LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #1 This Is Greek Athens—Or Is It? CONTENTS 2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 6 Grammar 8 Cultural Insight # 1 COPYRIGHT © 2016 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GREEK 1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Δηλαδή, αυτό δεν είναι το Αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας; 2. Κοπέλα στο γκισέ πληροφοριών: Αυτό είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας, όμως η περιοχή αυτή δεν είναι Αθήνα! 3. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Και το κέντρο είναι πολύ μακριά από εδώ; 4. Κοπέλα στο γκισέ πληροφοριών: Περισσότερο από μια ώρα. Εδώ είναι Ελλάδα! ROMANIZATION 1. Pétra Górdon: Diladí, aftó den íne to Aerodrómio tis Athínas? 2. Kopéla sto gisé Aftó íne to aerodrómio tis Athínas, ómos i periohí aftí den íne Athína! pliroforión: 3. Pétra Górdon: Ke to kéndro íne polí makriá apó edó? 4. Kopéla sto gisé Perisótero apó mia óra. Edó íne Eláda! pliroforión: ENGLISH 1. Petra Gordon: So this is not Athens’ airport? 2. Airport This is Athens’ airport, but this area is not Athens. information desk girl: CONT'D OVER GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 2 3. Petra Gordon: So downtown is very far from here? 4. Airport More than an hour. This is Greece! information desk girl: VOCABULARY Greek Romanization English Class Gender μια ώρα mia ora one hour phrase feminine Αυτό δεν είναι Auto den einai this is not expression neuter downtown κέντρο kentro (literally, noun “center”) κοπέλα kopéla young woman noun feminine είναι einai, íne is (he is, she is) verb μακριά makriá far adverb από apó from preposition εδώ edó here pronoun περισσότερο perissotero more adjective neuter τώρα tóra now adverb SAMPLE SENTENCES Θα έρθει σε μια ώρα. Αυτό δεν είναι τασάκι. Tha erthei se mia ora. Auto den einai tasaki. "He will come in an hour." "This is not an ashtray." GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 3 Θα πάω στο κέντρο. Είδα μια ξανθιά κοπέλα. Tha pao sto kentro. Eida mia ksanthia kopela. "I will go downtown." "I saw a blonde girl." Η κοπέλα ακούει μουσική με Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. ακουσ τικά. I paralía íne makriá apó edó. "The girl is listening to music with "The beach is far from here." headphones." Δε ν μπορώ να το δω, είναι πολύ Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. μακριά. I paralía íne makriá apó edó. Den boró na to do, íne polí makriá. "The beach is far from here." "I can't see it, it's too far away." Είναι μακριά από εδώ. Το μαγαζί είναι ανοιχτό από τις 9 το Eínai makriá apó edó. π ρω ί. To magazí íne anihtó apó tis enéa to proí. "It's far from here." "The store is open from 9 AM." Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. Είμαι από την Αμερική. Eímai apó tin Amerikí. "The beach is far from here." "I am from America." Είναι μακριά από εδώ. Η παραλία είναι μακριά από εδώ. Eínai makriá apó edó. I paralía íne makriá apó edó. "It's far from here." "The beach is far from here." Έλα εδώ! Χρε ιάζ ομαι περισσότερο χρόνο. Éla edó! Chreiazomai perissotero chrono. "Come here!" "I need more time." Είμαι πολύ απασχολημένη τώρα. Τώ ρα άκουσέ με, σε παρακαλώ. Íme polí apascholiméni tóra. Tóra ákusé me, se parakaló. "I am very busy now." "Now, please listen to me." GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 4 Τώ ρα μιλάω στο τηλέφωνο. Έφαγα πάρα πολύ και τώρα με Tora milao sto tilefono. π ονάε ι το στομάχι μου. Éfaga pára polí ke tóra me ponái to stomáhi mu. "I'm talking on the phone now." "I ate too much, and now my stomach hurts." VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE The first sentence, δηλαδή αυτό δεν είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας (diladi, auto • den einai to aerodromio tis Athinas), starts with the particle diladi, which roughly translates to the English "so" or "that is to say." This means that the conversation has already started before this sentence and that the speaker (in this case, the main character) asks for some clarification or further explanation. Δηλαδή (Diladi) is a very useful Greek word, and it is good to remember it. In the last sentence, the airport clerk replies to the main character's question "how far • is the airport" by using time, not distance (περισσότερο από μια ώρα, perissotero apo mia ora, "more than an hour"). This is rather common in Greece; for some reason, most people think of distances in terms of the time it takes to cover them than of the actual kilometers