Do you know what language is spoken in Greece? Modern Greece is a very young state. Despite this, the Greeks love and are proud of their history, because without it there would be no stories of many other states. It was here that philosophy in a Western interpretation first appeared, as well as classical literature, which became loved all over the world.
Modern Greek is the official language of modern Greece. It is based on the ancient Greek language, however, in reality it differs strikingly from it. Even despite the fact that in the modern Greek language there are options for constructing grammatical structures.
How was the Greek language formed?
- In the 15th century BC, the first records appeared that were stuffed on clay tablets. They were found by archaeologists on the island of Crete and were called Linear writing. This is where the Greek alphabet began to form.
- In the 8th century BC, the first records appeared in the new, ancient Greek language;
- In the 4th century BC, the Greek language becomes a way to build a dialogue with other countries.
During the existence of Byzantium, the Greek language will be its state language, in which laws were drawn up, citizens communicated and state affairs were conducted.
Each Greek province creates its own dialect. When the Turks owned the country, not every Greek understood the other, since there was a big difference in the pronunciation of words and phrases in the language.
As soon as Greece gains independence, the issue of recognizing the language as an official one is raised in the local parliament.
After the ongoing reform of Korais, a “pure language” of kafa veres is being developed. It is a middle language between ancient Greek and modern Greek. It is a literary language.
The spoken Greek language is called Dominica. It is spoken by the inhabitants of modern Hellas, and in any of the areas, regardless of whether there are differences in dialects or not.
In order for people in each region of the country to understand each other, schools introduced Dominica as the main subject.
Of course, since Greece is a European country, many of its inhabitants also speak international English. True, mostly it can be explained in tourist places.
Greece Official language
In Greece, each province has its own dialect. During the period of Turkish rule, not all Greeks could understand each other, so the idea of a single language arose. With independence, the question of what the state language would be became especially relevant.
In the course of the Reform of Korais, the so-called pure language of Katharevous was developed – something between ancient Greek and modern. It’s a literary language, not a colloquial one.
In reality, this language was far inferior to the one that enjoyed the authority of the national language, its name “domitika”. It is spoken by the vast majority of Greeks, and it is understandable in any area of Hellas, despite the difference in dialects.
It is clear that the national language is the basis of any state that wants to exist independently. Therefore, since 1982, the Greek government has made it mandatory to study domitika in all educational institutions, and this form of language has become the main one for the country. This language is spoken by most of the Hellenes.
Do tourists have language problems in Greece?
Greek is spoken by more than 15 million people in the world and not only in Greece itself. It is the official language of the Republic of Cyprus as well as the large Greek diaspora scattered around the world.
But still we must admit that this is not the most common language in the world, and if a tourist goes to Greece for a short time, then special knowledge of the language is not required. However, there are options when a tourist comes to the country on a long vacation, has real estate here or settles for permanent residence, then you need to know the language for the following reasons:
- this makes it very easy to communicate with the locals, who are more willing to talk to those who know their native language;
- helps to understand the mentality of the Greeks, to penetrate it, and this is important for someone who ties his fate with Greece seriously and for a long time;
- for those who do business in this country, knowledge of the language is simply necessary;
- someone who is looking for a job in Greece also needs to know this language in order to achieve a good income.
It is also worth noting that in Greece they follow European standards in servicing tourists, and therefore there are signs, information signs explaining the direction of movement, the name of the monument or the location of certain public places (cafes, restaurants, toilets, etc.).
