Spoken World: Greek (with Audio)

180 Pages·2009·608.2 MB·English

by  Living Language

LIVING LANGUAGE? a

Living Language® presents a simple and effective introduction
to Greek, providing you with the essentials for learning to speak,
understand, read, and write Greek. You don’t need any back-
ground in the language—each new concept is explained clearly
with plenty of examples, making this course ideal for beginners
or anyone who wants a thorough review.

SPEAK -— Natural dialogues, clear grammar, essential
vocabulary, and key phrases

LISTEN — Two sets of recordings on six audio

CDs for use with the book or on the go

PRACTICE — Plenty of exercises, both written

and recorded

EXPLORE — Real-life discovery activities;

internet resources; notes on culture, cuisine,

history, and more

EXPAND — A useful guide to the Greek alphabet and
pronunciation, and an extensive two-way glossary

Why Choose Living Language®?
+ The Living Language® method is proven and simple.
« There are no phony gimmicks or fad techniques.
+ Millions have learned a new language with
Living Language® since 1946.

Design by Chie Ushic
Phote © Robert Harding Picture 1}
Living Language, A Random Hous
© 2000 by Living Language
wee livinglanguage cen
SPOKEN WORLD

GREEK

A COMPLETE COURSE
FOR BEGINNERS

written by

Elpida Argyrakopoulos
edited by

Christopher A, Warnasch, Shaina Malkin,
and Katerina Zombolou, Ph.D.

LIVING LANGUAGE sh
Copyright © 2009 by Living Language, an imprint of Random House, Inc.
Living Language is a member of the Random House Information Group

Living Language and colophon are registered trademarks of Random
House, Inc.

Map © Fodor's Travel, a division of Random House, Inc,
Allrights reserved.

Published in the United States by Living Language, an imprint of Random
House, Inc.
wwwlivinglanguage.com

Editors: Christopher Warnasch, Shaina Malkin
Production Editor: Carolyn Roth

Production Manager: Tom Marshall

Interior Design: Sophie Ye Chin

First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-4000-2459-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

This book is available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales
promotions or premiums. Special editions, including personalized covers,
excerpts of existing books, and corporate imprints, can be created in large
quantities for special needs. For more information, write to Special Mar-
kets/Premium Sales, 1745 Broadway, MD 6-2, New York, New York 10019
or e-mail [email protected].

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

10987654321

DEDICATION

To my brother Constantinos, to whom | always look up!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to the Living Language team: Tom Russell, Nicole Benhabib, Chris-
topher Warnasch, Zviezdana Verzich, Suzanne McQuade, Shaina Malkin,
Elham Shabahat, Sophie Chin, Linda Schmidt, Alison Skrabek, Carolyn
Roth, and Tom Marshall. Special thanks to Alexandra loannidou.
Course Outline

Introduction

How to use this course

The Greek alphabet and pronunciation Xiti
VOCABULARY GRAMMAR
LESSON 1 WELCOME TO GREEK CLASS! = 1

Saying hello and good-bye, and other
greetings and courtesy expressions.

LESSON 2 THE FAMILY

Basic vocabulary and structure for
talking about family and friends.

1. Subject pronouns
2. The verb eipoxt (I-me} (to be)
3. Asking yes/no questions
4. Gender and articles
15

1. The simple present of
£4 (E-kho) (to have)

2. The plural of masculine nouns
3. Negative sentences

4. Numbers 1-20

LESSON 3 WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE! =F 31

Everyday objects around the home
and descriptive terms.

LESSON & DAILY LIFE

Talking about your daily routine
and asking questions.

1. Indefinite articles
2. Plural of feminine nouns
3. Plural of neuter nouns
4. Using adjectives
5. Possessives
51
1. Present tense of -@ verbs

2, Present tense of -on verbs—the
passive voice

3. Questions and question words

4. Numbers 20-100
vi

VOCABULARY

GRAMMAR

LESSON 5 LET'S GO T0 SCHOOL! 69

Talking about school, courses, and
studying.

LESSON 6 LET'S GO SHOPPING!

Vocabulary and expressions for
buying things.

LESSON 7 FOODS AND FLAVORS!

Vocabillary and expressions related
to ordering food and eating.
Expressing likes and dislikes.

LESSON & AROUND TOWN

Vocabulary related to towns and
cities. Getting around and asking
directions.

