Greek made easy : a simplified method of instruction in modern Greek for schools and self study

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GREEK MADE

EASY

A SIM PLIFIED METHOD OF INSTRUCTION IN MODERN G REEK FOR SCHOOLS AND S E L F STUDY

By G E O R G E C. D I V R Y Author of New Divry’s English-Greek and Greek-English Dictionary, Simplified English-Greek Method, First English-Greek Readers, Modern Greek School Readers, etc.

T H IR D

E D IT IO N

REVISED AND ENLARGED

D. C. DIVRY, Inc., Publishers NEW

YORK

19 5 7

THIRD

EDITION-

P U B L I S H E R S ’ NOTE Due to the demand for “GREEK MADE EASY” —a demand which gratifyingly exceeded the ex­ pectations of the publishers — a third edition has been found necessary.

In this new volume

the scope of the work has been broadened, the material amended to insure greater interest and value, the entire contents rearranged for con­ venience and carefully revised to meet the spe­ cific requirements of the earnest student. The publishers, realizing the difficulties of mastering any language, have aimed in this new edition to ease and smooth the student’s effort in acquiring modern Greek.

COPYRIGHT 1938, 1944 and 1948 By G EO R G E C. DIVRY

Printed in the U . S. A. B y D . C. D IV R Y , Inc. 293 Seventh Avenue New York

PREFACE The study of Greek among the English-speaking peoples has lately received new impetus, owing to the interest taken in every­ thing Greek by the descendants, relatives or friends of the Greek settlers on the North American continent. Modern Greek—an evolutionary form of ancient Greek—is much simpler than classical Greek. In fact, it can be acquired as easily as the most popular European languages of today. However, for lack of the proper means of instruction, its study has been greatly handicapped both in schools and homes. This book is intended to fill a long existing need for a simple, methodical and attractive medium of instruction, enabling the student of average education and intelligence to master the ele­ ments of Modern Greek grammar and at the same time to acquire a working knowledge of everyday Greek. Our method of instruction is the same as that used in all our English and Greek instruction books—a system of gradual progress from the simpler and more useful elements of speech and grammar to the essential grammatical rules and expressions required for advanced study. We have taken minute care that the student meet with as little difficulty as possible in his studies. With this in view, we have marked the pronunciation of all Greek words in our Vocab­ ularies with the phonetics used in American textbooks, and given the English equivalent for every Greek word or phrase introduced in this manual. To further facilitate the work of the student, we have tried, as much as advisable, to have the English phraseology correspond with the Greek, for this purpose sacrificing the elegance of ex­ pression in certain cases. For the same reason, the style of speech in this manual, both Greek and English, is that used in everyday conversation by the average person in Greece and in America. In presenting this book to the Philhellenes of Greek or other origin, we trust that it will assist them in their studies, and that it will contribute to the advancement of the language of the New Testament and of the greatest civilization of all times.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS MANUAL

for masculine mas. or m. 99 feminine fem. or f. 99 neuter. neu. or n. 99 nominative case, nom. or n. 99 genitive case, gen. or g. accus. or ac. 99 accusative case, 99 vocative case, voc. 99 singular, sing, or s. 99 plural. pi. or p. f. e. or for ex. 99 for example. 99 colloquial. col. or c. 99 puristic. pur.

PRELIMINARY LESSON MODERN GREEK Modern Greek is a simplification of ancient Greek, which it resembles to a high degree. Literary, or written, Greek, in vocabulary and gram­ mar, is almost identical with the Greek of the New Testament. In the spoken language (δημοτική) some words in common use have been borrowed from other languages, while others have undergone changes which seem to have carried it away from classical Greek. However, since the Greeks have gradually gained their independence, the purification of the language has been progressing steadily, and today the καθαρεύουσα—or purified— language, the language of the courts, the Parliament, the newspapers and educated Greeks, differs little from classic Greek. The spoken, or colloquial, language (όμιλουμένη or δημοτική) is in general use in everyday conversation, even by well educated Greeks. In this manual we have used the language prevailing, avoiding vulgar or slang ex­ pressions as well as classic words not easily understood by the average Greek of today. PRONUNCIATION Greek pronunciation is very simple. As a rule, each letter has, in­ variably, the same phonetic sound. The exceptions are few and follow fixed rules. There are no variations in the pronunciation of the Greek letters as in English (rough, though; fat, fate), no silent characters, no long or short vowel sounds. The accented syllable is marked in each word. To further facilitate the work of the student, we have given the pro­ nunciation of each Greek word according to its nearest English equivalent. The beginner must have in mind th at each phonetic sound always has the same value in quantity and quality. Even the accents indicate only the syllables stressed, but do not change the quality of the accented vowels. There are only two letters without English equivalents, γ and χ, the sounds of which must be heard from a Greek to be mastered. —

