 | ΟΙ |
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Thank you all for the hosting of these wonderful lessons - I have found it very difficult to discover quality introductions to modern greek grammar. A year ere now I have been reading classical greek, and have become quite familiar with Xenophon's style and vocabulary (Reading an author 100 years separate from him means almost rediscovering the language...). But I am so fond of hellenic culture that I must learn the modern language, and so I am here, and many other places also. And having drilled myself in what I was told by the old scholars to be classical greek pronounciation, I have struggled to pronounce eu as ef! and almost every bloody vowel as i ! Nonetheless, I have overcome these petty troubles, but must ask - is it really necessary to pronounce even the masculine plural as ''i''? I have so loved saying ''o-i'' that it just feels critically odd pronouncing it differently, and it also assists me in distinguishing from the feminine. Let me get to the point - can I carry on with this remnant of my classical exploration or must I submit to barbarism? Isn't there a dialect out there in Ellada which I can belong to by saying oh ee? Thank you, Glenn. |
| Re: ΟΙ |
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Modern (contemporary) Greeks pronounce οι identically with ι, η, υ, ει, and υι, that is, as /i/. Unfortunately it is you who would be perceived as the "barbarian" if you were to continue to pronounce Modern οι as /oi/. With sympathy for your plight, Greg Brush |
| Re: ΟΙ |
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Very well! Thank you Greg, I will now return to the lessons and start the long process of indoctrinating muscle memory. "O-i... o-ui... oui... ui... *u*i..." On a friendlier note, I do love modern Greek - more than I do Spanish so far (And it is on par with my love for German)... I listen to the old music every day and for you who are reading, if you have not discovered it already, I wish to recommend the recordings available on the Hellenic Comserve website. But my favourite of all, you must hear it, is the Armenohorianos Syrtos of Giorgis Koutsourelis, on which the melody of Zorba's dance was based! Thank you again for the website, and you, Greg, for your answer. Glenn. |
