Where Greek is spoken. What language do the Greeks speak? Dates and times

Language in Greece

What is the language in Greece

The official language in Greece is Modern Greek, developed on the basis of the ancient Greek language.

In the world, more than 10.5 million people speak Modern Greek: the population of Greece and 82% of the population of Cyprus. The language is also spoken by those members of the Greek diaspora who are scattered throughout the world.

Official language of Greece is the main among the local population, but most Greek regions have their own local dialects, quite different from the official version of the language.

Greek alphabet is incredibly complex and has been continuously used by the inhabitants of the country and speakers of other languages ​​​​of the Greek group since the late 9th - early 8th century BC. It consists of 24 letters, the names and spelling of which have changed only slightly since the origin of the language.

But do not worry in advance: many Greeks speak English. In hotels and restaurants, the staff, as a rule, is fluent in the language of Foggy Albion. Well, with the locals, if necessary, you can negotiate in sign language.

Russian-Greek phrasebook: how to explain yourself in an unfamiliar country. Popular phrases and expressions for travelers.

• Hot tours to Greece

Greek (Modern Greek ελληνική γλώσσα) is spoken today by 10 million inhabitants of Greece and about 82% of the population of Cyprus. It is one of the oldest Indo-European languages ​​and one of the oldest written languages ​​in the world. The richest literature was created in the Greek language at all stages of its existence.

In modern Greece, the literary language exists in two versions: kafarevusa (καθαρεύουσα) - a language that follows the ancient Greek writing standards, but with a modern pronunciation, and dimotika (δημοτική) - a form of language close to spoken. The official variant of the Greek language is Dimotika (since 1976)

... And yet you, as in ancient times, are wonderful, You are great with every facet of the past ... (Byron about the Greek language)

Even people far from linguistics can easily recognize English or French speech; in Swedish they say "something similar to German."

But the Greek language, despite the fact that it is one of the oldest and is used in a European country, few will guess. Let's figure out what kind of language the Greeks speak.

Language is, first of all, a reflection of the history of the people and its prevailing mentality. And the history of Greece is the richest: for centuries, Greek was the language of communication of the people of the ancient world in the Mediterranean countries. With its help, trade was conducted, as well as military, scientists and creative people communicated. A bit of history Starting from the II millennium BC.

The Balkan Peninsula, the Peloponnese and the adjacent islands were inhabited by various proto-Greek peoples: Achaeans, Ionians, Aeolians. Later they were pressed by the Dorians. The tribes spoke their own dialects. These strangers managed to suppress the local population - Pelasgians, Lelegs - and their dialects.

Over the following centuries, the city-states fought among themselves, developed new lands, and established trade and cultural ties. Accordingly, their dialects influenced each other: they assimilated and acquired borrowings. In the 5th century BC. with the development of art and literature, a tendency has arisen when one dialect becomes more popular than the others.

So, it was customary to write lyric poetry in the Dorian dialect, and tragedies were composed only in Attic. In the IV century BC. Athens acquires a huge political and cultural authority among its neighbors, and the Attic dialect of this state becomes a kind of standard for all ancient Greek prose, and a little later for literature in general.

In the III century BC. after the conquests of Alexander the Great, the concept of “Koine” appears - a single “mixed” language of the peoples who inhabited his vast empire, the basis of which was the same Attic dialect. It is in Koine that the Greek Gospel is written and to this day they serve the liturgy in the Greek Orthodox Church. During its heyday until the 3rd century AD, Koine Greek becomes the lingua franca of the countries of the eastern Mediterranean. In other words, it was the language of international communication in certain areas of activity: trade, science.

Simultaneously with colloquial Koine from about the 1st century AD. educated people begin to write in the classical Attic dialect, which has re-entered the "fashion" among writers. Thus begins a long (until the middle of the 20th century) period of diglossia - the parallel coexistence of literary and spoken languages. After the establishment in 146 AD. In the Roman protectorate over Greece, a strange thing happened: the Romans not only did not force the Greeks to forget their own speech, but also considered it important for themselves to learn the language of the conquered people.

