BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!! BRING BACK THE GREEKS,
THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES,
BRING BACK THE GREEK PSYCHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Slave is he who cannot speak his thoughts. Euripides
The word "Greek" is not so much a term of birth as of mentality, and is applied to a common culture rather than a common descent. Isocrates "BRING BACK THE GREEKS."
"The one and only antidote to the spiritual toxins poisoning our civilization today, is a return to Greek scholarship. Bring back the Greeks!" says Bruce S. Thornton, professor of Classical and Anthropological Studies in the Department of Foreign Languages and Philology, at the University of California at Fresno.
This interview is, in effect, an alarm being sounded by another "Hellene" (in the true sense of the word). More and more such men and women are coming to the realization that the millenniums-old "cultural capital" bequeathed to us by the Greeks must not be dissipated:
It must be cherished, replenished, and used to save humanity from destroying itself. Hellenism is the only "ism" that is universally accepted and sought after by every living being on this planet. No other method of ordering society has had such world-wide appeal.
That is why the entrenched, malevolent minority of elites who hold power today, and looks upon humanity as an economic commodity -- a herd to be kept ignorant of its past and bred only to be consumers -- is doing everything possible to REMOVE CLASSICAL SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE SCHOOLS.
Read this interview to learn more about this vital subject, and to see how those of us who care can fight back. "HELLENISM WILL NEVER DIE" says Classics professor Victor Hanson, who with his colleague and fellow Classics professor, John Heath, discuss their book Who Killed Homer? with Davlos correspondent, Nancy Biska. "[Hellenism] is the first and last hope for Mankind. ...
We are so fortunate that those 'relatively poor' Greeks of the 8th to the 4th centuries B.C. developed such a brilliant and indestructible civilization. ... [It is] the one and only institution in the world under which we can all unite while adhering to the principles and values of the West that they bequeathed to us.
We are all Greeks now, whether we want it or not!" Percy Bysshe Shelley....
"We Are All Greeks." Lord Byron.....
"If I Am A Poet, I Owe It To The Air of Greece." Alexander I (grandfather of Alexander the Great)....when fighting the Persians at Plataees.....I would not like to see Greece enslaved, as I am a Greek too, of this ancient nation...."
ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
Frederico Sagredo's Letter to the Spanish Minister of Culture & Education (NEW), wherein, as a distinguished professor of Greek, and president of the Hellenic Academy of the Basque Region of Spain, he restates his demand that ancient Greek culture, language, and civilization be taught to the young of Spain, and then, using the Spanish model, to all Europeans.
Like-minded Members of the European Parliament (M.E.P.) also brought a proposal to the floor in Brussels -- on four separate occasions -- that ancient Greek be adopted as the official language of the European Union. It should be noted that a proposal may only be brought four times before it is tabled.
Hebrew is Greek is the title of the book that almost disappeared from the face of the earth after its publication in 1982. In it, the author, Joseph Yahuda, lawyer, linguist, and researcher, convincingly demonstrates that the Hebrew language is, in Yahuda's own words, nothing more than "Greek wearing a mask."
His unbiased search for the truth qualifies Mr. Yahuda to be considered a Hellene himself, as this designation is, according to Isocrates' definition, more a quality of character and mentality than it is of blood. Hellenic Quest is the name of CNN's web page where Apple Computer Company's new program, designed to teach the ancient Greek language electronically, will soon be featured.
Initially, instruction will be offered to learners whose native language is English or Spanish. The course will be accompanied by sound and graphics. Apple executive, John Stalik, in announcing the launching of this new product, said: "We decided to promote the learning of the Greek language worldwide because our [global] community requires a tool which will encourage and enable creativity, will allow the infusion of new ideas, and will offer the ability to absorb concepts and knowledge that have been beyond the ability of most people to grasp till now.
In other words, the manifestation of an ecumenical trend to return to the spirit and language of the ancient Greeks." In a related development, British entrepreneurs encourage their upper echelon management personnel to learn ancient Greek because of its unique importance in the management and organization of their operations.
This was the conclusion reached by British specialists, who found that: "The Greek language imposes rationality and increases leadership skills. This is why it is such a valuable tool not only in the areas of communications and technology, but in organization and management."
The unique attributes of the ancient Greek language are what prompted the University of California at Irvine to codify its riches in its now renowned Thesaurus Linguae Graecae.
The brainchild of Professor of Classics, Marianne MacDonald, and made possible by the Ibycus system of David W. Packard, the TLG contains 6,000,000 word-forms [lektikoi tipoi] of the Greek language, whereas English has a total of 490,000 words and 300,000 technical terms ...
The TLG contains 8000 literary works,.. and the effort continues [to publish more works] with subsidies provided by the American government. [This while our "grekili" politicians have succeeded in the virtual elimination of the teaching of ancient Greek in the "Greek" school system. Ed.]
Responding to the question of why so much money should be spent upon the preservation and teaching of the ancient Greek language, distinguished professor Bruner [who worked on the project] replied: "It has to do with the language of our ancestors, and our ability to establish contact with them will enhance our culture."...
The interest of scientists in the fields of Information Technology and Computer Science in the Greek language stems from the fact that: "The advanced technology of super computers will only accept the Greek language, as it is the only language capable of the comprehensive transmission of meaning." All other languages are considered to be merely "semiotic," whereas Greek is "noematic."
