1.Background information
As is well known, the peoples of the Earth are classified into three racial divisions and an equal number of corresponding language families Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid, Mogoloid.
The Caucasian (or White) division includes three homozygous races
♦ The Japhetic ( the one that has come to be called Indo-European) homophyly includes the Teutons (Goths), the Celts, the Slavs, the Indo-Iranians (Aryans), the Armenians the Illyrians, the Latins, the ancient Asia Minor tribes (the Phrygians, Lydians, Myssonians, Cilicians) and, according to the prevailing view, the Greeks (Achaeans, Dorians, Ionians and Aeolians)
♦ The Hamitic (Mediterranean) homosexuality includes the Early Greeks (or Pelasgians), the Eteocretans (first inhabitants of Crete), the ancient Egyptians, the Iberians, the Tyrrhenian (Etruscans) and the Early Euphrates (Sumerians)
♦ The Semitic homozygosity includes the Akkadians (Assyrians, Babylonians), Canaanites (Phoenicians, Philistines/Palestinians and Jews) and Arabs
In very broad terms, the following periods of evolution of Greek can be identified in terms of its relationship with other languages, assuming the Iapetian (‘Indo-European’) origin of the Greeks
Start End Language spoken Characteristics
70000 BC 8000 BC Πρωτόγλωσσα Στοιχειώδεις φθόγγο
8000 BC 4000 BC Early Caucasian Monosyllabic elementary syllables
4000 BC 2000 BC Early Egyptian Two-syllable words for everyday life
2000 BC 1100 BC Creto-Achaic Compound words for everyday life
1100 BC 500 BC Doroionic Polysyllabic complex poetic words for everyday life
500 BC 180 AD Classical Abstract concepts Greek philosophy
180 AD 1453 AD Medieval Concepts of Christian theology
1453 AD 1900 AD Neoclassical Neologisms by European scholars
1900 AD Today Modern Technical terms from European technocrats
As the table shows, the Palaeolithic Protolanguage common to all people of the time began to develop from 70,000 BC when a powerful volcanic eruption at Lake Toba in Sumatra caused a great reduction in population to about 10,000 – 20,000 people and, it seems, became the cause of the formation of a single primitive language
It is reasonable to assume that it included rudimentary phonemes formed mainly by naming (such as a>a>g, ve>vain, d>danta, e>esmi=be, i>i=come, l>lalloo, ma>mama, p>baba, pre>fire, s>sigi, ha>hirō, χυ>hyno, etc.)
In the years 8000 – 4000 BC, after the division of people into white, negro and mongoloid, it is assumed that there was a common Proto-Caucasian language spoken by the peoples in the area around the Caucasus, which is considered the cradle of the White (or Caucasian) tribe Of this language no evidence can be inferred with certainty, and therefore, within the limits of reasonable conjecture, we may conjecture that it contained monosyllabic elementary words, which were an evolution of the elementary phonemes of the Proto-Language
In the years 4000 – 2000 B.C., after the division of the Caucasian peoples into Japhetics (“Indo-Europeans”), Semites and Hamites, a ProtoIapetian language was formed, spoken by the peoples of the now separated Indo-European homogeneity, who lived as a separate set of homelands in the Caucasian parts, before the beginning of the great Indo-European movement in south-western directions
This language consisted mainly of two-syllable words that covered the needs of semi-nomadic daily life at that time, related to hunting, land cultivation and animal husbandry These words came from the variation, evolution or synthesis of the monosyllabic elementary words of the Early Caucasian language, but they had a form which was precursory to that which they acquired in later years in the language of the individual Indo-European peoples An attempt is being made to reconstruct this form using the methods of comparative linguistics, on the basis of specific rules of transformation, which have emerged from the study of individual Indo-European languages, such as Greek, Sanskrit, Latin and Proto-Germanic, the most important of which is the rule of the sound mutations of the verbal phonograms in the languages of the Indo-European languages.
