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Category: Modern Greek
What happened to the Greek population of South Italy?
I refer you to Nick Nicholas’ answer to Why does Grecani language not exist in Sicily (Magna Grecia)? From what I’ve read, the Greek-speaking population of Southern Italy gradually shrank geographically. It was quite a broad area in the 1600s; it was a much smaller area in the 1800s; and it’s pretty tiny now. In […]
What is that one picture that best describes your city / country / state?
A2A Pegah. I was going to post something smart-alecky about my country, Australia. But I see that it has already been covered: Shayne Bradbury’s answer to What is that one picture that best describes your city / country / state? User-10398731632804616022’s answer to What is that one picture that best describes your city / country […]
What’s the best translation of the intensifier “the fuck” in other languages?
Modern Greek. “What” (τι) questions will have σκατά “shit” inserted after it: τι κοιτάζεις “what are you looking at” > τι σκατά κοιτάζεις “what shit are you looking at”. The more generic intensifiers are στο διάολο “to the devil”, for interrogative sentences, or ρε γαμώτο “for fuck’s sake; literally hey, I fuck it”, for other […]
Is there a time in history when the Greeks and Turks fought together in the same team?
To add to Andrei Stoica’s answer— (Vote #1: User. This is a supplementary answer) —Byzantines often used Turkish mercenaries, as Andrei pointed out, especially when they went nuts and fought civil wars in the 14th century that only the Ottomans could benefit from. And after the civil wars washed up, and Byzantines were a vassal […]
Why are Armenia and Greece against Turkey and Azerbaijan?
As Ayse Temmuz said, this has been gone over very often. Let’s go through the pairs. Armenia–Azerbaijan. I’m married to a diaspora Armenian, which means I know very little of Armenia. We spent 3 days in and around Yerevan during our honeymoon last year. And that was enough to convince me there’ll be war again […]
What do Greeks think of Yusuf Islam?
A2A Hansolophontes. (Sorry, Khateeb, but you walked into that one.) (Ἁνσολοφόντης. Looks nice…) I’ll say what I think they feel, but I’ll go a roundabout way about it. What do Greeks of my upbringing and circumstances feel about ethnic Greek converts to Islam? Well, if they were pre-population exchange, they’re not around any more, and […]
In what languages does “everything is in order” stand for “everything is alright” (and sounds natural)?
Add Modern Greek, as a calque from German into Ancient Greek (Katharevousa): όλα εν τάξει. Now spelled as a single word εντάξει, because that’s a fricking dative, and we don’t have datives any more. Answered 2016-11-01 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/In-what-languages-does-everything-is-in-order-stand-for-everything-is-alright-and-sounds-natural/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
If the Byzantine Empire hadn’t fallen, and instead became the first colonisers of the New World, what would their colonies have been called?
I am not herewith contradicting Dimitris Almyrantis’ answer. For Dimitris Almyrantis is awesome and stuff. I think I’m saying the same as him. I don’t think much would have been different, except that there’d be Greek names instead of English and Spanish; the naming principles, I suspect, would have been the same. Byzantine town-naming procedure […]
What do you like about Athens, Greece?
Me? Yes, Athens is crowded and outsize and horrid and smoggy. But. The Sacred Rock: The back streets of Plaka. A reminder that once, this used to be a chic 19th century town: … with a lot of 21st century Greeks jammed in: The peekaboo of antiquities against the cityspace. Like the Roman Forum: The […]
What languages use the word “ox” as a common insult?
Not a surprise: Greek βό(ι)δι vo(i)ði is used to refer primarily to someone unmannered or dull. Per the Triantafyllidis dictionary: 2. (μτφ.) μειωτικός ή υβριστικός χαρακτηρισμός για άνθρωπο: α. αργόστροφο· βλάκας: Είναι ~, δεν καταλαβαίνει τίποτα. ΦΡ σαν το ~ στο παχνί*. β. άξεστο, αγροίκο, αναίσθητο· ζώο: Mε πάτησε κι ούτε συγγνώμη δεν είπε, το […]