I’ve started attending an Intermediate Greek course at Perrotis College; it’s challenging and fun. Greek represents the fourth language that I have formally studied. It’s the fifth if you count the Spanish lessons with Senora Stierlen at Saint Thomas Moore, but that was more about learning how to pester then subsequently watch an impatient teacher erupt than it was about learning. That trend pretty much sums up my career of Catholic school education—but I digress. I don’t know how much space is left in my noggin for new vocabulary, a new alphabet, and such, but I plan to stuff foreign languages into my head until it explodes.
My Greek studies thus far are difficult in that I’ve been lumped in with students who have lived in Greece and studied the language for over a year, but I have ample time to study during the day and the AFS students are more-than-happy to practice with me. That being said, speaking Greek with the high schoolers negates my primary duty of enhancing the students’ English abilities, so I tiptoe a fine line.
Grammatically, Greek poses a challenge in that all verbs in any sentence must be conjugated, whereas in English and French, all verbs (other than the first) in a clause assume the infinitive form. For example, I would say “I want to learn to speak Greek.” “Want” is conjugated to match the subject, but “to learn” and “to speak” become infinitives—pretty simple. Easier still is Chinese in which there is no such thing as conjugating verbs. The only word that deviates is the subject, and even tenses are created by adding words—not by adjusting the verb. In Greek, however, if I want to relay the above message, I would say the equivalent of “I want I learn I speak Greek.” Plus, a meaningless connector word, “na,” is added between each verb phrase. Not to mention the seemingly dozens of tenses. Not tight—again I digress.
After ruminating on the differences between the random languages that I’ve studied, I’ve come to a few conclusions. The Chinese language is brilliant because it is so pragmatic. They say as much as possible in as few syllables as possible. My only gripe with the Chinamen is that they have not adopted a simple alphabet; if you want to read Chinese, you have to memorize thousands of characters. Greek on the other hand is very complex and features many lengthy words. Take Greek names; most surnames leave me out of breath, and verbally taking attendance in class or at soccer practice takes at least 30 minutes.
One of my favorite tricks in learning new languages is to learn the literal English translations of phrases. It is entertaining and effective because the literal translations are often amusing, and understanding the logic behind the vocabulary helps to build other phrases. For example, the Greek word for hotel is “xenothocheio” which translates to “foreign person acceptance place”.
At this point, I’d like to share a few common Greek phrases and their literal translations; I’ll also throw in some noteworthy translations from other languages. Here we go:
Most Common Informal Greeting: “Hello” or “Hi.”
Greek Phrase: “Gia Sou.”
Literal Translation: “Health your.”
Comments: Already, the vocabulary grows. We learn the common greeting, the word for health, and the second person possessive. Nice start.
Chinese Phrase: “Ni hao?”
Literal translation: “You good?”
Comments: So efficient. The person is greeted and asked how they are doing all at once.
“How are you?”
Greek: “Ti caneis?”
Literal Translation: “What you do?”
Comments: Practical. Not too verbose.
Chinese: Already asked with the greeting.
French: “Ca va?”
Literal Translation: “It goes?”
Creole: “Sak t’Passe.”
Translation: The verb is reflexive, so there is no literal English translation, but it equates to,“What happens to you?”
I’m fine.
Greek: “Eimai kala.”
Literal Translation: “I am good.”
Comments: Harmless, to the point.
Chinese: “Hao.”
Literal Translation: “Good.”
Comments: Eliminate the subject—it’s understood. Practical.
French: “Ca va.”
Literal translation: “It goes.”
Comments: A snappy, snide retort…very French.
Creole: “M’ap bule.”
Translation: “I am burning [in a good way].”
Comments: Poetic and passionate. Haitians are intense.
Most Common Cuss Word
English: “Damn it.”
Literal Meaning: I condemn ‘it’ to eternity in hell.
Comments: A harsh utterance when the situation is usually trivial. For example, if I miss a shot in basketball and yell “Damn it!” Do I actually want that shot to burn in hell? Maybe if it was an airball.
Greek: “Malaka.”
Literal Translation: One who masturbates.
Comments: Greeks say “malaka” at the end of any sentence to add emphasis, whether good or bad. The high school students throw “malaka” out at every possible opportunity. It is funny to hear someone say the Greek equivalent of “That was an amazing sandwich, masturbator” or “Did you see that backgammon roll? You masturbate.”
French: “Mierde.”
Literal Translation: “Feces.”
On that note…Enjoy the holidays! I’m looking forward to a visit from my parents over Christmas break then an Eastern European adventure: Hungary and Czech Republic with Charlene and Georges, then Macedonia, Kosovo, and possibly Albania with homies from Perrotis College.
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