LESSON 9 MAKING A PHONE CALL! ©
MAKING AN APPOINTMENT

Speaking on the phone, making
appointments, telling time, and
giving dates.

1. Days of the week, months, and

seasons

2. More on negation

3. Demonstratives

4. Present tense conjugation of
Group 2 verbs

89

1. The comparative and
superlative of adjectives

2. Common irregular verbs
3. Quantity expressions

4. Group 2 verbs in the passive
107

1. Expressing eiplon and éy@ in
the past

2. The simple past of other verbs

3. Object pronouns and the
accusative case

4. Expressing likes and dislikes
5. Ordinal numbers
: 127
1. The imperative
2, The accusative case
3. Accusative adjective agreement

4. Accusative prepositions

149
1, Numbers above 100
2, Telling time
3. Polite requests

4. Dates

VOCABULARY

| GRAMMAR
t

LESSON 10 THE BODY AND HEALTH

Going to the doctor's office and the
pharmacy, Important vocabulary
and expressions for talking about
sickness, health, and the human
body.

LESSON 11 COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET

Talking about computers,
hardware and software, and using
the internet.

' LESSON 12 RUNNING ERRANDS

} Vocabulary and expressions for
taking care of everyday needs
and obligations,

LESSON 13 AT WORK

Jobs, professions, workplaces,
and companies.

LESSON 44 FREE TIME

Hobbies, free time, and recreational
activities.

LESSON 15 SPORTS AND THE OUTDOORS

Sports, the outdoors, nature, and
the weather,

Greek-English glossary
English-Greek glossary

167

1. Genitive case of nouns and
articles

2. Adjectives in the genitive

3. Indirect objects

4. Genitive case prepositions
187,
1. The simple future tense

2. Simple future of irregular verbs

3. Indefinites

203
1, The use of vor
2. Modals
3. The subjunctive
221

1. Word order

2. Two-word prepositions

3. Reflexive verbs and pronouns
237

1. More on the passive voice

2, Relative clauses

3. Strong and weak pronoun.
forms

257
1. The weather

2. The past continuous tense

3. The conditional

305

Course outline

aulyyno asino)

iii
Introduction

This course is designed to provide you with an easy and practical introduc-
tion to the language. It will help you learn the basics of Greek vocabulary,
structure, and conversation, so that you'll be able to take part in every
day conversations, find your way around, and make yourself understood
in a range of situations in Greek. Of course, learning a language is not a
simple thing; it takes time, patience, and commitment, but it can be a lot
of fun and very rewarding. This program doesn’t assume that you have
any knowledge of Greek, or that you're a whiz with grammatical concepts.
Everything is explained in plain English, grammatical concepts are put in
simple language, and there are plenty of examples to help you understand
each point as you progress through the course. You'll probably find that
with this course, Greek comes to you far more painlessly than you would
have imagined! But before you begin, take a moment to read the “How to
Use This Course” section, so that you can get the most out of Spoken World:
Greek by Living Language.

HOW TO USE THIS COURSE

This beginner-level course is designed to use both audio and visual instruc-
tion to help you master the basics of Greek. No previous knowledge of
Greek is assumed.

Following this introduction, you'll find a section that teaches you every-
thing you need to know about the Greek alphabet and pronunciation. Use it
in conjunction with the audio to become fully acquainted with the sounds
of Greek. Imitate the native speakers that you hear, but don’t be worried if
you don’t sound quite native yourself; after all, you're not. Good proriun-
ciation will come in time. Just use the pronunciation section enough to
familiarize yourself with the sounds and spelling of Greek. Then you can
begin the fifteen lessons, each of which is dedicated to a particular topic
and to specific structural points.

As a general piece of advice, fight the urge to skip ahead or rush over any
part of this course. It’s designed in a careful sequence, and each section rep-
resents a building block that adds to everything before it while at the ee
time preparing you for everything that comes after it. Always ee a ae ;
at your own pace; if you don’t understand something, oF if you d lon’t feel
quite comfortable with some point, simply go over it again. That’ 8 the best
way to make sure your learning experience is painless and effective.

Each lesson of this course contains the following sections:

Vocabulary warm-up

The vocabulary warm-up kicks off the lesson with key words you'll hear in
the dialogue. Many will be related to the topic of the lesson; some will be
related to the grammar you'll be learning in that particular lesson.

