#modern greek

[gemsofgreece]

Green horses

More Greek etymological madness!

There is a saying in modern Greek, πράσινα άλογα (prásina álogha), which literally means “green horses”. It is usually added to the end of a sentence to show that something is crazy, unbelievable, foolish and to express disbelief for a statement.

i.e «Είπε ότι θα είναι πάντα στην ώρα του από δω και στο εξής και πράσινα άλογα»

(“He said he will always be on time from now on and green horses”)

The sentence indicates that the person has not stopped being late or that there is disbelief expressed that this person has the ability to even start trying being on time.

Why green horses though? How did this come to be?

Interestingly, no, it was not formed as a concept due to the inherent improbability of a horse being green. It originally had nothing to do with horses, let alone green ones.

The phrase originates from the ancient «πράσσειν άλογα» (prásin álogha) which means “acting thoughtlessly”.

The sound similarity between πράσσειν (prásin, acting) and πράσινα (prásina, green) is entirely incidental. The άλογα (álogha, thoughtlessly / horses) is on the contrary the same word! You see, the “official” Greek word for horse is ίππος (hippos or ippos). However, all animals were often called in ancient and especially medieval times as άλογα, from the negative α- and the noun λόγος which means logic, reason. Therefore animals were called álogha, beings without logic. The more the language evolved the word started describing horses more specific until in modern Greek it became the standard word for horse, overcoming ίππος by a long shot.

The phrase was surviving throughout in some way or another, however now the meaning of άλογα was getting enriched (it still also means “thoughtlessly”). Simultaneously, the infinitive «πράσσειν» was slowly fading, especially because its other lexical variant «πράττειν» (prátin, also means acting) was more popular and its verb is still used in its -t- variant nowadays.

So as πράσσειν was gradually becoming rarer and άλογα was getting a double meaning, people either out of humour or out of poor vocabulary morphed the phrase into πράσινα άλογα, green horses!

Interestingly it still expresses judgement against someone’s perceived stupidity, unreliability or madness (acting thoughtlessly)!

#greece #Greek #languages #language stuff #linguistics #langblr #Greek language #modern Greek #Ancient Greek #medieval Greek #Greek culture

[studywithjennifer]

starting a new language and beginning again from scratch with grammar is always weird, but exciting too.

notes on modern greek articles in the nominative case - 17/06/2023

#my notes #greek #modern greek #languages #learning languages #language learning #polyglot #bilingual #multilingual #langblr #language blog #studyblr #study aesthetic #study motivation #my posts

[the-likeable-wizard-mack]

Modern Fantasy Monsters: The Workplace

Fae asking for two or even more weeks off because they know that time is different in the fae realm. They have to calculate the amount of time off that they have to the days where they can visit their family back home.  Fae: “Soo...I’m asking for two weeks off of the project.”  Human: “Really? Why? Two weeks seems pretty long.”  Fae: “Well, fae time is different than human time. I’m just telling you in advance if people start asking if I disappear for a few days.”  

(The first isn’t my idea it was a comic dub that I listed to) Mimics being used as office chairs to “encourage” lazy workers to do their work. Also Mimics being great security guards since they can be used as living security cameras. 

Elevators that are for larger species that can carry more weight than most elevators. (Industrial elevators?)

Doctor Vampires who know exactly what blood type a person needs or what kind of blood is in a pouch with a sniff.  Vampire: “Ah,  yes. You have an AB blood type.”  Human: “Really? You..uh.. didn’t get up to check.” Vampire: “Oh no, I could smell you’re blood from here. I can tell.”  Human: “Huhhhh...”

Dragons resting on the top of office buildings sunbathing. Sometimes they like to rest their tail against the glass windows. 

Special workspaces for certain species:  -Spaces with water for Merfolk to work efficiently -Effective swivel desk so centaurs can sit comfortably (the same thing can be said for nagas so that their tail can be comfortable)

Magical compensation insurance: If you or a love one have been effected by a curse and or magic related accident you are entitled  to compensation. 

Ungodly coffee combination that some workers share across the office to keep them awake. Though some combination are not safe for human consumption unless they have a strong stomach. 