A noematic language is one in which the "sign," i.e., the word, has a protogenic relationship to the object, situation, or idea that it is expressing. A semiotic language is one in which the "sign," or word, signifies the object, situation, or idea because common usage and consent have determined that that is what it means. In conventional languages, a word has been designated to mean something; in the Greek language, there exists an aetiological relationship between the object and the word, something non-existent in all other languages. The most advanced data systems, "Gnosis," and "Neuton," replicate the word-forms of the Greek language totally, and in perfect diagrammatical representations, something impossible to do with other languages. This is because Greek words have a mathematical structure that allows for their harmonious and geometrical depiction. Especially useful are such Greek combining word forms as "micro," "mega," "scope," etc. Computer scientists consider the Greek language "limitless." In other words, only in the Greek language are there no boundaries, and that's what makes it indispensable to the new disciplines of Information Technology, Communications, Electronic Cybernetics, and others. In such sciences and disciplines, only the Greek language gives them the necessary noematic expressions they require, and without which it will be impossible for science to advance. Ibycus, Gnosis, Neuton: the most advanced data systems programs in the world; from Vladivostok to California, from the Artic to the South Pole, only the Greek language can meet all of their demanding requirements.
Source. Davlos. October 2002. pp. 16197-8.
Translation by staff.
Emphasis added.
Konstantinos Efstathios-Georganas' article on the book Hebrew is Greek, by Joseph Yahuda, offers convincing proof that although Yahuda proves conclusively that "90% of the Hebrew language is of Greek origin," had he continued his research, he would have discovered that in actual fact the percentage is much higher. In this article, Georganas shows that many words and symbols that are still believed to be of Semitic origin are borrowings from the Greek.
Phoenician Deception
The evidence proving that the "Roman" alphabet we use today is, in fact, a Greek invention is overwhelming. In spite of this, however, the myth that this alphabet was invented by the Semitic Phoenicians is still being taught in the schools. Why? "Homo Erectus Trigliensis ... ":
Our Macedonian Ancestors.
An account of the heroic struggle of Dr. Aris Poulianos who tells us that "...after decades in Macedonia, and more specifically in the Cave of the 'Archanthropus of Petralona,' in Halkidiki, I brought to light ground-breaking proofs of the existence of the oldest erect and intelligent European man ever discovered. Archanthropus lived more than 700,000 years ago; he originated here, in Northern Greece and the Northern Aegean, and he represents the very beginning of the family of man.
Besides Archanthropus, I discovered the oldest traces of fire, over 1 million years old, and, most recently, the tibia [shin bone] of a standing man who lived approximately 11 million years ago [Homo erectus trigliensis]. My finds have been verified by eleven of the most prestigious universities in the world, and have been certified and endorsed at ... two international anthropological conventions ... where Archanthropus was declared to be the oldest intelligent inhabitant of our continent. ...
RELIGION
The conversion of a savage to Christianity is the conversion of Christianity to savagery. George Bernard Shaw A people that thinks dinner consists of eating a deli sandwich from Arby's while watching Friends [on TV] is neither Christian nor civilized. Dr. Thomas Fleming America's Debt to Greece and Christianity is the title of this quick study showing the enormous influence Religion and Hellenism have had on the creation of America. The usual distortion is that the Founding Fathers of that once-great and universally admired land were mostly influenced by English, French, and ancient Roman political thinkers, with a comment or two concerning Polybius and Aristotle thrown in. What is seldom mentioned is that these English, French, and Roman writers were, in most instances, merely parroting what they'd learned from the Greeks. Read Locke, Montaigne, Sallust or Cicero for instance, and you will be amazed at how many times they rely on and refer to the Greeks to support or prove their arguments. Just as the Fathers of the Church used Greek philosophy, history, and poetry to bolster their arguments to support and spread Christianity, the Founding Fathers of America gave the world the kind of nation that the Greeks had envisioned, written about, longed for, and created a long time ago.
Most of the Founders knew this, and, in making their famous choice between "Athens and Jerusalem," chose Athens and Jerusalem. That is, the power and creative dynamism of a free people living under a Democratic Republic, together with a devotion to God through our unique Christian faith. A reading of John 12. 20 - 24 says:
"Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, 'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.' Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus, who answered them by saying: 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'"
But according to Professor E. Prokos (Alpha Ena. 3 May '02), his research in the Vatican Library in 1974 showed that Christ's words did not stop there. Professor Prokos wrote and lectured throughout Greece on how -- according to a manuscript of Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (A.D. 263-339) that he discovered in the Vatican -- Jesus continued with the following: '[For] Hellas is where the seed of humanity was first sown; proven to be a heavenly plant and a divine creation.