The dialogue in each lesson serves the double purpose of allowing you to
read and hear natural Greek at work and introducing you to Greek cul-
ture. Read these dialogues carefully; they'll contain the grammar and key
phrases that you will be learning later in the lesson. Don't be afraid to
read them several times, and listen to them on the recordings a few times,
as well. Always go at your own pace, and stick with a section until you're
comfortable with it.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary list contains new words from the dialogue as well as other
words related to the overall topic of the lesson. You can refer to this list
while reading through the dialogue, but, of course, the translation of the
dialogue is provided as well. Use the vocabulary lists as a chance to build
a good foundation for your Greek vocabulary, one topic at a time. Experi-
ment with different methods of learning vocabulary—spoken or written
repetition, flash cards, practice sentences, web searches . . . Be creative, and
find what works for you.

Key phrases

The key phrases section contains more practical words or phrases related
to the lesson topic. Don’t worry if you don't grasp the grammar behind
each phrase right away. Treat the phrases as extended vocabulary lists; the
grammar will be filled in as you progress, and the idiomatic and practical
expressions you learn in the key phrases will come in handy.

Culture notes

Each lesson contains two culture notes. These notes are intended to give
you a window on Greek culture. They cover topics such as food, clothing,

; ‘Greek

manners, and etiquette, and they also give you a chance to “tour” the differ-
ent regions of Greece

Grammar

Each lesson contains a number of notes on particular aspects of Greek
grammar. These notes are introduced in a careful sequence, so that they
build on one another, and they explain the key structures you encounter in
the lesson—particularly, in the dialogue. Each topic is explained in plain
and simple language, and there are plenty of examples to help you under-
stand. Grammar can be tricky for many beginning language learners, so
take your time on the grammar notes. Grammar is the nuts-and-bolts of
any language learning; without it, you wouldn't know how to put words
together!

Exercises

The exercises in each lesson will give you more opportunities to practice
the grammar and vocabulary you've learned in each lesson. Each lesson
includes an answer key at the end, so you can check your progress.

Independent challenge

The most important part of learning a language is practice. These chal-
lenge activities are designed to give you ideas for finding contexts in your
life where you can practice your Greek. They're meant as a guide; if you
feel inspired to create your own independent challenge activities, go right
ahead. The more contact you have with a language, the better you'll learn
it. And don't forget about the internet. Language learners now have an
incredible tool at their disposal—they can find newspapers, blogs, online
teferences, travel and tourism sites, and much, much m: ore, all of which can
be used to add depth and color to language lessons.

Audio
The audio portion of this course is divided into two sets: Set A and Set B.

Set A includes the vocabulary warm-up, dialogue, vocabulary, key phrases,
and grammar examples from cach lesson. English translations are not in-
cluded. This part of the audio course should be used along with the book,
following the order of cach lesson, to allow you to hear the words on the
page in spoken Greek. A good approach is to read each section first without
the audio so that you're prepared to get the most out of the audio when you.
do listen to it. Then, take it step-by-step and listen to each section at a time,
always allowing yourself the time and repetition that you need,

*Helpful Hint: Once you've listened to the dialogue several times while
reading along in the book, try listening to it without the help of the book.

Introduction

uorpnponuy

xi
xii)
|

This will help tune your ear to Greek, and it will make understanding the
spoken language easier down the line.

It con-

Set B is intended to be used on the go to supplement your studies
tains the dialogue from each lesson, broken down into easily digestible sen-
tences. You'll hear pauses after each sentence, phrase, or line of dialogue;
use the pause to repeat-what you heard and practice your pronunciation.
Set B also includes several audio-only exercises that do not appear in the
book but are based on the dialogue and exactly the same grammar topics.
The exercises in Set B do include English. A good way to make use of Set B
is to listen to it following each lesson, once you've comfortably finished
reading the text and listening to the Set A audio. Use Set B wherever it's
convenient for you—in the car, on the train, at the gym, while you do the
dishes, in the garden . . . It's up to you. You can also use Set B as a review of
lessons you've long since completed to keep you on your toes!

Glossary

At the end of this book you'll find a Greek-English/English-Greek glossary.
It includes all of the words from the vocabulary lists, plus any important
vocabulary that's taught in the grammar topics. It also includes a wide
range of common and practical words that may not come up in the con-
text of this course. It’s not meant as a complete dictionary, but it certainly
includes enough to be a valuable reference tool for the beginning student
of Greek.