Vampires who stay overtime to work since they really don’t need to sleep. (Vampires have to be limited in the amount of overtime that they can do due to this little loophole. )

#urban fantasy #urban magic #urban magick #suburban fantasy #modern au #modern fantasy #Modern Magic #Modern Greek #dragon #dragons #vampire #vampires #faeries #fairy #fae #faefolk #writing #writer #writings #fantasy writing #writers #my writing #write #writeblr #fantasy #fantasy world #fantasy worldbuilding #worldbuilding #worldbuilding stuff

[didoofcarthage]

When they saw Patroklos dead –so brave and strong, so young– the horses of Achilles began to weep; their immortal nature was upset deeply by this work of death they had to look at. They reared their heads, tossed their long manes, beat the ground with their hooves, and mourned Patroklos, seeing him lifeless, destroyed, now mere flesh only, his spirit gone, defenseless, without breath, turned back from life to the great Nothingness.

C.P. Cavafy, “The Horses of Achilles,” from Collected Poems (translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard)

#Achilles #Patroclus #Patroklos #Horses of Achilles #C.P. Cavafy #Guess what I'm reading right now? #I found a copy of Cavafy's poems at a used bookstore and had to buy it. #Too bad that there's a nude mosaic of Dionysus on the cover so that I can't get away with reading it in public! #Modern Greek #translation #not my translation #Edmund Keeley #Philip Sherrard #poem #poetry #quote #Iliad #mythology #death

[kelseythelinguist]

Any recommendations for a person trying to learn Greek?

Yes, definitely! I also wrote a post on learning Modern Greek online.

I am not sure what your native language is or if you know any other languages. I studied German before Greek, and so I found Greek grammar very easy in comparison.

To start with, it's slightly more complex than Spanish for English native speakers since it uses a case system (changing noun, adjective, and article endings). But I found the patterns fairly regular and easy to remember! So it is not stressful at all. And since many words are similar between English and Greek, you will find it easy to pick up vocabulary.

For learning, this was what I did:

A1/A2

Timeframe: 9-12 Months, Depending on how fast you go

Tools:

Duolingo: 5-6 lessons/1 crown a day, or 30 minutes

Rosetta Stone: 3 lessons a day, or 30 minutes

Language Transfer Greek: 1-2 lessons a day, 10-20 minutes

LingQ: Free reading, when chilling out

When you finish Duolingo and Rosetta Stone materials, watch Eisai To Tairi Mou on Youtube. The wonderful George has subbed the whole series in English.

For textbooks, I used Take Off In Greek. I did 1 lesson a week after completing Duolingo/Rosetta/etc. This takes about 3 months. There is an audio CD, which you may need to buy separately. I'm not sure.

I also started tutoring while working on the textbook. I meet with Georgia on Italki, who is amazing.

B1/B2

I'm still working on this. 😉

Colloquial Greek is a good textbook here. It's very fast, though. Lots of vocabulary. Routledge also has a Modern Greek Reader, which is advanced but quite good.

But if you want in-depth resources, look at "publications" from Omilo.

Lydia is a good review of A1/A2, all dialogues. They also have workbooks on verbs, Greek music, podcasts, etc. Their B1/B2 book is Fiyame, and it's all in Greek.

At this point, I would work through either Colloquial or Fiyame while working with a tutor 1-2x a month or more.

There is also a Greek Mastodon server - https://kafeneio.social/explore

I am not on this server, but I follow and interact with many people on it. I also use Greek as my default language. 😊

University of Athens

I want to point out that there is an affordable learning course from the University of Athens. It is an online course. They have multiple language courses, but they have a good deal.

Their basic level course is 150 EURO, but you can get it for less. If you buy one of their culture courses, many of which are 100/120 EURO, you can get the Greek course free. The culture courses are taught in English.

I hope this is all helpful! I find Modern Greek rather fun and easy to digest. So far, the grammar is not very difficult. And many of the A1/A2 resources are free or low-cost. Rosetta Stone can be bought for $167, I think, and be used for multiple languages.

#modern greek #learn greek #langblr #languageblr #language learning #learn modern greek #langauges #inewt

[xelidonia]

In honor of Greek Independence Day, here's a conversation that I overheard my grandmother (your average pita-baking, Saints-praising, extremely-devout-Orthodox Greek Yiayia) having over the phone with her cousin:

Yiayia: "...marriage for homosexuals???"

(At this point I start paying attention.)

Yiayia: "But there's always been gays around. And lesbians. Even in the old times."

Guy on the other end of the phone: annoyed arguing

Yiayia: "Yes! Even in back in my village, we had lesbians. Two of them, "male-females" [αρσενοθήλυκες]. One of them was named Marlena, and her mother was our neighbor growing up. A good family! After the earthquake [of 1953], she and her wife moved to Athens. The rest of the family..."