A place where thought was facilitated through the use of science." [Eelthen ee ora ina doxasthi o Yios tou Anthropou. Ellas gar moni anthropogenni, fyton Ouranion kai vlastyma Theon ikrivomenon. Logismon apotiktousa oikeioumenon epistimin.] That last part, according to Professor Prokos, had been purposely excised from the New Testament by the Latin Church. We are pleased to see that this little-known distortion is beginning once again to get the attention it deserves.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Archimedes Greek mathematician and inventive genius. Cement used in the construction of a 3000 year-old ancient Greek cistern is of a better quality than cement used today. Christophoros Columbus: A Byzantine Prince from Chios, Greece, is the title of this book by Ruth G. Durlacher-Wolper, founder-Director of the New World museum, San Salvador, Bahamas, and Chief Executive Officer of the New World Foundation. In this well-documented study, the author presents "a new theory clarifying the identity of [the renowned mariner]." He was also an accomplished geographer and map-maker, as well as an explorer and adventurer. Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth with amazing accuracy by making two assumptions: a) that the earth is round, and b) that the sun's ray's are essentially parallel. Pyramids are to be found in Greece today. According to the most advanced dating methods, they are at least as old, if not older, than the pyramids of Egypt. A TGR staff member visited the pyramid located in the village of Helliniko, in the Peloponnesus, and drew on that experience, as well as other sources, to write a report. Also read the article on the same page about "The Stepped Pyramid at Thebes."
The Heliocentric System (NEW) is displayed in the tile floor of the central tholos altar of the Temple of Asclepius at Epidauros. This mosaic shows the sun as being at the center of seven revolving planets. It is currently on public view at the museum at Epidauros.
The fact that the earth was round and that it revolved around the sun was known to the ancient Greeks. In his recently published book, Aristarchus the Samian's work on the size and formations of the Sun and Moon [Peri Megethou kai Apostimaton Iliou kai Selinis tou Aristarchou tou Samiou], mathematician and writer, Evangelos Spandagou, displays a copy of a page of the original manuscript of the book, De Revolutionibus Orbium Celestium, by the Polish astronomer, Copernicus, where his debt to the Greek astronomer (Aristarchus) is acknowledged.
Unfortunately, Copernicus struck out the lines referring to this in the manuscript just before the book went to the printer. The acknowledgement and the lines crossing it out are plainly visible in the book, and constitute another example of the glory of Greek achievement being usurped by lesser men for their own unworthy aggrandizement..
SPORTS
Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος
The Olympic Hymn
Αρχαίο πνεύμα αθάνατο, αγνέ πατέρα
Ancient immortal spirit, pure father
Του ωραίου, του μεγάλου και τα' αληθινού
Of the beautiful, the great and the true
Κατέβα, φανερώσου, κι αστραψ' εδώ πέρα
Descend, appear, and emblaze this place
Στη δόξα της δικής σου γης κι τ' ουρανού.
With the glory of your own earth and sky.
Στο δρόμο και στο πάλεμα και στο λιθάρι
In the race, the grappling, and the toss,
Στων ευγενών αγώνων λάμψε την ορμή
Kindle the impulse in all noble contests,
Και με τα' αμάραντο στεφάνωσε κλωνάρι
Crown with the perennial wreath,
Και σιδερένιο πλάσε και αξιο το κορμί.
And fashion the steely and worthy body.
Κάμποι, βουνά και πέλαγα φέγγουν μαζί σου
Plains, mountains, and seas glow in
Σαν ένας λευκοπόρφυρος μέγας ναός
Like some great clear porphyrous shrine,
Και τρέχει στον ναόν εδώ προσκυνητής σου,
And every nation hurries here to your temple
Αρχαίον πνεύμ' αθάνατον, κάθε λαός.
In supplication, ancient immortal spirit.
The Athletic Ideal was a virtue (arete) much prized by the ancient Greeks. Though there may have been exceptions, this ideal was strictly upheld by the vast majority of the participants in their many festivals featuring competitive sports. The most important of these was the Olympic Festival, which occurred every four years, and was an expression of a value system which placed good, clean, sportsmanship, as an educational tool for the young, above merely winning.
Unless the modern Olympics are once again invested with the spirit of the ancient Olympνas agσn, and brought back permanently to Greece, they will continue on their present path of becoming nothing more than the athletic manifestation of "drive-in churches," "TV-weddings," and "reality-show-entertainment."
Disneyland-style commercialism, and the "bread and circus" atmosphere of the Colosseum, have absolutely nothing to do with the Athletic Ideal demonstrated in the Olympics of ancient Greece.
Hockey was played in ancient Greece. Also, golf and soccer. They even invented the "hot cross buns" & the bagpipes!!!!!
WOMEN
Agnothiki, a woman doctor of Athens. Women doctors -- something not even imaginable in the rest of the ancient world -- were not considered an uncommon phenomenon in ancient Greece. Even in Greece today, close to fifty percent of the medical doctors are women, and no one thinks this to be in the least bit troubling or unusual.
Perhaps the reason is that educated women in modern Greece somehow manage to remain completely feminine, and one finds, when conversing with them, that they consider the radical feminists in America to be rather funny and pitiful creatures who've "lost their way" when it comes to the matter of their true natures.
In this article we highlight an incident which we found to be informative because,1) it tells an interesting story about a woman doctor in Athens, 2) it shows that women doctors sometimes had to contend with the prejudices of their male colleagues (something that women in America and Europe had to put up with right up to the 20th century), and 3) that the law courts in Athens could and did dispense real justice, without letting the sex of the interested parties influence their decisions.
We also mention a sampling of 20 or so other female doctors, and challenge our readers to let us know about any other country or place in the world which -- from circa 1400 B.C. to circa 1400 A.D.-- could boast hospitals, sanatoriums, and doctors of both sexes who were formally trained in the art, science, and practice of medicine.
