Modern Greek...just Greek!

I would like to take this time to just talk about the Greek language, one of my passions in life.

One of the things that really does drive me trelos is not being able to always just talk about Greek as “Greek” since in this country there seems to be a preference for the Classical language, so if I say “I’m learning Greek” they think I mean the language of Socrates and quote something to me in that awful, reconstructed pronunciation they learn and use (which makes NO SENSE when the language is still in existence and can be used for reference!) and if I say “I speak Greek” they may look at me as if to say “but it’s a dead language” (insert *sigh* here). I have struggled for many years finding a good class and tutor to teach me, along with a long-winded search for books when the bookshops only stock a few books on Modern Greek, quite a few on Classical Greek then hundreds practically on French (my third language), German (will learn it one day!) and Spanish (never, never, never!). Over the last couple of years there have been more books published for the acquisition of the Modern language which makes you and I very fortunate to be learning and / or advancing our language skills now. I hope to write a few myself one day, as the information always given is either too much or too little (but they’re getting better at it!)…

Anyway, getting back to my original point of writing this: some reasons why I LOVE Greek:

· The sound of the language is wonderful, truly exceptional.

· The alphabet and writing system is incredibly simple for something that might seem to look so complicated. The only pronounciation difficulties English speakers might have are with the letters Γ and Ρ. The guttural sound took me a while to get myself and I have discovered that some native English speakers sometimes have difficulty rolling their rs.

· Grammar CAN BE the most perplexing about the language if taught incorrectly. When taught correctly it's rather simple again - agreement is the name of the game and Greek, I will tell you, is the most structured language I have ever studied and therefore the most logical (and I've dabbled in a few!).

· There is a bonus when learning Greek Grammar: it helps with spelling. Greek uses 5 different ways to make the e sound and in speech as a beginner you might have difficulty telling, for example, if it's a feminine singular or masculine plural noun unless you pay attention to when / how the word is used and where in the sentence. Yet, in writing, due to grammatical rules you know which to use and which spelling is correct. Once you have that under your belt, you can't go wrong, can you? 

Well, I certainly hope that has inticed you to look into learning Greek, especially with me!