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Category: Modern Greek
Why is Aromanian not officially recognized in Greece?
Oh dear. Greece has long had a model of state nationalism which, like that of France, treated minorities as a threat to national unity, and pursued assimilation. The Greek Orthodox ethnic minorities of Greece, who had identified with ethnic Greeks as fellow members of the Rum millet, enthusiastically embraced assimilation for the most part. So […]
Is it good to study modern Greek while learning Koine Greek?
I wouldn’t go so far as saying it would impede it, but you need to be careful. There will be false friends: words changed meaning from Koine to Modern. The drastic simplification of the grammar in Modern Greek will make you annoyed about having to learn more paradigms in Koine. I think, in many ways—particularly […]
What are the most prevalent Arvanite surnames in Greece?
I mean, I know of some Arvanite surnames, but rather than rack my brains, I’m going to go to this blog posts ΕΛΛΗΝΟ-ΑΡΒΑΝΙΤΙΚΑ ΕΠΩΝΥΜΑ and ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΕΠΩΝΥΜΑ ΑΡΒΑΝΙΤΙΚΗΣ ΠΡΟΕΛΕΥΣΗΣ, both drawn from the book Arvanites by Kostas Biris, and cite the surnames I’ve heard of. Not as scientific a method as you’d like, and probably […]
Do Greeks marry Greeks or do they mix?
Depends on where and when, of course. In Australia 40 years ago: almost never intermarried. In Australia now: often do intermarry; intermarriage exceeded 50% some time in the last ten years. In Greece a century ago: almost never intermarried. There weren’t a lot of non-Greeks around to marry (depending on your definition of non-Greek, of […]
When did μπ and ντ start being used for (m)b and (n)t in Modern Greek?
Let me unpack your question there, Uri. When did μπ stop being pronounced [mp] and started being pronounced [mb], with voice assimilation? Early. It does not occur in Southern Italian Greek (them saying [panta] instead of [panda] for “forever” really sticks out), but it does everywhere else in Greek, and it’s a change that could […]
Could someone who speaks Cypriot Greek tell what “λεγνά” is/are?
https://youtu.be/FhLRDY78B5U A2A, and I don’t speak Cypriot. Well, this is quite the puzzle. The lyric goes: Τ’ άι Φιλίππου δκιάβηκε, τζι ήρτεν τ’ άι Μηνά,τζι οι κορασιές παντρεύκουνται τζι αλλάσσουν τα λεγνά St Philip’s day is gone, St Menna’s day is here,and girls get married, and the slender ones change/and change the slender ones. I’ve […]
If an Irishman moved to Greece and learnt to speak Greek, would he still have an Irish accent?
The folk musician Ross Daly is of Irish descent, and has lived in Crete for 35 years: He has a broad Cretan accent, and he has something non-Greek underneath it. But it’s subtle, and it’s not an Irish accent per se. At most, it’s a somewhat overcareful enunciation, and maybe, if you listen closely, some […]
What’s the history of monotonic Greek orthography (plus other things like the combined OY)?
Gott sei dank! This is going to be fun! Ligatures OK, I’ll dispense with the “other things” (ligatures) quickly, referencing my own page Other Ligatures There was a mess of ligatures in Greek typography up until the 18th century, because Greek typography was based on late Byzantine squiggle. (That’s why typographers sigh at what might […]
Can you recall a particular text that ignited your love of literature?
You merit of me, Anya of Lincoln, an answer with a gem in it. A shard of Sappho, perhaps. But that was in my thirties. An artfully naive ballad of Heine’s. But that was in my twenties. The children’s poetry of C. J. Dennis. I remember the LP I somehow got of him when I […]
What is the history of the Soviet Greek language?
Indeed, as Basil Lucas has noticed, I did look into the history of Soviet Greek a few years ago, although the primary research was hardly mine: it was the Greek historian Vlasis Agtzidis’. This is a summary of the history, although Basil’s answer gives plenty more detail (and so does my blog): The Greek spoken […]