Hypatia.
A great scientist, learned in mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. A woman who should be the role model of modern "feminists," or anyone -- male or female -- who admires those qualities which separate humanity from the brute beasts and give meaning and dignity to our lives.
Sappho.
The "greatest of the lyric poets" of ancient Greece was born (ca.612 B.C.) into an aristocratic caste on the island of Lesbos. Sappho -- pronounced Sap FΣE, (Psapphσ, in her own dialect) -- was married to a rich man from Andros. Her world was one of girlhood, marriage, motherhood, and love. Much of her poetry was associated with a religious purpose, centered on the worship of a female deity -- Artemis, Hera, or Aphrodite.
She also wrote songs (poetry) for women's festivals, wedding celebrations (epithalamia), and on the poignancy of parting when one of her students had to leave to assume her wifely responsibilities. An ancient papyrus published in 1974 states:
"[S]he, in peace and quiet, educat[ed] the best women not only of the local families, but from all over Ionia."
How many university students today (or even university graduates for that matter) know anything at all about this remarkable woman? How many would be able to recite even one stanza of her poetry? The answer to that question would say a great deal about the kind of educational priorities in a given society, and would provide a cultural barometer by which they could be measured.
Re: BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!!
THE POWER OF GREEK WORDS!!
We all know that the Greek language is the oldest of all of today's European languages. Although we are not able to define precisely its age, it is without any doubt far more ancient than what we were taught at school. That can be witnessed from the tablets that were concealed for thousands of years from the Greek land and have been revealed during the last century (the last tablet found at Dispelion -Castoria has been dated to be at least 7000 years old). This evidence have made us realize that we really do not know much about the beginning of the Greek language. As the Greek saying goes "άγει εις φως την αλήθεια ο χρόνος", time brings everything to light, it is definite that at the very end the various misleading or false theories concerning the Greek language will be revoked and this already has started taking place.
It is not only well known but it is obvious, that all Arts and Sciences were born, developed and are still operating with a pure Greek vocabulary. The Greek language provides all those highly sophisticated words that can describe all abstract meanings. Without any exception in all European (and not only) languages the vast majority of everyday's talking includes words of Greek origin. I refer to thousands of words which on first hearing can not be identified as Greek because of the alteration that has taken place through the years or because they are descended from ancient Greek words or names that the modern Greeks can no longer identify. A word analysis, that is an etymological and historical analysis of a word, reveals the ancient but familiar Greek speech. Many times these Greek "protolexis", original words, return to the spoken Greek language as foreign. They are the so called re-loans. There is a large category of words, which through their own history, reveal the unknown Prehistory. That is the history that has not been officially recorded until now and it is usually confused with what we name Mythology. This is nothing else than the symbolic and thus the most pure historic truth. We can derive the conclusion that not only the Greek words but also the Greek Mythology and History have enriched the Western languages with terms and words, of which most of the times we ignore their Greek origins. Names such Iberia, Italy, Egypt, Ethiopia, Spain, Celtics, Lisbon, Rome, Ireland have Greek origins. Words such as zante "ζάντες", which derives from the word "άντυγες", the wheels of the ancient Greek chariots. From the verb koreo "κορέω" derive words such as cure and sheriff, the ancient torno "τόρνος" gave name to tourism, tournament, tourney. In words such as palace, money, gondola, dollar, and ECU the infiltration of the Greek melodic sounds cause astonishment and amazement.
The question that comes up is how these phonological alterations take place so that some words are becoming unrecognizable orally but in written as well ? How did the Greek word "ναύκληρος", nafkleros, which the Latinos pronounced as NAUCLERUS end up as NOCHER in French ? How did the characterization "βάρβαρος", barbarous (barbarian), end up as BRAVE in English or BRAVO in Italian ? How did the word "ελεημοσύνη", eleimosyne, end up as ALMS in English? How did the word "βαλάνειον", valanion, end up in German as BAD and named the German city, which is famous for its healing baths, as BADEN BADEN ? Anthropogeography helps us to explain how the different expression of sounds depends on the mouth cavity, the vocal cords and the respiration, which is determined by the climate. By searching deeper we find that our ancestors from the very old times have given full explanation of the phenomenon Plutarch, Diogenes, Dionysios from Alikarnassos and Plato have all written about it. Here I will only mention an indicative remark from "Kratylos".
Socrates : "The first names have been alterated. Because of euphony they add or they remove some letters . . . They claim that they change them to make them nicer . . . they change through time . . ."
We must not ignore the fact that at the early times the only expression of the Greek language was taking place orally. The Greeks by being sea people "πολλαχή κατά θάλλατταν πλανώμενοι, γλώτταν την ελληνικήν επέβαλον", they imposed the Greek language. It is well known that over time the acoustic sounds tend to become short and loud.
The same alterations have taken place in Greek city names: Taormina instead of Tavromenion (Ταυρομένιον), Yalta instead of Aegialos (Αιγιαλός), Agd instead of Agathe (Agάθη), Durazzo instead of Dyrrachion (Δυρράχιον), Ambourias instead of Emborion (Εμπόρειον). Naples has become Napoli in Italy, Napoul in France and Nabel in Tunisia instead of Neapolis (Νεάπολις). That is why historians very often identify the people who were inhabiting a place by studying linguistically the names of the places.
