The Power of Language
Recently, I was inspired to pick up my Greek lessons again. Why? Because I love the Greek language, and if I own my own Greek island today (crazy life goal) I need to know the language. Greek also is an important language in the history of the world—so many of word origins derive from Greek. Although ancient Greek is different than modern Greek’ the changes are subtle. Since the beginning of time, the Greek language has changed, but the changes have been subtle. Which is cool to me. I understand language changes some with the invention of words, but the relative consistency of the Greek language for thousands of years (and the fact the language hasn’t become extinct) shows the importance of language. If I can learn Modern Greek, it should be a relatively painless process to learn Ancient Greek.
I have studied languages before: French, Sign Language, Spanish (to teach in my Preschool job), etc. But, Greek holds a special place in my heart. It feels like the language I should be speaking. Honestly, I was inspired by my Aunt Carolyn’s Question of the Day (QOTD) to refresh my Greek skills. Auntie C is learning French, and she inspired my mom to pick up her Italian. There is an app on your phone called Duolingo, which is an interactive way to learn a language. I decided I would try the app to see what it was all about.
I love language (as you might guess). Truthfully, I wish I could be fluent in languages across the world. I would love to be a linguist and be able to speak to people in their native tongue. However, I know it’s unrealistic to learn over 7,000 languages and some dead languages, too. My problem with learning languages is I can read them better than I can speak them. When I look at Greek, I can figure out what the word is, but I don’t know the definition. I know what the letters say, but I don’t have the vocabulary to know what they mean. The great think about Greek, though, is a lot of it sounds like what you think it would be in English. For example: lemóni (lemonee), lemon.
Greek is a difficult language because the alphabet has 24 letters, and there are multiple vowels:
Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ/ς, Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, Ω ω.
When I learned French, there were 26 letters in the alphabet, and they were straightforward equivalents for the English alphabet. Greek, not so much. There are two-letter vowels and two-letter consonants. There isn’t a true “g” sound. My name is Monkan. Instead of 6 letters, it is written as 7 letters. When I lived in Greece, to make my name more Greek, my friend Jimmy decided my name would be Morganitis Lehmanitis. Hahah. Furthermore, there is stress marking (accents). Luckily, in Greece, there is only one accent—tonos. Languages are ranked by difficulty to learn by a few categories: linguistic distance, grammar, writing system, and pronunciation. French/Spanish/Italian are category 1. Greek is category 3. Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are all category 4. (The Complete List of Language Difficulty Rankings – Rosetta Stone).
Many Greek letters are used in more than Greek language, including mathematics and science. Another tricky part about Greek is that there is a Greek version and an anglicized version. At times, it feels like I am learning multiple languages in one. For instance: Καρχαρίας = karkarias = shark.
After downloading the app, I realized I knew more Greek than I thought I did. Still, I started at the beginning level. I can practice the letters, learn words, and match letter sounds, words, and pictures. Each lesson takes about 2 minutes, and every unit is about 5 lessons, So, I can do one unit in about 15 minutes. If I get something wrong, it repeats, so I can practice it again. I lose hearts, when I get a question wrong, but I can earn more hearts by practicing. Unlike my Greek lessons when I was in Greece, the app is easy. I don’t remember much about my Greek class. What I do remember is “endoxi, okay. Endoxi.” My Greek teacher was a little crazy, and she said endoxi, which means okay, constantly. Most of the Greek I learned, I learned from my roommates Eleni and Alexa, who are Greek-Americans, and they were also learning Greek. I tried to speak Greek when I was out in the streets of Athens, but I didn’t look Greek. I looked American/Canadian/Irish, so everyone spoke to me in English. Naturally, my English-speaking brain responded in my native tongue.
When I returned to America, I tried to learn Greek, but struggled with pronunciation and word comprehension. It is true immersion is the quickest way to learn a language. You must learn what words mean to speak them. You must hear words to learn how to pronounce them. Being immersed in the language also helps you learn the nuances of the language. I tried Babel and Rosetta Stone. Most of the time, I Googled words in English that I wanted to know in Greek, and I would sound them out to the best of my ability. My seriousness in learning Greek was never full-hearted. It was difficult, and there were other things I wanted to commit to learning: policy, sports, etc. It’s not that I didn’t want to learn, I did, but if something doesn’t come easily to me, I find it difficult to motivate myself to keep learning that subject.
