UC WH WHAT AT IS S LA LANG NGUA UAGE GE Language is is a - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN GRεεK STUDIES SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES, LanCSAL ΜΟδερΝ GρεεK

ΙΝΤρΟδUCΤΙΟΝ

WH WHAT AT IS S LA LANG NGUA UAGE GE

• “Language is

is a code code of

• f sign

signs of

• f a certain

certain form form (l (lingu inguistic) istic) whic which enable enables communic communication ation wit within hin a lingui uistic stic community”. G. Ba Babi biniotis

• tis
• The

he expr press ession ion of

• f our
• ur inte

terna rnal worl rld… scie science nce and and life, ife, and and phil philoso

• sophy

phy – all all th these ese are are personal personal an and nati tiona nal language” M. Trian antafill tafillidis idis

THE VALUE OF LANGUAGES

• The language of every people of every race covers its needs

and is absolutely respectable, no matter how primitive or simple it is!

• The vocabulary people use is the mirror of their cultural

level, special characteristics, attitudes, beliefs and values are expressed through words.

• The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had said: ‘the limits
• f my language are the limits of my world’

WHA HAT IS THE HE ROLE E OF LAN ANGU GUAG AGE

• It

It is is th therefore erefore clear clear that that langu language age con constitutes stitutes the the basi sic inst strumen rument of

• f our
• ur comm

mmunica unication tion.

• Ou

Our langua language ge th therefore erefore expresses expresses the the pe percep rception tions of

• f
• ur
• ur na

nation, tion, its ts cultural cultural an and civi civiliz lizationa ational history history, as as well ll as as its ts inte tellectual lectual and logistica stical culture ture.

BENEFITS OF GREEK

• Greek is a language with great linguistic dynamics and a solid syntax & grammar –

there are approximately 25 000 greek words in the English vocabulary, in medical terminology 46 000 etc

• Its linguistic abilities can help to understand how other languages function.
• The morphological decomposition of Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes will help

the learners to learn other languages more easily.

• Moreover, the learners will be able to have a mastery of this vocabulary which will

be useful for the learning of French, Italian and Spanish.

• These are very useful tools for future Language Practitioners, Translators and

Language Teachers.

• Greek though and philosophy provides a different aspect

to life, most of the disciplines have greek names,

• Georgraphy, anthropology, politics, psychology, history,
• Biology, philosophy etc

Its or

• rigin

gin – Ind ndo-Eu Europe ropean an roo

• ots
• The

The Greek Greek language language belongs belongs to to the the large arge fami family ly

• f
• f Indo

Indo-European European langu guages ages.

• The

The Greek Greek al alphabet phabet was was based based

• n
• n

the he Phoenicia Phoenician alp alphabet, habet, which which

• nly
• nly

had had conson sonants

• ants. To

To this is the the Greeks eks added added vowels ls .

THE UNIVERSAL SAL CONTRI RIBUTIO BUTION N OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE AGE

• The

he Gree Greek lan langua guage ge and and Greek Greek writ writin ing as as th their ir do document cumented ed works

• rks reveal

reveal are are of

• f the

the old

• ldest

est in in the the world world , in in Europ Europe and and Africa

• frica. It

It is is the the lan langua guage ge and and scrip script of

• f hu

human man sp spirit iritual ual expressi expression

• n in

in it its firs first great reat mo mome ments nts of

• f devel

develop

• pmen

ment, t, as as the the ev evol

• luti

ution

• n of
• f man

man in in anc ancient ient times imes, but but als also later, later, in in sci science ences, s, arts and civiliza lizati tions

• ns wa

was documen mented ted in in the the Gr Greek languag uage.

Th The Gr Greek ek language guage is considered sidered to be valuable able for r the univers ersal al langu guage age and civilisat ilisation ion becau ause: se:

• Modern

ern Greek ek but also

• a series

ries of other ers s such as La Latin in and the so- called led Latin in langu guag ages es (Italian alian, English, ish, Fr French nch etc.) are reliant iant

• n it.

• There

re is no language guage today that does not contain tain Greek ek words, , and it is for exactly tly this reason

• n that many

y schola

• lars

rs cons nsider ider it to be the mother er language guage of all l langua guage ges. . When en others s cult ltures ures translated lated ancient cient Greek ek script pts, s, scientif entific ic and literar rary, y, in their ir mother er tongue, gue, they transf sferred erred to their r language guage not just the Greek ek spirit it, , but many y Greek ek words as well. l. The number mber of internat ernational ional Greek ek words are innumerab numerable le. . The internat ernational ional Englis glish h language guage for examp mple le, , today uses s more e than 75,000 0 words which h are estimat mated ed to be of Greek origin, such as “Europe, alphabet, Grammar, mar, syllabus, abus, grammar mar, , diphthongs,

• ngs,

Angel el, , Bible, le, Bibliog liograp raphy, hy, Cube, e, Dialo logu gue, e, Ethnic ic, , Fantas tasy, y, Geogra graph phy, y, History, y, Idol, , Kilometre…”.