The trip of Greek words becomes fascinating as the language is passing from one country to another, one generation to another, the pronunciation changes and sometimes so does the meaning of the words. For example "πυρρός μανδύας" pyrros mandyas (red cloak) has become in Latin "birrum mantellum" at the Italian it ended identifying the police-man ,"sbirro", because of his red uniform When a hood was attached to this "cloak" it became known in French as "beret".
The fertilization of the European speech from the powerful Greek "protolexis" (original words) took place gradually through various phases and stations in the Latin language and in other languages as well. The peak of all times was at the time of August when thousands of Greek words entered the Latin vocabulary. Large material of Greek vocabulary rushed once more in the West when the Gospel and others religious texts where translated in Latin, German, English, directly from the Greek prototype. It is the so called ecclesiastical vocabulary through which much of the formal and everyday's informal, speech entered in the western languages.
The beginning of all these influxes is lost at the depths of history, when the Greeks, by being inventors and pioneers, flooded with their dialectical variety the poor neighbor languages of Hesperia (West), Hyperborea (South), the East and the South as well. This conclusion derives from the latest evidence which is being multiplied continuously year by year. With the use of the Computers the latest findings of Archaeology, Comparative Glossology and Scriptology , persuade the modern Science for what was well known not only to the Greeks writers but to the Latinos as well. Writers such as Kikeron, Takitos, Cointilianos, Tyrannion in their writings have clearly mentioned "Περί της Ρωμαικής Διαλέκτου ότι εστίν εκ της Ελληνικής", (the Roman dialect has derived from the Greek) or "Aeolica ratione est sermo noster simillibus" (our language is very similar to the Aeolic dialect). Previous and present scientists, writers and researchers are aware that the mother language of all of Western languages (and not only) is the Greek language. But this is another story . . .
The Indian professor of linguistics Mr. Sacramborty (he speaks 22 languages), President of the "Greek Cycle" and Director of the Indian Ministry of Education, declares without any reservation that the Greek language has not derived from the Sanscritic, but the exact opposite is true. The official periodical of the Greek-Indian Club is named "ΠΕΛΑΣΓΙΑ" and their newspaper is named "SAMELAN", that is "ΣΕΛΗΝΗ" (SELINE), "ΣΕΜΕΛΗ" (SEMELI), named after Dionysos mother. Dionysos was the first who at the ancient times civilized India. From the "Greek Academy of Baskonia" the conclusions of their scientific researches are coming one after the other. President of their scientific committee is the Bask Hellenist and professor of Eastern Languages, Fredericko Sagredo (Homer Award in 1989 from the Onasis Foundation). They have reached the conclusion that the so called mysterious Baskic language has Greek origins. It includes not only the roots but whole Protohellenic, Pelasgic words.
After personal, persistent, laborious and time lengthy studies on the comparison between Greek and the five major European languages, a Greek speaking Europe has been revealed to me, "Ελλάδος φθόγγον χέουσα", Aeschylus.
From the simple cells of the Greek prototypes until the multicell organizations of modern vocabularies, almost all conjunctions, prepositions and endings are Greek. Composite and derivative words are the faucets that have flooded the tanks of all European languages. Finally we have reached the conclusion that behind every Greek word lies another older Greek word. For the scientific researcher the belief that the Greek language was always present "ουκ ην καιρός ότε ουκ ήν", strengthens day by day.
The borrowing from the endless treasure of the Greek language has never stopped and it is not going to stop because new ideas, meanings, objects and situations are being born continuously. I will bring as an example two new words:
EFBIOSIS -- good living TANATONAUTA --The patient who briefly dies and then comes back to life.
The Greek language because of its plasticity and its mathematical nature, has the unique attribute to describe analytically or synthetically all minor meanings, details and gratings.
The fruits of the plasticity of the Greek language are the Greek vocabulary and the Greek proper names. From the most well known and glorious names to the most rare and scarce as they are being listed in the ancient texts. In order to be convinced someone can only take a look at the two volumes of Appolodoros Historical Bibliothic, this secret Greek Genealogy.
I am not willing to express euchologies but it is absolutely necessary to list, as soon as possible this unknown and neglected treasure of the Greek onomatology. This has to be done not only to admire the unique variety and wisdom of the ancient Greek names. By observing the identification of a person with his name, the projection of a person's character through his name, we can understand the modern scientific theories, which claim that the sound of a person's name, "το εφ΄ώ τις καλείται" (how one is called), affects someone's personality by awakening cellular memories.
A case that proves the historic value of the Greek names is:
It is well known that the Kalash who live at Afghanistan claim that they are descended from Great Alexander's soldiers. Their Greek origins can be found in their vocabulary, furniture, painting, music and customs. Nevertheless we have neglected the most important evidence and that is their name Kalash (ΚΑΛΑΣ) which up to know was considered to be Indian. This happened because we have not perpetuated up to our days the ancient Macedonian name, it can only be found at "POLYAINOU STRATEGEMATA"
Book E/44,5/ "POLYAINOU STRATEGEMATA"
". . . When Memnon attacked the Kyzicians, he wore on his head the Macedonian helmet. Seeing him from the city walls the Kyzicians took him for Kalash the Macedonian, their friend and ally . . ."