The writers and poets of Ancient Rome successfully translated Greek authors and even wrote in Greek themselves. None of the Greeks knew Latin. Only Plutarch tried to study Latin in the last years of his life, but did not succeed in this. In 395 AD The Roman state collapsed: the Byzantine Empire was formed in the east with the capital Constantinople. In the 6th century, Koine Greek became the official language of the state. Of course, over several centuries it has changed, having been influenced by other languages: Latin, Slavic, Armenian, etc.

Hundreds of years later, in 1453, weakened by internal strife and crusades, the great Byzantium fell under the onslaught of the Ottoman army. For 400 years of the Turkish yoke, literary Greek did not develop. But he was not forgotten in Europe.

All enlightened people of that time considered it necessary to be able to read the works of ancient Greek scientists and poets in the original. By the way, in Russian pre-revolutionary gymnasiums, when studying Greek, they meant precisely the classical Attic dialect. Largely thanks to the efforts of the Greek Church, the oral language, albeit somewhat “ Turkic", survived until Greek independence in 1930.

"Linguistic Wars" in Greece At the beginning of the 19th century, the most important question arose before the free Greeks: in what language would the laws of an independent country be written and children would speak? The diglossia provided for two options: to turn to the language of Orthodox Byzantium or to revive the Attic dialect of classical Athens, the language of Aristotle and Plato.

Since classicism came into fashion in Europe at that time, the second option seemed the most attractive to the Greeks: it would be nice to consider yourself the direct heirs of a great world culture. But in reality, such a radical return to the past was no longer possible.

As a result of fierce disputes, a language “purified from borrowings” appeared, kafarevusa, largely preserving the vocabulary and grammar of the ancient Greek Koine, combined with the pronunciation that was modern at that time. It became the language of government, science and literature: books were written and spoken by educated people. But kafarevusa, according to many linguists, was far from the language of the common population.

For everyday communication systematized folk - dimotics, which was a natural continuation of the same ancient Greek Koine. The spoken language has many Italian, Slavonic, French and Turkish words. It is much simpler kafarevusy grammatically and more "alive".

"Linguistic War"(there were also street fights) continued until the reform of 1976, when dimotics was introduced into the course of the school curriculum. But only in 1982 did it become the official and only language of the Greek Republic.

So modern Modern Greek, as it is also called, is the vernacular spoken language. Despite its turbulent history, the current Greek language has retained over 80% of its original vocabulary unchanged. He is a representative of the Indo-European family of languages, but does not have "close relatives", such as Italian or German, that is, the only one in his group.

Greek is spoken today by 10 million inhabitants of Greece and half a million of the Greek population of Cyprus.

It is known by the Greeks living all over the world - in Russia, Canada, the USA, England, Australia. Several features of the Greek language It will not be difficult for a Russian-speaking person to learn how to read and pronounce Greek words: common letters in the alphabet and many similar sounds for which our speech apparatus is already adapted.

With some effort, it is even easy to get rid of the Russian, more rough, accent. The only difficulty in phonetics can be caused by voiced and voiceless interdental similar to English, especially when they are adjacent to consonants.

In Russian, these sounds are written in letters "F" (aFina) or "D" (lydia) and pronounce accordingly. The Greek language lacks the indefinite form of the verb inherent in many European languages. In literal translation, the sentence "I want to go to the movies" will sound like "I want to go to the cinema" or "Can he buy bread?" how "He can buy bread?".

In interrogative sentences, instead of the question mark familiar to Europeans «?» Greeks put a semicolon ; «.

Another feature is that the Greeks use articles of the appropriate gender with proper names, that is, the female name Elena is used with a feminine article: and Eleni.