The e Gr Gree eek lang nguag uage e and nd wr writing ing ga gave e birth h to an

• and dev

evelope eloped d sci cienc ences es and nd arts

Di Discov scoveri ering ng th the firs first Gre Greek ek wri writi ting ng system, system, they hey were were gi give ven the the op

• pport

portun unity ity to to re record cord th their eir ex exper perien ience ce and nd the then st study udy it

• it. Th

Thus us they hey wer were fir first st dist isting inguis uishe hed in in lett letters, ers, arts arts and and sciences es.

We me mention n some me special cial ones in their ir area: a:

• Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Thucydides, Heraclitus, Demokritos,

Platon, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Sofoklis, Euripides ....

• The first texts of Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Law,

Medicine, History, Linguistics etc. were written in Greek and

• written. Also the first theatrical plays as well as the Byzantine

literary works are written in the Greek language.

Th The Gr Greek ek language guage wa was an International rnational langu guage age

• The Greek language was an International language both at

the time of Alexander the Great, during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, but also during the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople (1453 AD). Greek was spoken and written in all the known Ancient World: Romans, Jews, Phoenicians, Indians, Persians, Egyptians. It should be noted that most of the Romans had a Greek education and were familiar with the Greek language.

It is the e lang nguag uage e of

• f the

e Ch Christia tian n rel eligion gion

• The Greek language and Greek

writing are those with which the Christian Religion was written and spread all over the world. Most Apostles had Greek education and were knowledgeable of Greek language and writing, and so they wrote the Gospels straight to Greek in order to become known throughout the world. Also, the Old Testament became known to the world after its translation into Greek.

The Greek ek langu guage age and texts ts assist isted d in deciphering iphering many ancient ent scrip riptures. tures.

• This was carried out because

from the period of Alexander the Great onwards, the Greek language and scripts were universal and in those days many boards were bilingually written, for example the Rosetta Stone with Greek and Egyptian, the Rabad inscription in Alep in Greek, Syrian and Arabic, the inscription Arran in Auran in Greek and Arabic.

Mo Modern ern Gr Greek ek is an evolution lution of ancient ent Gr Greek. ek.

• Finally it should be mentioned that

the Greek language is timeless and a continuation of the language of Classical Greek philosophy and

• literature. The surviving literary,

philosophical and historical texts of antiquity, the texts of the Holy Bible are the continuity of Hellenism and the Greek language from antiquity to

• ur days.

GRE REEK K WOR ORDS IN TH THE ENGLIS LISH H LANGUA UAGE GE

• There are about 500 Greek key-words that, if deleted from
• ur dictionary or the dictionaries of world languages,

there will be failure of communication. The professor of applied linguistics and chair of the Greek Foundation of Culture Mr. George Babiniotis (2004) provides us with some examples of such words/concepts that infiltrated European languages like English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese…..

in in pol polit itics ics

• po

poli litics tics, dia dialo logue gue, rhetor rhetor, democrac democracy, ideol deology

• gy, (idea

dea) (ar aristocr istocracy acy), ), (mon monarchy rchy), ), (an anarchy archy), ), (despotism despotism), ), (hegem hegemony

• ny/hegemo

hegemonism nism), ), (tyr tyranny anny), ), (monol

• nologue
• gue),

), (de demag agogue

• gue).

In In pe pedi dia a / e edu ducat cation ion

• (pedia), (history), (theater), (drama), (tragedy), (comedy),

(tragic), (comic), (poem), (poetry), (poet), (drama), (dramatize), (dramatic),(drastic), (praxis), (practical, practice (pragmatic, pragmatism, pragmatist), (energy), (energetic), (energize), (scene), (character), (episode), (protagonist),, (orchestra), (music), (melody), (harmony), (symphony), (rhythm), (tone), (meter), (symmetry), (analogy) (school), (academy/academic), (gymnasium), (lyceum) , (athlete/athletics), (Olympic games).

General neral word rds

• (talent

talent), ), (aesthetics aesthetics), ), (myt myth), ), (fan fantasy tasy, fantastic fantastic), ), (mag agic ic), ), (my myste stery ry), ), (ero erotic tic), ), (ent enthusi husiasm asm), ), (sym symposium posium), ), (hero hero), ), (he hero roine ine), ), (str strategy ategy), ), (tactics tactics), ), (sym sympath pathy), ), (apo pology gy/apo polo logi gize ze).