Kalash is a Greek name and not an Indian as we used to think.
The Greek names compose the picture, soul, identity and history of our nation.
Re: BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!!
" The Greek language is generally conceded as the most effective vehicle of expresing though..."
" The possibibilites of subtle distinction in the expression of though are vast,and the writers of the new testamnent were remarkably adept at using the finer capacities of the language." This among other reasons explains why God choose to record the new testament in Koine (common) Greek.
Objectives: to learn about the history of the English language; to learn how English words are formed on Greek and Latin stems; to read, speak, and write better English, to enlarge one’s vocabulary; to become interested in words; to learn to use a dictionary effectively; to form the habit of using a dictionary, to be introduced to different disciplines which study English, i.e. classical philology, linguistics, history, and literature.
Re: BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!! The Greek Influence on the English Language
The Greek Thesaurus in English
Αlexandros Papanis
This work grew out of a great concern regarding the question of the influence of the Greek language on English. Many British lexicographers quite often point out that the full understanding of the English language requires a deep knowledge of its Greek roots. Greece as a main source of our civilization remains alive through the use of all the words of Greek origin.
In order for us to gain a greater insight into the importance of the above, I shall mention briefly some interesting statistical figures which are indeed astonishing: according to the Webster International Dictionary the total of the word stock of the English language is 166,724 words, out of which 41,214 are Greek. On the other hand, A. Konstandinides, in his remarkable work “The Greek Words in the English language”, argues that the whole of the medical terminology in English amounts to 43,716 words, out of which 20,346 are Greek.
It is not a mere coincidence that all the basic concepts of thought and expression in English are words of sheer Greek origin: “analysis” (1667), “synthesis” (1611), “antithesis” (1529)“, “method” (1541), “therapy” (1605), “dogma” (1600), “diagnosis” (1681) etc. (the numbers in brackets indicate the date that each of the above words appears in any English text for the first time). It is really a worth mentioning fact that words of the era of Homer and Aristotle are introduced into the English language fifteen or seventeen centuries later; we realize, therefore, the great extent of the Greek contribution to the evaluation of humanity and culture in general.
But why so many Western European languages resort to the Greek glossary to express feelings, concepts, ideas or to name objects; My intuition is that the Greek language, more than Latin, is suitable and ideal for the creation of new words. Latin, though very flexible, has difficulties in the production of compound words – to introduce two different meanings in one single word. Science constantly discovers new objects and concepts; a name must be given to them. The Greek thesaurus is the solution.
To prove in a more effective and practical way that the Greek language constitutes one of the richest foreign sources of the present English word stock, I decided to proceed to he selection of one representative passage and try to highlight the degree of the Greek contribution to the semantic, semiotic and aesthetic outcome of the passage.
Text selection
The criteria for text selection are manifold, controversial and ultimately subjective. Every individual would place the important points in a different order of significance.
My aim was to find a representative text, which would be as unbiased and accessible as possible. Moreover, I tried to select a highly interesting, striking and creative passage, mainly in terms of context, style, syntax and certainly lexis. To achieve such a goal I had sometimes to omit some paragraphs, to select others and finally combine them. The result, I hope, justifies such interference.
With all these thoughts and clarifications in mind, I proceeded to the analysis of a passage taken from the world of Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry.
One could very well claim that it is an autotelic text (although it is not) and it deals with the complicated and widespread problem of autism, the failure to develop social abilities, language and other communication skills to the usual level, together with a severe limitation on the number of a person’s activities and interests.
Quote:The Passage
“…Kanner’s use of the term autism has proven to be somewhat unfortunate, because of its association with the term used by Bleuler to describe the withdrawal into an active fantasy adopted by schizophrenics. Actually the concept of autism describes the very absence of any creative fantasy life which characterizes the withdrawal of such children. Hence, clinicians and diagnosticians have worked to differentiate autism from other identified disorders: Berta Rank (1955) used the term “atypical ego” development emphasizing the psychoanalytic perspective. Mahler (1952) described the children as suffering from “symbiotic psychosis” and thus a pathological mother-child relationship.
Intimately related to prevailing perspective on the etiology of autism are the various treatment approaches developed over the years. The 1940s and 1950s can be characterized as giving rise to several treatment philosophies, each based on the theoretical perspective advocated by the practitioner. Thus, diagnosis, etiological hypotheses and specific treatments varied. The treatments varied from psychoanalysis of the parents’ institutionalization of the patient, psychotropic drugs, megavitamin regimens, electroshock and treatments based on learning theory principles”.
(Ritvo, 1976: pp 12-13)
The Greek influence in the above passage is obvious: out of the 170 total words of it, 33 are of Greek origin, that is, we get a percentage of 19.4 overall.
Etymological Analysis
It will greatly help our efforts for a deeper understanding of the Greek origin words of the passage, if we employ etymology for such a purpose. Besides, etymology transforms the word, in whole or in part, so to bring it nearer to the word(s) with which it is thought to be connected.
So, an etymological analysis reveals the following interesting results:
Quote:autism > αυτός = self: term used by Kanner < - autistic
fantasy > φαίνω = show < fantastic, fantastical.
