The Hellenic Republic is a unique country. Home of the arts, philosophy and even history itself. In ancient times, the Greek language was one of the most popular. And in the Renaissance, it again became the main language of science and philosophy instead of the Latin of the Middle Ages. In this article, we will look at what language is now official in Greece. We explore the features of modern Greek and its dialects. We will analyze which dictionaries and teaching aids are best used by tourists. And finally, we will pick up a few words and phrases that will help you communicate with the Greeks in their native language.
The people inhabiting Greece
Before talking about the language of any country, it is worth mentioning the people who speak it. In Greece, 96% of the total population are Greeks. They used to be called Hellenes.
This people is very ancient, about two thousand years BC they inhabited the territory of modern Greece. Proto-Greek tribesassimilated the local inhabitants of the Pelasgians. The history of the Great Greek civilization began.
The heyday of the culture of the ancient Hellenes began in the fifth century BC. The Greeks gave the world enormous we alth for mankind. Including an incredibly logical and concise, beautiful language. Myths, poems, poems, philosophical treatises were written on it. What language is spoken in Greece? We will explore below.
Ancient history of the Greek language
The tribes that inhabited the Aegean area spoke Hellenic. Where did the name "Greek" come from? And it happened on behalf of a very influential Hellenic tribe, which was called "Greek, Gresi." They themselves never called themselves that, and it was Hellas, not Greece.
The ancient Greek language has Indo-European roots. However, the assimilation of languages was already taking place at that time. Despite the Indo-European basis, traces of Semitic, Persian and Sanskrit can be found in Greek.
The very first stage in the development of the language was that the ancient Hellenes tried to acquire writing. To do this, they used the Minoan script (Linear B).
History of the Greek alphabet
The Minoan letter turned out to be very inconvenient. Writing could not develop fully. It was the Phoenician merchants who first began to use the alphabet for writing in Greece.
The first alphabet appeared in the 9th century BC and existed in this form until about 8. That is, the Hellenic alphabetdeveloped from the Phoenician language and script.
It is incredible that in Greek we find vowels and consonants at once. The Hellenes changed the phonetics of the Phoenician letters and transferred the sound to their own language. Regarding the ancient Greek language, there are several schools that suggest how it looked before. Some read the letter "b" as Russian "b" - betta, and others as "v" - vitta.
The modern Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters. It is also worth noting that it was from it that both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets were formed. The Greek alphabet has become a model, the basis for many other languages.
State language of Greece
Ancient Greek is very similar to modern, but this similarity can be easily compared with Russian and Church Slavonic, for example. Yes, the Greeks understand their ancient language. But for them it is already outdated.
What is the state language of Greece now? Naturally, this is not ancient Greek. This language is Modern Greek. It, in turn, is divided into literary, colloquial and local dialects. Need to understand what language is spoken in Greece?
On some islands, for example, in Crete, there are two languages: one is official, which is distributed throughout Greece, and the other is a local dialect.
So, which language in Greece is the official one is clear - this is Modern Greek (Dimotica).
Features of Modern Greek
In the 18th and 19th centuries, a transformation in phonetics began. Appearedmodern Greek language. The changes affected primarily the pronunciation of vowels. The longitude and brevity of sounds have lost their former meaning. Various accents were also reduced - acute and blunt.
The case system has also been simplified - the dative case has been eliminated. The dual is missing. Gone is the infinitive. The Balkan languages had a huge influence on the Modern Greek language.
Archaisms from ancient Greek are still present along with new layers of Slavic, Turkic and Romanesque. This is also evidenced by various special local dialects, which will be discussed below.
What dialects do Greeks speak?
The phenomenon of branches from the main common language is very common. It was also in ancient Greek. The geographical position of Greece, as an island state, uniting city-polises on islands and continents, played a special role. Throughout development, these dialects have changed. But still, it is possible to single out several main ones, from which, in some way, modern ones also originated:
- Ionian dialect (written by Herodotus).
- Attic.
- Dorian.
- Aeolian.
What official language in Greece we found out is Modern Greek. However, it also has types: literary and regional dialects.
Literary language is divided into kafarevusa (continuation of the classical Attic dialect) and dimotica (based on dialects of Central Greece or vernacular).
Dialects of Modern Greece:
- Ponti language(Pontic). This is a modified Greek, which differs from the mainland in the presence of Turkic borrowings, as well as the pronunciation of some sounds.
- Tsakonsky (Novolakonsky). A new development of the Spartan dialect, which was previously called Laconian.
It is clear that there are many dialects, but still what language is common in Greece, that is, one that all Greeks understand. Hellenic is taught at school. In essence, it is dimotic (the language of the people, from the street), but enriched with a literary language.
Greece Tourist Benefits
It becomes obvious what should foreign guests do, what language should they speak with the locals?
Will they understand you if you know ancient Greek? This is a big question, but most likely the answer is yes. They will understand, but badly. After all, the pronunciation of the ancient Greek dead language is already unknown. Yes, and Modern Greek is significantly different from it.
Then, what will help a tourist in mastering the necessary knowledge of Modern Greek? Of course, dictionaries and study guides, phrasebooks.
So, the book "Practical Course of Spoken Greek" by Olga Nikolaenkova will serve as an excellent tool for learning Modern Greek. Here she focuses on the spoken language and describes simple everyday situations.
What are the best Russian-Greek dictionaries to use? If you spend a lot of time at the computer, on the Internet, then it is best to use electronic online dictionaries.
However, if you are a fan of always and everywhere to have a hardcover dictionary at hand, then it is better to payattention to dictionaries:
- I. P. Khorikov and M. G. Malev "New Greek-Russian Dictionary".
- A. Salnova "Greek-Russian and Russian-Greek Dictionary".
- A. Vostrikova, V. Telizhenko "Russian-Greek Phrasebook of an Orthodox Pilgrim".
These tutorials contain useful information for those who want to understand the language in Greece.
A set of basic words and phrases for tourists
Indigenous people of any country are pleased to hear their native speech from foreigners. Therefore, it is so important for tourists to learn at least a couple of phrases. Believe me, any Greek will be pleased, this will show your respect.
So here are some words and phrases to learn:
- Word of greeting and farewell - YASAS (for you), YASU (for you).
- Good is KALI.
- Morning - MAYOR.
- Evening - SPERA.
- Good - KALA.
- Thank you - EFRASTO.
- Please - ORISTE.
- Sorry - SIGNOMI.
- No - OOH.
- Yes - NO.
- How much is POSO KANI?
- Mr - KIRIOS.
- Mistress - KIRIA.
- Request - PARAKALO.
- How are you - TI CANIS.
- What is your name - ME LENE.
- My name is TO ONOMA MU INE.
- I'm lost - HATYKA.
- Help me - VOITISTE ME.
- Where are you from - APO PU ISE.
- I'm from Russia - IME APO TIN RUSSIA.
- What is this? - TI INE AFTO?
- When? - POT.
- I'm hungry - PINAO.
- Ithirsty - DIPSAO.
- Bon appetit - KALI OREXI.
What is the language in Greece - we figured it out. You can learn about it in textbooks and dictionaries. However, it is best to come to this amazing country yourself and try to talk with the Greeks. Ask them what features the modern Greek language has, what dialects. And learn about the ancient Greek language. In fact, these people are very proud of their language and culture.
The main question of the article - what is the state language in Greece - has been resolved. This is Modern Greek (enriched dimotic), which differs sharply from Ancient Greek.
