Greek is an Indo-European language that has been spoken and written for four thousand years in a small area of southeastern Europe. The written tradition of Greek is evidenced in texts in Linear B (a syllabic script) from ancient times (15th century BCE). Today, Modern Greek is the official language of Greece, a small country with a population of eleven million people. Although Modern Greek is a language spoken by a small number of people in a limited area of the world, it has had a great cultural impact all over the planet.
Ancient Greek and Modern Greek are not two different languages. The language has maintained such cohesion of structure and vocabulary that it is recognized by both scholars and native speakers as one language. But, as with English, Greek has gone through several periods which mark the evolution of the language through history.
The learner of Modern Greek seeks not only to speak a contemporary European language with an important presence in literature and art, but also to understand the deeper ideas and conventions that were exported through the Greek language into Western thought and civilization. With the turn toward classical studies during the Renaissance (14th to 17th centuries), Europe came to know, study, and be influenced by the great Greek thinkers of antiquity: the philosophers (Heraclitous, Empedocles, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and others), the poets (Homer, Pindar, Sappho, Alcaeus), the tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes), the historians (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Pausanias), the physicians (Hippocrates Galenos), the orators (Demosthenes, Isocrates), the grammarians (Dionysius, Apollonius and others) and other writers (Plutarch, Lucian, Theophrastus, Archimedes, Euclides, Strabo) and so on. Thus, it has been encouraged that scientists and writers should learn both Latin and Greek because those were the academic languages for many centuries until the middle of 19th century.
Courses Offered:
Elementary Modern Greek I, II, III
MOGK 10100-10200-10300/30100-30200-30300. This course sequence is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in Modern Greek and a basic understanding of its structures. Through a variety of exercises, students develop all skill sets. Taught By: Stefanos Katsikas. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Intermediate Modern Greek I, II, III
MOGK 20100-20200-20300. PQ: Elementary Modern Greek sequence or placement exam. This course sequence builds on the student's knowledge of modern Greek in all four skill areas through the use of authentic cultural materials (short stories, films, newspapers, etc.), with emphasis on grammar, vocabulary building, and fluency in expression and accuracy in writing. Taught By: Stefanos Katsikas. Autumn, Winter, Spring.