Being Greek - Italian I'm in the position to know that the Italian language adopted thousands of greek words during the Renaissance period which are still in use for scientific terms and intellectual expressions: e.g. analisi, ipotesi, catastrofe, etc.
Through the Italian Renaissance the French and the English languages incorporated lots of greek words, which which are also still in use.
As a result, expressing oneself in Greek has been an honour and it still is, at least for the civilized and educated world...
P.S. My friend Manisalibo, me and all Greek users will cooperate in helping you learn Greek too....
2007-06-27 10:07:08
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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First of all, it's "What do you think about the Greek language" not what you wrote (Sorry I just had to correct you - too many people confuse the word Greek with Greece).
The Greek language is quite a difficult one to learn, especially if one isn't fluent in any other language. My Mother tutored a girl in Greek and she had a very difficult time learning the alphabet. It's quite intricate and involves more than a "few hours a week" to learn it entirely!
*EDIT*
I agree with Dellarovere, we will help you learn Greek...as long as you have the will and drive!
2007-06-27 08:11:01
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answer #2
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answered by log3 5
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Greek is a language with a beautiful sound, a good structure, a long history and mostly the best language to express ideas, because of the way words are formed. That is why all scientific jargon is Greek internationally. Also, there are many Greek words in all languages, so I think knowing Greek helps understand more deeply your own language. The same goes for latin, by learning french for example you understand the meaning of many words in english and in all the other languages that have borrowed from it.
2007-06-27 18:03:07
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answer #3
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answered by cpinatsi 7
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As a first generation Greek American, i am proud to speak it. It's a complex and alluring language, and I am so glad that my parents forced me to go to Greek school when I was a kid!!
It's also such a rich language as far as how useful it is. So many of our modern day English words have their Greek roots. This comes especially handy when working in the medical field.
I often wonder if training programs such as the Rosetta Stone system could effectively teach a foreigner.
I always get a kick out of it when people mispronounce Gyro!! The Greeks here know what I mean!! ;)
2007-06-28 01:01:34
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answer #4
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answered by gnomiechick 4
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Greek is a very interesting and beautiful language. It is pretty easy to learn. You can remember the alphabet in a couple of hours! The pronunciation is very easy, the grammar is a bit more difficult but logical. Greeks gave us western civilization and civilization needs writing and reading. However, the downfall of the alphabet is that you can only see letters that have no meaning if you are a foreigner to that particular language. Using Chinese characters would have been a much better idea!
2007-06-27 14:11:32
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answer #5
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answered by Selena 6
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As one that goes often to Greece I can relate with the ones that says it is hard to learn. I am forever telling Zoe to slow down so I can learn it. The ones I stay with speak a little (ligo) amount of English so I pretty much have to pick up meanings to follow conversations when we all go out.
The only time I get to use it though is once a year :(( . I have though just found a family near our town that may teach Greek so am going to call about that. I really need to learn more.
At least all there try to help me learn, and laugh with me when I make a mistake trying to roll the "R" with my Southern accent...lol
2007-06-27 16:37:57
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answer #6
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answered by Gypsygrl 5
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Well, first of all I have to say I am Greek...I read a lot of interesting opinions from answers,some true some quite far away from it!Greek language is a quite ancient one,the Greek alphabet came from Phoenician alphabet and it developed to the most plenary language existing today.Through the years Greek language changed either because foreign nations occupied the Greek land(Romans,Italians,Turks) either because politicians decided that it is better for the public and the community to make it easier to use and write.As a result modern Greek words are quite different from ancient ones but they all come from them through changes.The ancient Greek language is the route of the modern one and a way to learn good modern Greek is to learn the ancient first.Another clue is that in modern Greek there are a lot of local idioms,words that took a different path of development through the years on different areas of Greek land.Lastly it is true that we use foreign words,the most of them are Turkish(we were under Turkish occupation for 400 years so it is quite easy to understand this) Italian and most lately English(The "global" language.... ),most of them we changed them in order to be "more" Greek when you hear them.
Maybe my answer don't answer your question exactly but I hope you understood that Greek language is very difficult to learn but you will not regret any minute of the time you will spend in order to learn it.
That is all...finally
2007-06-27 10:31:13
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answer #7
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answered by Dromeas 2
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In fact, we all unconciously use hundreds of greek words, even though we are not all Greeks.
I am bilingual turkish-french ( and also a litlle english and spanish too ), and I know that in french many words have greek roots, especially in sciences;technology,philosophy, litterature,etc...
For example, we all say " geography", " democracy", "technology"," metamorphosis", "xenophoby"," politics", "metaphore", etc,etc...
I think that half of the words used in european languages have greek and latin origins, and also arabic origins ( via spanish language )
2007-06-28 02:38:36
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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I love it. Indeed, I am currently trying to learn it. It is hard to, but it's worth doing it. It's a beautiful language that opens the door to a lot more knowledge of Greek culture and world history.
If you want to learn it you will definitely need an actual teacher to learn it properly.
Good luck!
2007-06-28 14:13:28
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answer #9
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answered by ? 4
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I know a little and I can read Greek. I wish I could speak it fluently though :(
2007-06-27 07:42:48
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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