 | Addressing people and also syntax! |
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Hi I am new to this site and having been teaching my self Greek for some time and just returned from Greece I have the following problems. I understand that doctor is ο γιατρός or η γιατρός for a woman doctor and never η γιατρή! but two things I do not understand. 1. Is the vocative (ie addressing him/her directly) say καλιμέρα γιατρέ for both sexes? 2. In English you write Dr and in Greek it is written Δρ - why is it not Γς? Regarding syntax I understood that this was not of importance in Greek ie I could say θέλο ενα ποτίρι κρασί άσπρο OR άσπρο κρασί either way! When I spoke the first way in Greece the hotel owner who was a teacher said I was wrong and I should always say άσπρο (η λεύκο) first - YET later that day on a bottle of wine in a bar I noticed the label was printed κρασί λεύκο. Before I continue with my Greek (I thought I was doing so well) can anyone enlighten me on these points please? The site looks good and I think it will help me a lot as I can now read and write quite well and speak although as I have no Greek speakers near me at home I the have problems understanding when I listen abroad! Ευχαριστώ παρα πολύ Gordon |
| Re: Addressing people and also syntax! |
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1) Yes, the same for both sexes: Καλημέρα [note spelling], γιατρέ. However, remember that "nouns of common gender" such as γιατρός use masculine adjectives when the noun refers to a male, and feminine adjectives when the noun refers to a female. So if there are any adjectives included, they must agree with the biological gender of the person referred to by the noun, even in the vocative case. So: Καλημέρα, αγαπητέ γιατρέ. = Good day, dear Doctor [male]. but Καλημέρα, αγαπητή γιατρέ. = Good day, dear Doctor [female]. 2) Δρ, the standard Greek abbreviation for an M.D. (physician) or a Ph.D. (doctorate), stands for the more formal word δόκτωρ (demotic δόκτορας). 3) While syntax in Greek is rather flexible, it is never "not of importance". The norm nowadays is for the adjective to come before its noun -- άσπρο/λευκό [note stress] κρασί -- especially in colloquial Greek. However, in more formal speech and especially in formal writing or poetry the adjective can come after the noun -- κρασί άσπρο/λευκό -- although the tendency even here is to still come before the noun. |
| Re: Addressing people and also syntax! |
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Greg Thank you so much! I now fully understand about Dr. I had seen in my dictionary that there were other ways of saying Doctor including one where the Dr was non medical. Regarding the syntax I can now understand this also - I thought it was the other way around. I will now use the correct way when writing or speaking AND I must get the tonos correct!!! Thanks again Gordon |
| Re: Addressing people and also syntax! |
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re: "I had seen in my dictionary that there were other ways of saying Doctor including one where the Dr was non medical." You may hear or see a distinction made in colloquial usage such that δόκτωρ (demotic δόκτορας) refers solely to an M.D.(physician), while the word διδάκτωρ (demotic διδάκτορας) refers to a Ph.D. In this usage, δρ is the abbreviation for both δόκτωρ and διδάκτωρ. Regards, Greg Brush |