Schizophrenic > σχίζω + φρην = split + brain : first used by Kepler because he regarded schizophrenia as a mental disease with basic symptoms being inconsistency of logical thinking (irrationality ) > schizophrenic.
Theoretical > θεωρώ > see very well < theory, theoretic-al.
Practitioner > πράττω = do < practice, practical.
Hypotheses > υπό + θέτω = put something under (consideration) < hypothetical.
Psychotropic > ψυχή + τρόπος = soul + manner
Megavitamin > μέγα + βιταμίνη = mega (affix) + vitamin.
Electroshock > ήλεκτρoν + shock = amber + shock (the first electric phenomenon was noticed by Thales of Melitus with the help of some pieces of amber).
Before we proceed to the next stage some brief explanatory comments appear to be more than necessary. Such an etymological analysis allows us to realize that the revival of Greek learning in Western Europe, which began to be felt in England soon after the commencement of the 16th century, opened a new source from which the English vocabulary could be enriched. Long before this time the language contained a certain number of Greek words, which had come in through the medium of Latin. And nearly all these latinized Greek words had been adopted into all the languages of Europe and were extensively used in the language of science. So, for example, words such as “fantasy”, “ego”, etiology”, “philosophy”, “based”, “theoretical”, “hypotheses”, “megavitamin” – all taken from our passage – had entered the English glossary, when Latin was still the ordinary vehicle of literature, science and philosophy and when new technical terms of Greek etymology were generally used in modern Latin before they found their way into the vernacular tongue. It therefore became a general European convention that when a new word was adopted from Greek into English, it should be treated as if it had passed through a Latin channel. More specifically, the Greek suffix “-ia” (fantasia, etiologia, philosophia) was transliterated by the Latin suffix “-y” (phantasy, etiology, philosophy). Greek adjectives were usually anglicized by the addition of the suffix “ous”, “-an”, or “al”. Thus, the suffix “ikos”: theoritikos, pathologikos, psychotikos and the suffix “-os”: “atypos” are represented by the English “pathological”, “physical”, “clinical” etc. Moreover, the Greek –k-, -ai-, -ei-, -oi-, -ou-, -u-, were transliterated by the Latin –c-, -ae-, -I-, -oe-, -u-, -y-, respectively and the initial “r” by “rh” – for example ρητορική > rhetoric. Such clarifications can be useful for any understanding of an etymological analysis, since they reveal the various modifications that a word has undergone, after it was adopted by the English language.
Phonological Analysis and Pronunciation
When a foreign word is borrowed, it may not retain its original pronunciation in the adopting language. If one of its sounds already exists in English, it will probably be adopted in an accurate form; if, however, some of the sounds of the particular word are alien to the adopting language (English), each of them will be replaced by the nearest native sound. This fact explains why there are different pronunciations in some English words of Greek origin, for instance, the Greek nasal vowels are substituted by the English non-nasal vowels.
Sometimes a foreign word is partly anglicized. So, the Greek word “ego” (first paragraph-eighth line of our text) is usually pronounced in Greek with the first vowel like the English “egg” - / eg / , but in English it has changed and is pronounced in the same way as the word, say “economic”, that is, / i: gau / / i: kanomik /.
Apart from the anglicizing tendency, the more recently a word has been adopted by English, the more likely it is to retain its original pronunciation, because it is affected by fewer purely English changes – changes which have been going on continuously ever since English became an independent language in the fourth or fifth century.
The juxtaposition of English and Modern Greek phonemes in terms of their points and modes of articulation helps to illustrate the potential points of linguistic borrowing from Greek to English. To such an aim greatly contributes David Seaman’s Work “Modern Greek and British English in Contact” where the consonantal and vowel phonemes of English and Greek are presented in detail, helping the readers to compare and contrast the two languages. Comparing the phonemic inventories of the two languages one may realize that there are quantitative as well as qualitative differences in the two systems: there are twice as many vowels in English compared to he Greek ones, whereas for the consonants the opposite is true. It is also worth mentioning that language changes take place anywhere, not necessarily under the influence of other languages. At any time, in any language in contact with another there may be both inter – and intralinguistic force. (Lyra, p.97).
In general, when attempting to predict linguistic borrowing between English and Greek, linguists now generally agree that “the greater the number of similarities present between the foreign sound and the native phoneme in both articulation and distribution, the more difficult the mastery of a particular foreign sound or sequence of sounds will be “ (Koutsoudas 1962 p.207). My experience as a native speaker of Greek would strongly corroborate that statement.
Referential Analysis
George Eliot wrote in chapter three of “Middlemarch” that "signs are small memorable things, but interpretations are illimitable”. A text can be full of such signs with consequent meanings, which lead, to inevitably widespread interpretations. The receiver of the message of the text reacts and responds to the text in terms, which can range from the purely practical to the aesthetic. Some texts stimulate more language production than others, some give information, some give more imaginative stimuli.
According to John McRae’s work “Literature with a small “l”, representational language is the language, which engages the imagination of the receiver, whereas referential language is the language, which communicates on only one level, usually in terms of information being sought or given. It states, it shows, it denotes exactly like the language of the scientist and the philosopher (The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory).
In areas such as journalism, philosophy etc, facts and opinions are presented as objectively as possible, without a great deal of imaginative involvement. A careful and rigorous examination of our text leads us to the conclusion that the language used is highly referential, since it does not engage any of the reader’s imaginative faculties but, on the contrary, it is full of information and psychological concepts and meanings.