In the Greek language, the vocative case has been preserved (by analogy with the Ukrainian language) in the masculine gender. To call a Greek man, you need to change the ending of his name: About Aggelos - Aggila.

If desired, it is easy to understand the grammar, which is somewhat reminiscent of the grammar of the Russian language: free word order in a sentence, the presence of cases and three genders. As for vocabulary, linguists believe that a Russian-speaking person can easily recognize the meanings of 1000 Greek words. Learning Greek, like any foreign language, is an interesting and useful process, as it allows you to get to know the culture of another country more deeply. In addition, knowing at least a few phrases will make a tourist trip to Greece much more enjoyable.

Literary language of Greece

Literary language of Greece

The official language of Greece is Greek, or rather modern Greek, which is used by the intelligentsia and official authorities. A large number of dialects that cannot always be understood at all, even if you are fluent in the literary form of this language, can confuse the traveler.

The vast majority of the regions of this country have their own local dialects, pronunciation specifics, which can have a large number of local features. Nevertheless, modern Greek is understood by everyone, even if they continue to communicate with you exclusively in the local dialect. In written speech, only modern Greek is used, rare exceptions are dialogues in literary works that emphasize the colorfulness of the characters. Currently in Greece there is a gradual unification of the language, which is associated with centralized education and the media, which broadcast exclusively in the state language.

Due to the great importance of the tourism industry, which employs more than half of the population, the vast majority of service workers, restaurants, hotels at the household level know English, French or German, or even several languages ​​at once.

The whole world knows that Ancient Greece was a large ancient state, many of whose achievements formed the basis of modern civilization. For example, Greek, which was spoken by great scholars and generals, is still actively used in international terms. Of course, over the years of its existence, it has changed a little, but in general, the ancient Hellenes and modern Greeks could understand each other. Would you like to start learning Greek? Do not rush to answer! We advise you to read this article first, because ahead of you are waiting for entertaining facts about the Greek language, as well as popular words, phrases and expressions for tourists planning a trip to Greece.

The first beginnings of a new language of communication appeared in Greece along with a wave of migration to the local lands of the Indo-Europeans. Scholars disagree whether it was originally their language, or whether it acquired unique forms and separated from the Indo-European language family already when the settlers became the native inhabitants of Greece. One thing is certain: the so-called Proto-Greek language was formed 2,000 years before our era.

A little later, he formed the basis of the language of the Mycenaean civilization. It was in the Mycenaean-Cretan dialect that the first written monuments of the country were written: tablets with syllabic linear B. According to scientists, they were written in the 14th-12th centuries. BC, and were found and deciphered only in the middle of the 20th century.

The next stage of development is the VIII-VII century BC, when Greece supplements the language with an alphabet based on the Phoenician letter. Further, the state, and with it speech, begin to climb to the peak of its development. Many written monuments appear, in which four main dialects are used:

• Ionian;
• dorian;
• Aeolian;
• attic.

Initially, the Ionian dialect was the most popular, but the increased dominance of Athens brought the Attic dialect to the fore.

And in the time of Alexander the Great, Koine appeared - a mixed colloquial dialect, formed on the basis of the classical Attic language. All the captured tribes and colonies, who had previously communicated in the local dialect, tried to learn the Greek language. Koine later formed the basis of the literary language: the Bible, the works of Plutarch and many other works were written in it.

Interestingly, after the seizure of territories by the Roman Empire, the Greek language continued to be highly valued, and every self-respecting Roman could speak it. And from the moment the Byzantine Empire was founded and until the Middle Ages, the Greek language again becomes official for these places. Then came the Ottoman dictatorship and the imposition of Turkish dialects, which led to a new round in the development of the language.

Old Greek and Modern Greek

Under the pressure of the Turkish yoke, the Greek language became not prestigious, if not completely persecuted, and in addition, local dialects and adverbs were mixed in with it. And soon the Greeks realized that they were gradually losing their national features. Thus, in the 19th century, a movement of supporters of independence developed, who wanted to create new pages in the history, culture and traditions of Greece.