Guy on phone: homophobic old man noises

Yiayia: "Saint Paul doesn't like it? Saint Paul doesn't even like normal marriage! He says all sorts of things, that Saint Paul... Tell me, have you ever read the New Testament in Modern Greek? My daughter got me a copy, with everything modern, and I read it every day, and I understand so much more now. You should try reading the New Testament in Modern Greek sometime. It might help."

#greek posts #modern greek #γιαγιά #greek independence day #25th of march #a barn swallow's diary #context: greece recently legalized gay marriage despite the church's protests #I had no idea my grandma was that tolerant... #probably won't come out to her though. she's one of the relatives whose feelings I actually respect. #and she's got enough to worry about besides my gay ass

[sciogli-lingua]

The colors in Greek

το χρώμα /'xro.ma/ = the color μονόχρωμος/-η/-ο /mo.'no.xɾo.mos/ = monochrome πολύχρωμος/-η/-ο /po.'li.xɾo.mos/ = polychrome

άσπρο /'a.spɾo/ = white μαύρο /'ma.vɾo/ = black κόκκινο /ˈko.ci.no/ = red πορτοκαλί /por.to.ka.'ʎi/ = orange κίτρινο /ˈci.tɾi.no/ = yellow πράσινο /ˈpɾa.si.no/ = green γαλάζιο /ɣa.ˈla.zʝo/ = light blue γαλανό /ɣa.la.ˈno/ = light blue μπλε /ble/ = blue μοβ / μωβ /mov/ = violet, purple καφέ /ka.'fɛ/ = brown γρίζο /ˈɡɾi.zo/ = grey ρόζ /ɾoz/ = pink χρυσό /xɾi.'so/ = gold

#greek #langblr #modern greek #with added IPA to help with the pronunciation #(any transcription mistakes are on me) #mine

[language-tournament]

Proto-Indo European wins!

Danish:

Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_language

Excerpt: Danish (/ˈdeɪnɪʃ/, DAY-nish; endonym: dansk pronounced [ˈtænˀsk], dansk sprog [ˈtænˀsk ˈspʁɔwˀ]) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schleswig, where it has minority language status.

Greek (Modern):

Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Greek

Excerpt: Modern Greek (endonym: Νέα Ελληνικά, Néa Elliniká, [ˈne.a eliniˈka] or Κοινή Νεοελληνική Γλώσσα, Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (Ελληνικά, Elliniká), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to as Standard Modern Greek.

#polls #linguistics #tumblr polls #greek #modern greek #danish #random polls #languages

[langblrofsorts]

Dog speech in modern greek, english and spanish

In english, dogs bark. The verb "to bark" comes from a germanic root (by the way, it's not the same root as the bark of a tree). And them dogs go "woof". And that's fine, woof resembles a sound a dog would make.

In spanish, dogs ladran. The verb ladrar comes from latin latrare, with the same meaning. The thing is, in spanish, dogs go "guau". Well, it may not be much in writing, but if you listen how the spaniards pronounce it, it's pretty close! (You can hear it in this video, in 4:52).

And then, we have modern greek. So, in modern greek, dogs γαβγίζουν. And that's because in greek, dogs go "γαβ". As a native speaker, I acknowledge that γαβ doesn't resemble a dog's bark but that's what we use, anyway. So, get used to it :)

So, we got the γαβ sound, we added the common verb ending -ίζω and we came up with verb γαβγίζω. You can hear me go γαβ in the mp3 file at the end of the post.

And here's how to form all tenses of the verb in the first person singular.

Το these, I would add two forms of conditional. Θα γάβγισα (= I must have barked) and θα γάβγιζα (= I would have been barking).

Oh, and there's the word for the bark itself, which is γάβγισμα.

In the mp3 file, you can hear me pronounce γαβ, γάβγισμα and also read the greek in the table above.

You can now bark succesfully in modern greek.

#spanish #language #greek #modern greek #alangblrofsorts #barking #ladrar #γαβγίζω #γαβ #ελληνικά #ισπανικά #αγγλικά #guau #woof #etymology #latin #latrare

[sebslanguageblog]

Βεβαίως - Of course Διακοπές - Vacation Καινούριο - New Διαβατήριο - Passport Άρρωστος - Sick/ill Χώρος - Space Κράτηση - Reservation Ψιθυρίζω - Whisper (verb) Ψίθυρος - Whisper (noun) Πεινάω - I’m hungry Κόκορας - Rooster Ανεβασμένος - Elevated, raised Καρύδα - Coconut

#greek #langblr #vocab #gr.me #modern greek #greek language #greek langblr

[kebriones]

Socrates/Alcibiades dialogue fragment from the very real Alcibiades III platonic dialogue that I found in my basement and did not make up

#Alcibiades #modern greek #this is supremely stupid but I can't stop putting them in modern scenarios #i just want them to have mundane conversations

[gemsofgreece]

I might have written about this before but: to people who are weirded out Modern Greeks call Zeus Δίας (Dias).