But the language of our text is used for many more purposes than simply conveying information; it is a means of communication with the reader – a way of interaction between him and the author. Certainly vocabulary contributes greatly to such a purpose.
A text, in order to be great, requires excellence not only in the context of the message – in our case “autism and its nature” – but also in its linguistic organization and expression. The Greek language is rich and diverse, it is concise and accurate and at the same time laconic and elegant in style. Psychologists and other specialists need a constantly increasing special vocabulary, whether they add new terms or give new meanings to old ones.
This reality justifies, therefore, the high percentage of Greek words in our text. Words such as “autism”, “schizophrenics”, “fantasy”, “characterize”, “pathological”, “etiology”, etc. provide the author with the unique ability to overcome any kind of communicative hurdle and to discuss with great efficiency difficult and complex technical matters and terms.
Quite often in a highly referential language like this the reader needs to devote much concentration to the mechanical aspects of vocabulary – words like “symbiotic psychosis”, “psychotropic”, “megavitamin” and “atypical ego” are sometimes difficult to be understood by people who have no experience in the field. In order to understand their sheer referential nature we have to bear in mind that they constitute individual vocabulary items, which make statements about actual things in actual situations. They are not merely an effect of some complicated psychological ideas and processes, but they are part of these psychological processes. They constitute scientific meanings and thus scientific practices (Fowler et al, 1979 p. 2). On the other hand, nobody can deny that words like “clinicians”, “diagnosticians”, “practitioner”, “electroshock”, etc. refer to some unique examples known to an immediately identifiable by the author and his addresser in some particular situation.
Actually, they all exist as generic concepts which are either concrete like “clinician” or “practitioner” or abstract like “philosophies”, “psychoanalysis”, “autism”, etc. Such references are regarded to be specific real facts in a specific real situation. This is the meaning expressed by the author’s use of the definite article and it indicates that he is communicatively “pointing to” something which he himself claims he knows to exist as a fact and so the reader can recognize it as a fact too (A. Roger, 1991, p. 147). So, for example, the definite article in “…the psychoanalytic…”, “…the etiology…” “the theoretical….” etc. plays exactly the role of specification and precision. The abstract referential concepts, on the other hand, by no means imply non-existence, but only deficit or absence, and their noun form asserts their real existence, for example “schizophrenics”, “psychosis”, “theory”, “etiology”, etc.
Conclusion
Nearly all the words that English owes to he Greek language, directly or indirectly, are mainly and originally scientific or technical, though many of those of older date (adopted through medieval Latin and French) have long taken their place in the popular vocabulary. Now and then a Greek word of non-technical character is employed in anglicized form in order to express accurately and precisely a certain concept or idea. And this is exactly the great importance and value of the Greek language. A term taken from Greek, or formed out of Greek elements, can be rigidly confined to he meaning expressed in its definition; a term of native formation cannot be so easily divested of popular associations. If, for example, the English founders of the science of geology had chosen to call it “earth love”, everyone would have felt that the word ought to have a far wider meaning than that which was assigned to it (H. Bradley, 1914 p.108). The Greek compound, which means just the same thing, has been without difficulty restricted to only one of the many possible applications of its literal sense. Exactly the same applies to psychology and the other branches of science.
The great extent of the intercourse of the two languages is very vividly depicted in the speech of Xenophon Zolotas, which was given on 26 September 1957 in Washington, during the session of the “International Numismatic Fund” organization. This speech includes only Greek words and is a unique proof of the deep influence of Greek on the English language.
Quote:BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauer, L. (1993), English Word – Formation (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press).
Berry, M. (1975), An Introduction to Systematic Linguistics: Structures and Systems (London, Batsford).
Bradley, H. (1914), The Making of English (London, Macmillan).
Brook, GL. (1958), A History of the English Language (London, Brown and Little).
Greenough, J. (1920), Words and their Ways in English speech (London, Macmillan).
Fowler /William Scott (1979) Incentive English, Oxford, Blackwell
Hughes, Geoffrey (1989), Words in Time (Oxford, Blackwell).
Koutsoudas Andreas (1962), Verb Morphology of Modern Greek: A descriptive analysis, New York Mc Graw-Hill
Lewis, CS (1967), Studies in words (Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press).
McRae, J. (1991), Literature with a Small “l” (Hong Kong, Macmillan).
Myers, L, M (1966), The Roots of Modern English (Boston, Brown and Little.
Roger, A 91991), Oh, Where Are You Going? A Suggested Experiment in Classroom Stylistics (Routledge, edited by R. Carter).
Weinreich, U. (1968), Languages in Contact (The Hague, Mouton).
*Alexandros Papanis holds a degree in English Langyuage and Literature from the University of Athens and an M.A. in “English Language Teaching” from the University of Nottingham. He is currently working in a Primary School in Xanthi.
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Posts: 1
(10/21/03 6:12 pm)
Re: BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!!
Unfortunately Hellenic Quest and its surrounding text is a hoax. No such program exists while the rest of the information is inaccurate. A scholarly review of this hoax can be found here:
BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!!
Re: BRING BACK THE GREEK LANGUAGE TO OUR SCHOOLS !!!!
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