In In te technology hnology

• (technology), (technical), (machine/mechanic),

(energy), (electric/electronic), (automatic), (automobile), (autonomous), (airplane), (helicopter), (telephone), (telescope), (elastic), (plastic), (scheme), (schedule).

Did you know that the first computer was discovered by Greeks during the 1st B.C.?

In In lan language guage

• (grammar),

(syntax), (lexicon), (etymology), (semantics), (synonym), (semiotics), (phonetics), (syllable), (phrase), (comma), (paragraph), (alphabet), (dialect) (morphology).

in in the theology logy

• (Christ), (Christian), (Bible), (theology), (atheism),

(monotheism), (polytheism), (église), (cathedral), (liturgy), (dogmatic), (catholic), (orthodox), (prophet), (angel), (devil), (apostle), (monk), (clergy), (presbyterian), (bishop), (layman), (patriarch), (pope), (baptism), (eulogy), (psalm), (hymn), (heresy), (scandal), (paradise).

In In phy physi sis s an and d epi pist steme eme

• (physics, physician, physiotherapy, physiology), (eco-

nomy, eco-logy, ecosystem), (bio-logy, bio-graphy, bio- chemistry, bio-ethics), (sphere, atmosphere, biosphere), (epoch), (period), (photograph), (botany), (phytology), (cosmology, cosmopolitan), (anthropology), (zoology), (oxygen), (hydrogen).

Fr From

• m sc

scie ience nce to to eve everyday ryday la lang nguage uage

• (theory),

(practice), (empirical), (logic) (system), (method), (category), (hierarchy), (hypothesis), (analysis-synthesis), (criteria), (problem), (axiom- axiomatic), (organ, organise, organism), (program), (theme), (thesis), (topic), (type), (phase), (parallel), (scope), (zone), (sceptic/scepticism), (symptom), (therapy), (clinic), (diagnosis), (pharmacy), (endemic- epidemic).

Nam ames es of S f Scie iences nces

• (philosophy), (philology), (psychology), (physiology),

(mathematics), (arithmetics), (physics), (geometry), (geography), (history), (biology), (economy), (astronomy), (chemistry).

Ma Main in nam ames es

• (Alexander/Alex),

(Andrew), (Basil), (Barbara), (Chris), (Christopher), (Cyril), (Dorothy), (Eugene), (George), (Gregory), (Nicolas), (Peter), (Philip), (Theodor), (Europe).

QU QUOT OTES ES OF OF IM IMPORTANT ORTANT PEOPLE OPLE ABO BOUT UT THE E GRE REEK EK LANGUAGE: NGUAGE:

• The Roman philosopher, politician,

lawyer and orator, Cicer cero, said that if the gods spoke ,they would use the Greek Language.

• German Goeth

the, the greatest poet of Germany, said he heard the Gospel in various languages, but when he heard it in Greek, it seemed to him that the moon appeared in the starry sky.

• French Scholar and poet Claudius

dius Farrel ell said that the Greek language brings together the wealth and homogeneity of German, the clarity

• f French, the slenderness of Spanish

and the musicality of the Italian.

• The famous blind American

writer Ellen en Ke Keller er likened the perfection of the expression of human thought though the Greek language with the finest

• f musical instruments, the

violin.

• Poet and scholar Vrettakos

ttakos said: When I die and go to heaven, I will speak to angels in Greek because they do not know another language than the language of music.

• Volta

taire ire, a French enlightener: "May the Greek language become common to all peoples. "German philologist

• E. Norden

den: "Apart from Chinese and Japanese, all

• ther languages were

formed under the influence

• f Greek, from which they

received rules and grammar, not to mention a multitude of words."

• Vandrusk

ruska, professor of linguistics at the University of Vienna: "For a Japanese or a Turkish, all European languages do not look as distinct, but as dialects of one and the same language, Greek.

• R. Robins, modern English linguist, professor at the University
• f London: "It goes without saying that Greeks have not only

been pioneers in the domain of linguistics. As a whole, the world’s intellectual life is reflected in the work of Greek scholars. Even today, we are constantly returning to the Greek heritage to find stimuli and encouragement.

• "Peter

er Jones, PhD- professor at the University of Oxford, who penned a series of ancient Greek lessons which were published in “Daily Telegraph”: "The Greeks of Athens in the 5th and 4th century had reached the language to such a great extend so that they could explore ideas such as the democracy and the beginnings of the universe as well as concepts such as divinity and law. It is a wonderful and excellent language. "

• Greek is a language with great linguistic dynamics. Its

linguistic abilities can help to understand how other languages function. The morphological decomposition of Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes will help the learners to learn other languages more easily. Moreover, the learners will be able to have a mastery of this vocabulary which will be useful for the learning of French, Italian and Spanish. These are very useful tools for future Language Practitioners, Translators and Language Teachers.

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