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

181 Pages·1957·46.812 MB·English

by  George C. Divry

G R E E K
M A D E E A S Y
A SIMPLIFIED METHOD OF INSTRUCTION IN MODERN GREEK
FOR SCHOOLS AND SELF STUDY
By GE ORGE C. DIVRY
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 I R D E D I T I O N
REVISED AND ENLARGED
D. C. DIVRY, Inc., Publishers
NEW YORK
19 5 7
THIRD E D I T I O N -
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 GEORGE C. DIVRY
Printed in the U. S. A.
By D. C. DIVRY, Inc.
293 Seventh Avenue
New York
P R E F A C E
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
mas. or m. for masculine
fem. or f. 99 feminine
neu. or n. 99 neuter.
nom. or n. 99 nominative case,
gen. or g. 99 genitive case,
accus. or ac. 99 accusative case,
voc. 99 vocative case,
sing, or s. 99 singular,
pi. or p. 99 plural.
f. e. or for ex. 99 for example.
col. or c. 99 colloquial.
pur. 99 puristic.
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 that 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 M A D E E A S Y
THE ALP HABET
PRINTED Represented in
Phonetic Pro­
nunciation by Pronounced as
A a — άλφα (al'fa) a a in father
i
Β β β — βήτα (vi'ta) ” victory
V V
r y — γάμα (ya'ma) y y ” yes or year*
y>
Δ δ — δέλτα (thel'ta) th th ” they
(e psilon') e e ” red
Ε ε — ε ψιλόν
ζ ζ — ζήτα (zi'ta) z z ” zero
Η η — ήτα (i'ta) i, i i ” ill or machine’
(thi'ta) th th ” thin
θ θ — θήτα
I ι — ιώτα (i 6'ta) ϊ» i i ” ill or machine
Κ κ — κάππα (ka'pa) k k ” king
Λ λ — λάμβδα (lam'vtha) 1 1 ” lot
Μ μ — μυ (mi) m m ” mother
* Asterisks refer to remarks accompanying each lesson.
6
— —
I
pVXoU 'V
G R E E K M A D E E A S Y
as
Represented by Pronounced
N v — VU (ηϊ) n n ” now
(ks'i) x, ks X ” extra
Η ξ ξΐ
— δ μικρόν (ό mikrbn') 6 o ” corporal
0 o
Π π m (ρϊ) P P ” paper
—
P p — ρώ (r6) r r ” red
Σ σ ς **·— σίγμα (siyma) s s ” sister
T τ — ταυ (taf) t t ” tin
Υ υ — δ ψιλόν (ϊ psilon') ϊ» ϊ i ” ill or machine**
Φ φ - ψΐ (fi) f f ” fat
X (hi) h h ” hill, but heavily
X - χ ΐ
aspirated****
Ψ ψ - ψΐ (psi) ps ps ” lips
Ω ω — ώ μέγα (6me'ya) ό 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
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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 mi'tir mother
©, 0— This is always pronounced as “ th ” in thin. It is represented
in our phonetic pronunciation by “th” in regular-face type: ,
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 <5 is used. For example: πόλις—city; σωρός—pile. In capital letters the
same character is used in all cases. For example: ΠΟΛΙΣ, ΣΩΡΟΣ.
T , τ.—This is pronounced as t in tin and represented by “t ” :
τύχη ti'hi fortune τακτικός taktikos' regular
—This is pronounced the same as t or η (which see). It is rep­
resented in our phonetic pronunciation by “ ϊ ” or “ ϊ ” :
ύπνος ip'nos sleep υλη ϊ'ΐϊ matter
Φ , φ— This is pronounced as f in fat and represented by “ f ” :
φέρω fe'ro I bring φίλος fi'los friend
**** X, χ.—This is a guttural consonant pronounced as a heavily as­
pirated h. The correct sound of χ should be learned from a Greek. It has
no equivalent in English. It is similar to the German ch in Bach. In our
phonetic pronunciation it is represented by “h” in bold-face type:
χαρά hara' joy εχω e'ho I have
■**, Ψ·—This is pronounced as ps in lips. It is represented by “ ps ” :
ψαλις psali's' scissors έρριψα e'ripsa I threw
12, o .—This is pronounced as o in corporal (Continental o), the same
as o (which see). It is also represented by “o” :
ώφέλιμος ofe'limos useful ώριμος o'rimds ripe
9
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