At that moment the Greeks were divided. Part of the nation emigrated, part succumbed to Turkish influence, and many residents of Greece were migrants from neighboring countries. Consequently, there were many dialects: some retained knowledge of ancient Greek, others mixed the language with Turkish, and others spoke with an accent “brought” from their homeland. To establish mutual understanding, a common language was needed, and local minds began to puzzle over this task.

There were two options: to return to the Byzantine Koine, or to go even further and speak the Attic dialect of the classical period. After much debate and reflection, it became clear that the ancient language is too outdated for the modern world. But the desire to connect oneself with centuries-old traditions was great, so there were essentially 2 languages: classical literary and simplified colloquial.

Kafarevusa and Dimotika

As a result, society was split into linguistic currents. Supporters of the national culture praised "Kafarevus" - a modernized language based on the grammatical norms of the Koine. It is considered a "pure", classical, literary dialect.

The intelligentsia was opposed by the broad masses of the people, who considered the simple colloquial Greek language to be “their own”. He received the name "Demotiki". Language disputes between the Greeks were so fierce that it even came to street strikes. It wasn't until 1976 that the government officially recognized the superiority of Dimotika and it became the country's official language. But you can still meet older Greeks who prefer to communicate in the high style of Kafarevus.

Dialects and pronunciation in Greek

If we talk about what language is spoken in Greece now, then the Greeks still have many dialects. Basically, the difference stands out in pronunciation, but this does not mean that you need to be able to pronounce each word in a dozen frets. In any region of Greece, modern Greek will be understood, just as the English language is understood by both the prim British and the Americans who think little about the "purity" of speech.

Also, foreigners are often scared that stress is of great importance in Greek. Indeed, in the past, in order to say a word correctly, one had to be able to understand three types of stresses, and even distinguish between two types of aspirations. But later, all these norms were simplified and, as a result, they were officially abolished altogether. Today in Greece, one accent mark and diaeresis (letter combination separator) are used.

Official Greek

As already noted, officially in Greece they speak the Modern Greek language of Dimotiki. He, by the way, is recognized as official in the Republic of Cyprus. More than 15 million inhabitants of the planet consider Greek as their native language.

Is it difficult to learn Greek

It can hardly be said that the Hellenic language is now particularly popular in the world. But still, many people take Greek lessons, for example, in order to start a new life in Greece or to familiarize themselves with ancient literature in the original.

Moreover, those who study the language of Greece have not only goals, but also directions: modern Greek is needed for communication, and Old Greek for reading ancient works. Of course, Modern Greek is much easier for foreigners to learn and practice. But if your interest in history knows no bounds, then you can easily master the ancient language in a year of intensive work.

So the question of whether it is difficult for a Russian person to learn Greek cannot be answered yes or no. It all depends on the interest and capabilities of the student, as well as on the qualities of the teacher. On average, modern Greek for basic everyday communication can be learned in six months.

The Greek alphabet has been in use since the 8th century. BC, and it is very likely that it was in the letters of the Greek alphabet that vowels were first designated. Over the years of use, the primer has not changed much: only for convenience, the names have been renamed, and several characters have been shortened. The modern alphabet of the Greek language has 24 letters, and we invite you to get acquainted with them right now.

If you are starting to learn Greek, then you definitely need to print out the alphabet and memorize it. This basic skill will be a good help for further language learning.

Greek for tourists - common phrases and words

Before traveling to another country, you must definitely learn a couple of basic phrases in order to be able to express your wishes and understand what they say to you. Therefore, we have compiled a very simple Greek textbook for tourists, which will help you navigate in everyday situations.

Greeting in Greek

At a restaurant or coffee in Greek

At the store in Greek

We communicate with a doctor or in a pharmacy

Airport, taxi, bus, buy tickets

We speak Greek in the hotel

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