Language Basics

Greek is one of the world's oldest recorded living languages and holds an important place in the histories and cultures of Europe. It is the language of Aristotle, Homer, Plato, Herodotus and Alexander the Great.

Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and beyond during Classical Antiquity, and would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire. In its modern form, it is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 23 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by approximately 13 million people today. Many modern languages, such as English, have adopted words from Greek. English has over 50,000 words in its lexicon which are derived from the Greek language, especially in the sciences and medicine. As with Latin, Greek is used in the process of new word production in modern languages.

The Modern Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters. Adjective in Greek normally come before the noun, just like in English. They take different endings to agree with the noun they qualify. Greek nouns have gender – masculine, feminine and neuter. Plural nouns take different endings depending on gender.