Greek - The Rough Guide to Greece - page 803

Greek
So many Greeks have lived or worked abroad that you will find English-
speakers in the tiniest island village. Add the thousands attending language
schools or working in the tourist industry - English is the lingua franca of
most resorts - and it's easy to see how so many visitors return home having
learned only minimal restaurant vocabulary. You can certainly get by this
way but it isn't very satisfying, and the willingness and ability to say even a
few words will transform your status from that of dumb “tourístas” to the
more honourable one of “xénos/xéni”, which can mean foreigner, traveller
and guest all combined.

Learning basic Greek
Greek is not an easy language for English-speakers but it is a very beautiful one, and
even a brief acquaintance will give you an idea of the debt owed to it by Western
European languages. Greek grammar is predictably complicated; nouns are divided
into three genders, all with different case endings in the singular and in the plural,
and all adjectives and articles have to agree with these in gender, number and case.
To simplify things, all adjectives are cited in the neuter form in the lists on the
following pages. Verbs are even more complex; they're in two conjugations, in both
active and passive voices, with passively constructed verbs often having transitive
sense. As a novice, it's best to simply say what you want the way you know it, and
dispense with the niceties.
TEACH-YOURSELF GREEK COURSES
Alison Kakoura and Karen Rich Talk Greek (book and 2
CDs). Probably the best in-print product for beginners'
essentials, and for developing the confidence to try them.
Anne Farmakides A Manual of Modern Greek, 1, for
University Students . If you have the discipline and
motivation, this is among the best for learning proper,
grammatical Greek.
Hara Garoufalia et al Read & Speak Greek for Beginners
(book & CD). Unlike many quickie courses, this provides a

good grammatical foundation; new in 2008.
David Holton et al Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar of
the Modern Language . A bit technical, so not for rank
beginners, but it covers almost every conceivable
construction.
Aristarhos Matsukas Teach Yourself Greek (book and
optional cassettes or CDs). Another complete course,
touching on idiomatic expressions too.

PHRASEBOOKS AND DICTIONARIES
Rough Guide Greek Phrasebook Current, accurate and
pocket-sized, with phrases that you'll actually need. The
English-Greek section is transliterated, though the Greek-
English part requires mastery of the Greek alphabet.
The Pocket Oxford Greek Dictionary J. T. Pring. A bit
bulky for travel, but generally considered the best Greek-

English, English-Greek paperback dictionary.
Collins Pocket Greek Dictionary Harry T. Hionides.
Very nearly as complete as the Pocket Oxford and probably
better value for money. The inexpensive Collins Gem Greek
Dictionary (UK only) is palm-sized but identical in contents
- the best day-pack choice.

The Greek alphabet: transliteration and accents
Besides the usual difficulties of learning a new language, Greek has an entirely separate
alphabet . Despite initial appearances, this is in practice fairly easily mastered - a skill
that will help enormously in getting around independently. In addition, certain
combinations of letters have unexpected results. This book's transliteration system (see