The original name of Zeus, first attested in Mycenaean Greek Linear B scripts (1400-1200 BC), was di-we, di-wo, from the possible Proto-Hellenic form *dzeus, from possible PIE root being *dewos, meaning "god". That d-strong form in Mycenaean was later retained better in the secondary forms of the noun, meaning the cases apart from the nominative.

Nominative: ὁ Ζεύς (o Zeus) Genitive: τοῦ Διός (tou Dios) Dative: τῷ Διῐ́ (to Dii) Accusative: τὸν Δίᾰ (ton Dia) Vocative: ὦ! Ζεῦ (oh Zeu)

The theorized z-including form *dzeus in Proto-hellenic survived better in some Greek dialects but even less so in others:

Δάν (Dán) — Aeolic

Δεύς (Deús) — Boeotian

Ζάς (Zás) — Laconian

Ζάν (Zán), Ζάς (Zás) — Doric

Ζήν (Zḗn) — poetic

Θιός (Thiós), Σιός (Siós) — Boeotian, Ionic

Τάν (Tán) — Cretan

As for Modern Greek, it has more often retained words through their secondary rather than their nominative cases, with the accusative case being the most common, like here.

#greek #greek language #ancient greek #modern greek #myceanean greek #languages #language stuff #linguistics #langblr #language learning #greek facts

[studywithjennifer]

modern greek verb conjugation aka distant screaming - 19/06/2023

#greek #modern greek #greek langblr #langblr #language learning #learning languages #polyglot #bilingual #studying #studyblr #study motivation #my posts

[the-likeable-wizard-mack]

TW with obvious mentions of blood, child endangerment, mentioning of crime, and other mature themes.)

You know what? I’ve thought of something cool and I’m going to share it instead of studying right now. SO. Bright (2017) sucked ass . It did, and I feel bad that it sucked because the premise was really cool. [Maybe it’s just me hyper fixing on true crime and short TikTok’ on (9-1-1 and other types of media like that) to just do that, make Bright, add more magical creatures in it, make it a series of true crime like scenarios with all sorts of true crime/ magic crimes. [Maybe I’ll ask this in an urban fantasy series in the future but, here are some examples:

- 911 call of a Minotaur who get’s his horns stuck in a very inconvenient place and the responders have to help to not only help him to get free but, also to save his life. This while also juggling to have this patient to stay calm while they help him not wanting to loose his horns.

-(TW Chid abuse) A horrible biological family accuses an adoptive fae family of kidnapping and manipulation due to their nature as fairy creatures. They try to sue the fae family for taking their kids away making a whole scene of how fae are the evil for taking their precious babies however, as the police soon find out the bio family were the manipulative ones in the first place being not only horrible parents but abusive too.

-Murders and Serial Killers who use magic for their own personal gain.

-A human illegally keeping a dangerous magical animals and they get loose in a area that is a danger for everyone.

-Natural disaster squad of non-human species helping out.

-Humans being dumb with magic and have to call special services to help them out.

All of this, to spite the makers of bright because I can make a better movie than bright.

#urban fantasy #suburban fantasy #writers #fantasy #writing #my writing #modern fantasy #writers on tumblr #writing on tumblr #fantasy creature #fantasy world #modern greek #modern magic #urban magick #urban magic #modern au #creative writing #my writings #how to write #writing inspiration #writing prompts #writings

[lios-archive]

helloooooo does anyone know if there are any decent modern greek exercise books you would recommend? Possibly in English or Italian? Thank you I'm kissing you all on the head 🙏🏼

#duolingo is helping me a lot but i feel like i need more!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼 thank you thank you #greek language #modern greek #greek

[kelseythelinguist]

For anyone looking to improve their Greek or Greek cultural studies, the University of Athens has many online courses in English by local professors. Tagging @gemsofgreece and @alatismeni-theitsa in case your non-Greek followers are interested.

#greece #modern greek #online courses #ancient greece #antiquity #greek courses #learn greek