involved). Hence, a very common idiom is X ώρα/ώρες δρόμος, X ora/ores dromos, which literally means "X hour/hours street" but actually means "it takes X hour/hours to get there." A characteristic of the Greek language that might confuse English speakers is that • many parts of speech are gendered and numbered. Since both the subject of genders and the subject of numbers are quite broad, we will examine them in detail in future lessons; for the moment, it would be better to focus on the masculine gender and the singular number: all our sample sentences are in the first person singular, and in our dialogue, we have three cases of neuter/singular: 1. Αυτό είναι/δεν είναι το αεροδρόμιο της Αθήνας (Auto einai/den einai to aerodromio tis Athinas ) "This is/is not Athens' airport." 2. Το κέντρο είναι πολύ μακριά από εδώ? (To kentro einai poly makria apo edo?) "(Is) downtown is very far from here?" GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 5 3. Εδώ είναι Ελλάδα. (Edo einai Ellada). "This is Greece." and one case of feminine/singular: 1. Η περιοχή αυτή δεν είναι Αθήνα. (I periohi auti den einai Athina.) "This area is not Athens." GRAMMAR The Focus of This Lesson Is the Verb "to Be" in Modern Greek. Αυτό είναι το αεροδρόμιο Auto einai to aerodromio. "This is the airport." In this lesson, we will focus on the use of the verb "to be" in Modern Greek. As is the case with most languages, the verb "to be" is one of the most commonly used verbs in Modern Greek. Contrary to English, though, we do not use the verb "to be" as an auxiliary verb (i.e., to form different types of verbs); we mostly use it in its "official capacity" to show the existence or the presence of a thing or a situation. Since the conjugation of verbs can be quite tricky in Greek, in this lesson we will present only the first person singular of the verb "to be" in the present affirmative, negative, and interrogative form. Present - Affirmative (Singular) G reek Romanization "English" Εγώ είμαι Ego eimai "I am" Present - Negative (Singular) G reek Romanization "English" Εγώ δεν είμαι Ego then eimai "I am not" GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 6 Present - Interrogative (Singular) G reek Romanization "English" Εγώ είμαι; Ego eimai? "Am I?" Sam ple Sentences G reek Romanization "English" Εγώ είμαι άντρας Ego eimai antras. "I am a man." Εγώ είμαι γιατρός Ego eimai giatros. "I am a doctor." Εγώ είμαι Έλληνας Ego eimai Ellinas. "I am Greek." Εγώ είμαι πεινασμένος Ego eimai peinasmenos. "I am hungry." Εγώ δεν είμαι Ego den eimai κουρασμένος kourasmenos. "I am not tired." Εγώ είμαι μόνος στο σπίτι Ego eimai monos sto spiti. "I am home alone." Εγώ δεν είμαι στην Αμερική Ego den eimai stin Ameriki. "I am not in America." Εγώ είμαι στην Αθήνα Ego eimai stin Athina. "I am in Athens." Εγώ είμαι μακριά από το σπίτι μου Ego eimai makria apo to "I am far from home." spiti mou. GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 7 Εγώ είμαι στο γραφείο Ego eimai sto grafeio. "I am at the office." CULTURAL INSIGHT Speaking English in Greece While Greek is one of the oldest languages in the world and has been the basis of all European languages, the small size of Greece and its eventful history haven't allowed for the use of Greek much outside the borders of the country. This means that most Greeks need to learn at least one more language. For the last forty years or so, this language has been almost exclusively English. Depending on where you are in Greece or whom you are talking to, the level of English will vary from basic understanding to almost native-level proficiency. (Many Greeks study in English-speaking countries, so their English can surprise you!) So chances are that if you get stranded anywhere in the country with no knowledge of Greek whatsoever, you will manage to get by with your English. Having said that, Greeks generally have a tremendous respect for foreigners who know even a little bit of their language, and they will do their best to understand even the most broken and mispronounced Greek. GREEKPOD101.COM BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - THIS I S GREEK ATHENS—OR I S I T? 8 LESSON NOTES Beginner S1 #2 Take the Last Greek Train to Athens CONTENTS 2 Greek 2 Romanization 2 English 3 Vocabulary 3 Sample Sentences 5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage 5 Grammar 7 Cultural Insight # 2 COPYRIGHT © 2016 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GREEK 1. Πέτρα Γκόρντον: Συγγνώμη, κυρία, εδώ είναι δύο γραμμές αλλά μόνο μια πλατφόρμα; 2.