How many times have you heard that a specific word in the English language was derived from a Greek word with a similar meaning? The Greek language is one of the most influential languages in the world. Many words that are used in the modern languages are derived from ancient Greek. Greek language belongs to the family of Indo-European languages. Like Latin , Greek is also considered the language of the scholars. Let’s take a look at some amazing modern and historical facts about the Greek language.
Modern And Historical Facts About The Greek Language
Origin: Many people believe that the Greek language was originated somewhere around 3000 BC. It was spoken in the Balkan peninsula at that time.
Written Greek: Some clay slates from around 1400 BC have been found that show how Greek was written in that time. Even though Greek is such an old language it is still a living language which means that it is the oldest living language in the world.
Koine: The older form of Greek language is known as Koine. It was the language spoken by Alexander The Great and his followers.
Speakers: Today there are around 13 million Greek language speakers in the world. most of these speakers live in Greece or Cyprus. You can also find more speakers in other European countries.
Influenced Other Language
Greek has influenced a lot of other modern day languages. A lot of words from old Greek have been used in the modern languages. About 12% of English words are derived from the Greek language.
Greek Words In Science
The Greek language is used to name different items in different fields of science, mathematics and astronomy.
Word Length
Aristophanes , a Greek playwright , used a 182 lettered word in his comedy playwright by the name of Assemblywomen. This word was Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon. It is considered as the longest word ever used.
Alphabets: Have you ever wondered how did the word alphabets originated. It is a combination of the first two Greek alphabets i.e. Alpha and Beta.
Vocabulary: The Greek Language has a vocabulary of more than 600000 words. It is one of the richest languages in the world when it comes to culture and vocabulary.
Modern Greek: Well-qualified modern green speakers can also understand old Greek which shows that there is some similarity between the two languages.
Cultural Impact: The ancient Greek civilization was one of the most advanced civilizations of its time. This is why the Greek language also had a great impact on society. Learning Greek was crucial in the ancient world for conducting activities like diplomacy and trade.
Script: Ancient Greek was written from right to left where as with time the language changed position. Modern Greek is written from left to right.
Genders: There are three genders in the Greek language .i.e. neuter, feminine and masculine.
Other Languages Impact On Greek: The Greek language has massively influenced other languages in the world however , it has also been influenced by other languages as well. There are certain words in the Greek language that were taken from the English language. The word glamoureeah in Greek was derived from the English word glamour. The same was freakareoh was derived from freak out.
Versions Of Greek Language: Before the mid 1970s, there were two different versions of the Greek language used in Greece. One was Demotic and the other one was Katharevousa. Demotic was used for casual conversations while Katharevousa was used for official documents , newspapers , medicine and even in the military. In the mid 1970s , Demotic was chosen to be the only official language of Greece.
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