5

G R E E K

THE

M A D E

ALPHABET

Represented in Phonetic Pro ­ nunciation by

PRINTED A Β r Δ Ε

a — άλφα β β — βήτα — γάμα y δ — δέλτα ε — ε ψιλόν — ζήτα ζ ζ — ήτα Ηη — θήτα θ θ I ι — ιώτα Κκ — κάππα Λ λ — λάμβδα Μμ — μυ

E A S Y

(al'fa) (vi'ta) (ya'ma) (thel'ta) (e psilon') (zi'ta) (i'ta) (thi'ta) (i 6'ta) (ka'pa) (lam'vtha) (mi)

a V

y th e z i, i th ϊ» i k 1 m

y>

* Asterisks refer to remarks accompanying each lesson. —

6

—

Pronounced as

a in father ” victory y ” yes or year* th ” they e ” red z ” zero i ” ill ormachine’ th ” thin i ” ill or machine k ” king 1 ” lot m ” mother i

V

I

pVXoU

'V

G R E E K

M A D E

E A S Y Pronounced

Represented by

N

v

— VU

Η ξ 0

o

Π π

P p Σσς T τ

Υυ Φ φ

X X Ψ ψ Ω ω

ξΐ

— δ μικρόν —

m

— ρώ **·— σίγμα — ταυ — δ ψιλόν ψΐ -

χΐ

-

ψΐ ώ μέγα

—

(ηϊ)

n

(ks'i)

x, ks

n

as

” now

X ” extra

(ό mikrbn')

6

o

(ρϊ) (r6) (siym a)

P r s

P ” paper r ” red

(taf)

t

(ϊ psilon') (fi)

ϊ» ϊ f

(hi)

h

(psi)

ps

(6me'ya)

ό

” corporal

s

” sister

t i

” tin ” ill or machine**

f ” fat h ” hill, but heavily aspirated**** ps ” lips o ” corporal

REMARKS

A , a . —The vowel * is pronounced as a in father or artistic (Conti­ nental a ) . It is neither short nor long. In our phonetic pronunciation it is marked “ a For example: καλά kala' well θάλασσα tha'lasa sea Β» 6 .—This is always pronounced as v in victory. Examples: βιβλίον νϊνΐϊ'όη book έβαλα e'vala I put * Γ , γ .—The sound of γ can be correctly learned only by listening to a Greek. It is a soft, guttural g, equivalent to the consonant sound of y in year or yellow, or the sound of w in woman. Before the vowels *, o or ω and the diphthong ot>, γ can be likened to the consonant sound of y in yard or yoke, with the vowel sound of i eliminated. It would not be correct to represent it in all cases with y or w or g, therefore in the phonetic pronunciation we have mostly retained its Greek character “γ” : γάτα ya'ta cat γεμάτος yema't6s full YY and γχ are pronounced as ng in longer or angry: εγγονος eng'gonos grandson άγκάλη anga'li bosom γ before the consonants χ or ξ is pronounced as ng nasal, as in song συγχωρώ singhoro' I pardon πλάστιγξ plas'tingks scales —

7—

G R E E K

M A D E

E A S Y

A , δ .—This is always pronounced as th in they. In our phonetic pro­ nunciation it is represented by “th ” in bold-face type: δίδω

thi'tho

I give

δέμα

the'ma

package

E , ε .—It is always pronounced as e in red or there. It is neither long nor short, the same as the Continental e. In our phonetic pronunciation it is represented by “e” : έλαβε e'lave he took έπεσε e'pese he fell 5E, %— This is always pronounced as z in zero and represented by “z” : ζώνη zo'nl belt ζητώ zito' I ask ** MI, η — This is pronounced as i in ill or machine. It is neither long nor short. In our phonetic pronunciation it is represented by “ i ” or “ ϊ Note. The vowels η, s, υ, and the diphthongs at, ot and oc are all pro­ nounced alike, as the Continental i. When accented, they sound more like i in police and are represented in our phonetic pronunciation by ‘ ϊ ’. If unac­ cented, they are represented by the short i (i). Both (Ϊ and i) have the same phonetic quality of the Continental i. ήλιος Tlios sun μήτηρ m i'tir mother © , 0— This is always pronounced as “ th ” in thin. It is represented in our phonetic pronunciation by “th ” in regular-face ty p e: , θέλω the'lo I wish θύρα th'i'ra door I , t.—It is pronounced the same as η (which see) and represented by “ I ” or “ I ” : ιστορία istori'a history φιλία flli'a friendship I£ , κ .—It is always pronounced as k in king and represented by “ k ” : κακός kakos' bad έκαμε e'kame he did Λ.» λ — It is pronounced as 1 in lot and represented by “ 1” : λαός la os' people λΰπη Ιϊ'ρΐ sorrow M , l*— Always pronounced as m in meat and represented by “ m ” : Μαρία mari'a Mary μόνος mo'nds alone Λί» v— Always pronounced as n in nine and represented by “ n ;’ : νέος ne'os young εννέα ene'a nine S , %— It is always pronounced as x in extra or ks in weeks and rep­ resented in our phonetic pronunciation by “ ks ” or “x” : ξένος kse'nos stranger ξύλα ks'i'la wood