As you use this course, keep this in mind: Language learning is 2 grad-
ual process; it won't happen overnight. Still, with repeated exposure and
practice, you'll find yourself becoming a better and better Greek speaker
each time you pick up this course. But languages aren’t just used in books;
they're used by people. So, if you can, seek out speakers of Greek where
you live or on the internet. That way, you can practice the language and
discover new people while you do.

Kodi) emvtuyta! (ka-LI e-pi-ti-KHI-al) Best of luck!

Greek

The Greek alphabet and
Pronunciation

THE GREEK ALPHABET

Let’s start by looking at the entire Greek alphabet, along with the names
of the letters and their approximate pronunciation. Notice that the names
of the letters in Modern Greek aren’t quite the same as the names of the
letters in Ancient Greek—for example, VI-ta instead of beta.

LETTER GREEK NAME —-PHONETICNAME APPROXIMATE

TRANSLITERATION

: a PRONUNCIATION
A, a doa. Alfa ain father’ a

BB Bata Vieta vin very v

T,y you GHA-ma yin yes, gin yigh

Spanish fago

A,6 BEAT “ DHEL-ta thin that dh

Ee éytdov Epsilon einget se

ZO Ghro Tita zin z00 7 i

Hq fto I-ta ein see i

0,8 Onto Teta thin think th

Tu néto. Yo-ta celn see Vee

K,« koma, a. kin kite k
AA Dede. \aM-dha Fin Jook !

My pw mi Q min me m

N,V vu ni nin im n

=, & & et sin sticks ks

0,0 — dptxpov —o-mi-kron oin not o

Ti, ma pi pin pike p
xiv

Pip

po ro
‘Zo, ota siGH-ma
(final)
Tt TOD “taf
Y,v tyov I-psi-lon
poe fo
Xx ou ki
wy yw asi
‘Qo ape —o-MEaha
TRANSLITERATION

The transliteration used in the first two lessons of this course is meant
to be intuitive and simple to use, but it is only an approximation of the
actual Greek sounds. Many Greek sounds are similar, but not identical, to
English sounds, so even though the transliteration will look like a familiar
English letter, the actual quality of that letter will be slightly different from
English, Also, many Greek sounds don’t exist in English, and vice versa,
so it’s impossible to completely capture them in a transliteration system
based on English. It is therefore very important to make use of the record-
ings (or of native speakers of Greek) to hear how these sounds should be

pronounced.

Finally, note that word stress is indicated in transliteration with capital
letters. For example, the word EAAGSct (Greece) is represented as e-LA-dha,
with the stress on the second syllable.

VOWELS

Now let's look more closely at Greek vowels, including both single vow-
els and vowel combinations. Remember that A, o has the sound of a in

father.

A, @

Both O, 0 and Q, @ are pronounced like o in not. But the sound is more
rounded, closer to the vowel in talk (if you distinguish it from tock).

Greek

Apeptkovec

amo

rin rich

sin see,
zin zoo

tin take
eein see
fin for

hin hope,
chin loch

psin upset

oin not

a-PO

siz

a-me-ri-ka-NOS American

from

té0G TE-los end
vepo ne-RO water

| Q, o pévo ME-no 1 stayllive
apo. O-ra time, hour

The single vowel E, € and the vowel combination ot both sound like e
in get.

E, eo ql pévete ME-ne-te you stay/live (pl.)
. 620 THE-Io J want
ol KO ke and
i etplon (me tam

There are six different ways of spelling the sound of ee in see in Greek: the
simple vowels H/, If, and Y/v, and the combinations €1, OL, and vt.

Hy, : om sti to/in/at the
: ; boentis ma-thi-TIs student (m.)
yt Ts tis : the :
i oni SPI-ti house
¥v : ond i-Po | under
: dorepa Ieste-ra then, afterwards |
el eipon I-me lam
: elvon I-ne helshefit is
ou ROWOG} " pyos? : who?
: Téddor GHAI French (m.)
w ‘vuobernpévog —_yo-the-ti-ME-nos adopted (m.)
viodetd yo-the-10 1 adopt

Note that the vowels and vowel combinations 1, 1, V, €1, and OL are pro-
nounced like y in yes when they're unstressed and immediately before an-
other vowel.

FOG; pyos? who?
yog yos son
OLKOYEVELOL :

i-ko-YE-nya family

The Greek alphabet and pronunciation

uonelunuosd pue yaqeydje yaaig ayy

xv