What’s interesting to me about learning a language—at least in my experience—is no matter the learning platform, you learn things like Hello, goodbye, etc., but you also learn things that wouldn’t help you if you went somewhere that spoke the language. For example, I don’t know very many Greeks that look for the pink throne. Teach me things like the weather or how to mail a package. I do appreciate learning how to correct grammar mistakes I am making—the articles are a tad tricky for me. I struggle most with when to use a feminine or masculine article. Truthfully, with the state of the world, I wonder how long languages will hold on to articles in their masculine and feminine forms. Someday, we may have gender-neutral pronouns. Or maybe, the language councils of the world will remove articles entirely.
As I am learning Greek, I am also researching the history of it. It’s important to know the history of the language because it will help me learn why certain aspects of the language are the way they are. Greek language history stretches back almost 3,000 years and is one of the oldest and richest languages in the world. Although I do not totally trust Wikipedia, it’s a good place to start Greek language – Wikipedia. I love learning the reasons the way things are the way they are. That’s why I wanted to go to Greece—so much of Western Civilization derived from a small, simple country and people. It’s fascinating, and it’s amazing to think about.
I am on DAY 19. I just started unit 3, which is described as, “Read any word, use basic phrases.” Today, I did lesson one, and I learned the Greek words for coffee, fish, and bread. Words that will be useful when I go back to Greece. The best part is: I want to do the lessons; I want to learn the Greek, and I feel like I am learning Greek. I want to keep going. I want to do better each time—quicker and with no mistakes. I feel rewarded when I make no errors. I am accomplishing something.
Sometimes I just practice the letters. I do think walking down the street or at break times at work. (My poor co-workers listen to my practice). The pronunciation is a little awkward at times, but with practice I can do it. It’s nice to see the letter, hear the pronunciation, and then practice the pronunciation. I feel motivated to keep going, and I feel like I am learning something. I am hoping before the end of the year I can be fluent in the language. I can say anything I want to say, and I can read basic Greek. Yes, I know I wouldn’t be able to read The Iliad or The Odyssey by Homer, but I will settle for a sentence or two in the passages of the writings. I am excited to speak to my Greek friends in Greek—to know what they are saying, and to be able to respond appropriately.
My hope is after I become fluent in Greek, I can learn other languages as well:
- ASL—I am signing up for classes in the Fall. I used to be fluent, but I need a refresher, not using it all the time.
- French—As I am doing with Greek, I want to refresh my French skills, though I think French will be easier to practice. I have studied it for 5 years already. If I need to practice, I can always ask my Uncle John for help.
- New languages I would like to try to learn:
*Spanish—I really don’t know but a few words
*Russian—my good friend, Ilya, speaks Russian, and I would love to speak to him. For us, it would feel like our own private language.
*Italian—so my mom and I can speak in private.
- Languages I think would be fascinating to try:
*Dutch (category 1)- I spent some time in Amsterdam, and I would like to go back to see the tulips someday.
*Danish (category 1)- I have a friend that lives in Denmark, and I would love to visit there.
*Swedish (category 1)- My ancestors are Swedish, and it would be fun to know how they spoke to one another.
*Hebrew (category 3)- I know many people who speak Hebrew, and I would like to converse with them.
*Icelandic (category 3)- I want to travel to Iceland, and only 400,000 people from one island speak the language—it would be cool if I was one of them.
Yes, I know I will not learn all those languages. A girl can dream, can’t she? So. I’ll start with the ones I already know, and then I will move on to the ones that are most important to me. I would really love to learn Russian. It’s a beautiful language when someone speaks it well.
Learning a language is a marathon. One which I will stumble along my way. I am an eager learner, but I need to remind myself to take learning at my own pace and to keep going, even if I make a mistake or two or three. The important thing to remember is progress not perfection. Even native speakers don’t speak perfectly 100% of the time. πρόοδος = Τελειότητα!
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