Subscribe to Blog via Email
January 2025 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Category: Modern Greek
How are Greek Australians perceived in Australia?
I should know the answer to this, being one of them. But it’s actually reasonably hard to introspect this, especially as the novelty of Greek Australians has long since worn off. I’m going to offer some stereotypes, but as I often do with this kind of question, I’m hoping for someone to step in with […]
Two versions of Haidari: A Lost Original resurfaces
I find this fascinating. You may not find this fascinating. It involves Greek music of the 40s. I’ve been listening to Dalaras’ 1980 recording of wartime rebetika. I realised that one of the songs, Haidari, I had already heard before, and loved it. It’s a chilling song about someone about to be executed, in the […]
By which languages was your native language influenced the most?
Modern Greek? In terms of vocabulary, Italian (including Venetian), but not by much; toss-up between Italian and Turkish. Then Latin, then French, then English. In terms of grammar, any significant influence was through the Balkan Sprachbund. A lot of the Sprachbund features originated in Greek (and we can tell through the history of Greek and […]
How and when did you become a Hellenophile?
I have attempted to recuse myself from answering this, being ethnic Greek myself. But Desmond James has importuned me to answer with my Australian hat on, and I do appreciate a challenge. So I will meet this challenge with generalities, reflecting on the hellenophiles and/or philhellenes that I have encountered. Hellenophile is not an established […]
What is the future of Greece?
Gareth Jones asked me this at Nick Nicholas’ answer to Can fascism grow in Greece?, when I said that I don’t think so. I’m not in a good position to judge, and I’m actually answering this to prod some Greeks closer to what’s been happening into an answer. So, if they won’t vote in Golden […]
Can fascism grow in Greece?
Tolis Malakos of London Metropolitan University wrote a very insightful piece on this in 2013: What does the rise of fascism mean for Greece and for Europe? Above and beyond that, turning to populist, authoritarian solutions when faith is shaken in bourgeois democratic politics is not an idiosyncrasy of Germans or Italians: it is human […]
What are some examples of onomatopoeia in your language?
Modern Greek. I’m going to list indeclinable, straight iconic words, as opposed to the far larger set of inflected words with an onomatopoeic etymology (like zuzuni for bug or platsurizo for to splash). bam bang, dan ding dong, apsu < Turkish hapşu sound of sneezing, kix cough, xrats scratch, drin ring ring, ksu shoo, prits […]
Are ήρθε and ήλθε interchangeable? Is there a difference in meaning?
No difference in meaning. ήλθε is the archaic form. ήρθε is the vernacular form, and represents a regular sound change in the modern language. ήρθε is now the unmarked verb form. If you use ήλθε, you will come across as speaking in Puristic (Katharevousa); 100 years ago, that made you be educated, 50 years ago, […]
Do you pronounce BMW as “bee em double-u” or as “bey em vey”?
English: Bee Em Double You. Australian English: Beamer. Greek: well, Greek only referenced English as its default foreign language in the last generation. So it’s the German pronunciation: Beh Em Veh. (Μπε εμ βε) Cypriot Greek: from memory, Pemve (Πεμβέ) —/b/ is rendered in Cypriot Greek as /p/, since Cypriot Greek has a three way […]
How does it feel for Greek kids when they learn their alphabet is an important part of maths?
The other answers are correct, but the question goes to something broader. Greek kids will sooner or later find out that a lot of mathematical and scientific symbols used in other languages are Greek, just as they find out that a lot of scientific vocabulary in other languages is Greek. How do they feel? Unsurprised. […]