Language

You already know Greek !!!

“Give me a word, any word and I show you how the root of this word is Greek”
From the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.

Greek is the European (and Indo-European language) with the longest history. The first documents come from the second half of the second millennium BC. There is no real break between ancient Greek and Modern Greek.

Nowadays Greek is spoken by about 13 to 14 million people. It is the official language of the Republic of Greece and one of the two official languages along with Turkish of the Republic of Cyprus. Moreover, Greek is spoken by a great number of people of Greek origin who live in many places all over the world, mainly North America, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union. Since 1981 it has been one of the official languages of the European Union.

A large number of Greek words are used in English as loan-words and similarly in many other European languages, the so-called Romance languages which derived from Latin. The advanced civilization of the ancient Greeks resulted in an immense enrichment of the language where philosophical, scientific, political and literary terms found expression. Many Greek words were inherited by the Romans and then by the Europeans.

But don’t be confused! The ancient Greeks did not invent photography and they did not send astronauts to the Moon. But in Western European languages many words which are mainly connected with scientific achievements are formed from Greek elements and therefore we have cosmonaut, psychology etc.     

True. There are many Greek words in English. Likewise there are many English words in Modern Greek. The Greeks love going to a ‘bar’ and they describe their favourite local as ‘ab fab’. Have you ever seen a Greek women’s magazine?  You can find there words such as “glamour”, the “musts” of winter, “top model” etc.

It’s all Greek to me

Try this Word Search for some English words which came from Greek

• Word Search Game

The Greek Alphabet

Α α    alpha
Β β    vita
Γ γ    gama
Δ δ    thelta
Ε ε    epsilon
Ζ ζ    zita
Η η   ita
Θ θ   thita
Ι ι     yota
Κ κ   kappa
Λ λ   lamtha
Μ μ  mi
Ν ν   ni
Ξ ξ   ksi
Ο ο  omikron
Π π   pi
Ρ ρ   ro
Σ σ ς sigma
Τ τ    taf
Υ υ  ipsilon
Φ φ  fi
Χ χ  chi
Ψ ψ  psi
Ω ω omega

Look at the spelling of these Greek words

Can you match them with the English words derived from them?

Click below to play a game and test your listening skills.

• Greek Alphabet Exercise

Some useful words in Greek

Καλημέρα	Kalimera	Good Morning
Καλησπέρα	Kalispera	Good Afternoon
Γεια σου	Gia sou	Hello
Αντίο	Adio	Goodbye
Ευχαριστώ	Efcharisto	Thank you
Πώς σε λένε;	Pos se lene?	What is your name?
Χαίρω πολύ	Chero poli	Pleased to meet you
Παρακαλώ	Parakalo	Please
Τί κάνεις;	Ti kanis?	How are you?
Πολύ καλά	Poli kala	Very well