G R E E K

M A D E

E A S Y

Ο , o — This is pronounced as o in corporal (Continental o). It is neither long nor short. Represented in our phonetic pronunciation by “ o ” : ομολογώ omoloyo' I confess δνομα o'noma name 11, ----- It is pronounced as p in paper and represented by “ p ” : πάππος pa'pos grandfather πολύ poll' much Γ», p — This is pronounced as r in red, and is always heard clearly, whether before a vowel or a consonant or at the end of words. It is repre­ sented by “ r ” or “ rr ” : ρόδον ro'thon rose ρήτωρ ri'tor orator *** Χ , α, ς — This is pronounced as s in sister. Before the consonants 6, γ, δ, λ, μ., v and p it takes the sound of z, which is considered more euphonious. In our phonetic pronunciation it is represented by “s” and “z”. σύστημα s'i'stima system σανις sani's' board κόσμος k6z'mos world άσβεστος az'vestos lime ***Note. s is used only at the end of words; in all other cases the charac­ ter 1

G R E E K

Μ Α DE

E A S Y

lU ____________ ^

LESSON 6 δίδω δίδεις δίδει δίδομεν δίδετε δίδουν σου δίδω μου δίδεις παίρνω παίρνεις κύριε κυρία δεσποινίς εάν 3\ η τί κάτι τίποτε δλος, δλη δλον, col. ολο τό σπίτι ό π ά γος καί, επίσης με

thi'th6

I give

thi'this

you give (sing.)

th'i'thi'

he (she, it) gives

thi'thomen

we give

thi'thete

you give (plural)

thi'thoon

they give

soo thi'thd

I give you

moo th'i'this

you give me

per'nb

I take

per'nis

you take

ki'rie

sir

kiri'a

madam

thespinis'

miss

e an'

if

ϊ

or

ti

what

ka'ti

something

ti'pote

nothing, anything

6'los, 6'li

all (m as.); all (fern.)

ό ΐόη, δ'ΐό

all (neuter)

t6 spi'ti

the home, the house

6 pa'yds ke, epi'sis

the ice and, also

me

with, together with 26

—

τ

»« * 9, V ^t «nv^\y

HA\ 'f°51*nk W·" ί u ^ ·. > w > w;f^ a y, !Irv»iT f

HcNi

e x e r c i s e s

**■■-

ν p\-f " 3■* ^Γ - Ώ i λY .^ v , ^

Ποιος OOU δίδει νερό; Αυτός Ο άνθρωπος μου δίδει νερό. Μου δίδει νερό καί γάλα.

Who gives you water? This man gives me water,

Ποιος σου δίδει τσάι; Σύ μου δίδεις τσάϊ. Μου δίδεις τσάϊ καί ζάχαρη.

Who gives you tea?

He gives me water and milk. You give me tea. You give me tea and sugar.

θέλω κάτι, κυρία. θέλετε τυρί; Ναι. θέλομε τυρί καί ψωμί.

I want something, madam.

Πάρετε τυρί καί βούτυρο. Ευχαριστώ, κύριε. Δεν θέλω τυρί, θ έλ ω μόνον ψωμί.

Take cheese and butter.

Do you want cheese? Yes. We want cheese and bread.

θέλετε καί νερό; Δεν θέλω τίποτε. Εύχαριστώ. Δός μου καφέ καί γάλα, π α ­ ρακαλώ. Παίρνετε καφέ ή τσάϊ; Δέν παίρνω τίποτε. θέλω μόνον ένα ποτήρι νερό μέ πάγον.

Thank you, sir. I don’t want cheese. I want bread only. Do you want water too? I

don’t want anything. Thank you. Give me coffee and milk, please. Do you take coffee or tea? I don’t take anything. I want only a glass of water with ice (iced water).

_27__ \-f

^

Ί J rwi> * "u— k®-*·'-

f ύ^

|

i

O

j t

·Λ* ^

— ejt>n» ·**S

"v*