,
people can usually grasp it in only a few weeks. Some of the
letters are confusing because they are the same shape as the
Latin ones we use in English but correspond to a different
sound - they take some practice. Others are just like ours
and the rest are new shapes. Have a look and see what you
think.
| Greek character |
Its name |
Its sound |
| Αα |
alpha |
a, as in father |
| Ββ |
vita |
v, as in vase |
| Γγ |
gama |
somewhere between gh and y |
| Δδ |
thelta |
th, as in then |
| Εε |
epsilon |
e, as in egg |
| Ζζ |
zita |
z, as in zoo |
| Ηη |
ita |
ee, as in feet |
| Θθ |
thita |
th, as in think |
| Ιι |
iota |
ee, as in feet |
| Κκ |
kappa |
k, as in kettle |
| Λλ |
lamtha |
l, as in last |
| Μμ |
mi |
m, as in mother |
| Νν |
ni |
n, as in nut |
| Ξξ |
ksi |
x, as in box |
| Οο |
omikron |
o, as in not |
| Ππ |
pi |
p, as in pie |
| Ρρ |
ro |
rolled r |
| Σσ (ς at the end of a word) |
sigma |
s, as in sky |
| Ττ |
taf |
t, as in tall |
| Υυ |
ipsilon |
ee, as in feet |
| Φφ |
fi |
f, as in fish |
| Χχ |
hi |
kh, as in Scottish loch |
| Ψψ |
psi |
ps, as in tops |
| Ωω |
omega |
o, as in not |
As far as the Greek language is concerned, although its alphabet
is the same as it was in Classical times, there have been
changes in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. For historical
reasons (as described on the Translexis
site), in 1976 the form known as Demotikí - Modern
Greek - was adopted as the official national language.
The Greek we teach here at JMJ
in Manchester is Modern Greek. It is similar to Ancient Greek
and still uses the majority of the words that have come into
English from the ancient language. There are exceptions -
the modern word for water, for example, is not hydro but neró
- but a vast amount of the vocabulary an English person would
recognise is the same in Modern Greek as it was in Ancient
Greek.
It might be putting it too strongly
to suggest that knowledge of English will help you to guess
the meaning of Greek words, although this can be true. However,
it is certainly the case that once you have learnt what a
Greek word means it very often makes sense and is easy to
remember.
For example:
φιλος (filos)
means friend, ανθρωπος
(anthropos) means man or person, σοφια
(sofia) means wisdom
When we look at the English words philanthropy
and philosophy, everything fits into place.
Similarly:
φωνη (foni) means sound, πολυ
(poly) means much or many, κακος
(kakos) means bad
… which we can see in polyphonic, and
cacophony.
The Greek letter vita (β)
generally became b as it moved into English but, taking that
into account, we can easily learn φοβος
(fovos), which means fear, and also βιος
(vios), which means life (in the sense of life story) - particularly
once we know that γραφω (grafo)
means I write.
And there are many, many more instances like
these. So you see, Greek is actually not that difficult, is
it?!
Inspired to learn Greek?
If you live in or near Manchester,
you could start a one-to-one
Greek course with us tomorrow (or whenever it suits you).
There is a large Greek-speaking
community in Manchester and you should have no trouble finding
people to talk to in Greek, to practise what you've learnt
in your lessons.
Recommended Reading
If you are interested in learning
Greek, you might like to have a look at the Greek
language books we recommend to accompany any course you
take or for maintaining/improving your Greek by yourself.
If you are planning a trip to Greece, check
out the guide books available.
If you are interested in the
life and culture of Greece or Cyprus, have a look at our recommendations
for books about or set in
Greece, the Greek Islands and Cyprus. These books are
in English, a range of fiction and non-fiction that we have
enjoyed and hope you will too.
Some Quick Facts About Greece
Official name:
Hellenic Republic
Language:
Greek
Capital city:
Athens
Regions:
Mainland - Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Sterea Ellada,
Attica, the Peloponnese
Over 2,500 islands
For a pretty comprehensive list of Greek islands, see the
Wikipedia entry.
For an accessible overview of the main islands,
see Matt
Barrett's Greek Island Synopsis.
Population:
10,688,058 (2006 estimate)
Currency:
Euro
Religion:
Greek Orthodox
Government:
Multi-party democratic republic with unicameral legislature
Internet domain:
.gr
Country calling code:
+30
If you are interested in learning more about contemporary
Greece, you might also like to look at the following websites:
Matt
Barrett's Travel Guide to Greece
Ministry
of Tourism
Athens
News (in English)
Some Quick Facts About Cyprus
After years as a British colony, Cyprus became
an independent state on 16th August 1960. Following bitter
fighting between the island's Greek and Turkish populations,
in 1975 Cyprus was divided into the Greek area - approximately
two thirds of the island - and the Turkish area in the northern
third of the island.
Official name:
The Republic of Cyprus
(The Turkish Cypriots refer to northern Cyprus as The Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus but this is recognised only by
Turkey.)
Languages:
Greek and Turkish
Capital city:
Nicosia
Population:
784,301 (2006 estimate)
- of whom approximately 77% are Greek, 18% Turkish and 5%
other
Currency:
In the Greek Cypriot area: Cypriot pound
In the Turkish Cypriot area: Turkish lira
Religion:
Broadly speaking, the 77% of the population who are Greek
are of the Greek Orthodox faith and the 18% who are Turkish
are Muslim.
Government:
Multi-party democratic republic with unicameral legislature
(The internationally recognised parliament is controlled by
Greek Cypriots. There are seats allocated to Turkish Cypriots
but they have not been taken up since the 1960s. The Turkish
Cypriots have their own Assembly.)
Internet domain:
.cy
Country calling code:
+357
If you are interested in learning more about Cyprus, you might
also like to look at the following websites:
Official
website of the Republic of Cyprus
Cyprus
Access Panel
Countryseek.com
Learn Modern Greek at our school in Manchester:
- Tailor-made, one-to-one courses
- Intensive or longer-term courses
- Convenient Manchester location
Click here
to read more about our Greek courses.
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