From 2,000 BC onwards, the Greek territories, inhabited by the Protohellenes (or Pelasgians) and Eteocretans, began to be invaded by Japhetic populations Achaeans in the Peloponnese, Crete and Rhodes; Aeolians in Thessaly, Boeotia, Lesbos and the opposite parts of Asia Minor; Ionians in Attica, Megarida, Corinthia, Euboea and the Cyclades; Dorians in western Macedonia, eastern Epirus, Evritania, Aetoloakarnania and Phocis
This settlement was part of the general movement of homogeneous peoples, who, at about the same time, settled as follows The Indians in present-day India (ancestors of the present-day Indians), the Iranians in the then Aryan region (Kurds and Persians), the Hittites (or Hittites) in northern Asia Minor (probably related to ancestors of the present-day Armenians), the Phrygians, Lydians, Mysians Cilicians on the western coast of Asia Minor and inland (including the ancestors of the Trojans), the Latins in Italy (ancestors of the Ancient Romans), the Germanic peoples (ancestors of the Celts, Teutons/Goths, Slavs and Baltoslavs) in Northern and Central Europe, the Illyrians in present-day Albania
In the years 2000-1100 BC, the Greek populations, initially dominated by the early Greek Eteocretans and after 1500 BC by the Iapetus Achaeans, developed a special civilization (Minoan and Mycenaean), comparable to the pre-existing Egyptian (from 4000 BC) and Assyro-Babylonian (successor to the Sumerian which existed from 5000 BC). .B.C.), in the context of which the Greek language began to be differentiated from the Proto-Iapetian language, with the formation of complex words, such as builder, doctor, weaver, teacher, to depict everyday life at that time (religion, monogamous family, agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting, warfare)
Many words, which are still in use today, have Pelasgian origins from before 2 .000 (such as cypress, bee, rose, rose, wheat, pumpkin, sesame, chickpea, olive and olive oil, fig, fig, laurel — sea, island, zephyr, sponges — copper tin, iron — labyrinth, chamber, king, people, troupe, troupe, peacock, triumph, wasp, bag, sack, levis, sling, sword, sword, ruler, guitar) Pelasgic are also several place names such as Ilisos, Vrilissos, Kifissos, Knossos, Parnassos, Ardittos, Ymittos, Lycabettos, Mykonos, Mycenae, Larissa, Amfissa, Epirus, Thessaly, Attica, Kythera, Mithymna, Rafina, Zakynthos, Corinth, Corinth, Amarinth, Pindos, Parnitha, Parnonas)
These words, integrated into the grammatical rules of the common Greek language that emerged after 2000, now have a Greek ethos and weight and are not separated from the Iapetic (“Indo-European”) words that the elders brought with them, such as the nouns father, mother, son, daughter, daughter, daughter, man, woman, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow. ox, fly, tree, fir, sky, day, night, light, winter, name, — the adjectives good, great, long, long, dry, sweet, young — the numerals one, two, ten, hundred etc. — the pronouns I, he etc. — the verbs I am, I stay, I am missing, I tie, I sit etc. — and the adverbs / conjunctions / prepositions today, forward, and, and, from, etc.
In the years 1100-500 B.C. the Greek populations, after the extermination, according to well-founded speculations and the Trojan War, of the Hittites who ruled Asia Minor, with the Iapetus Dorians and Ionians now predominating, carried out two great waves of migrations, to Asia Minor (1100-800 B.C.) and to Western Europe as far as Spain (800-600 B.C. .), through which they came into close contact with the local peoples (Italians, Celtic-Galatians, Britons, Iberians, Phrygians, Lydians, Carians), with whom they developed trade relations, gradually replacing the Phoenicians, who had also developed in the same areas, and who from 800 BC began to decline and eventually succumbed to the Persians. In these years the Greek language made creative leaps and bounds, inaugurating literary production in Europe with the great poetic works of Homer, Hesiod and the lyric poets (Archilochus, Terpandros, Tyrtaeus Alchman, Mimnermus, Alcaeus, Sappho, Sapiro, Stesichorus, Simonides, Anacreon), but also with the first thinkers of the cosmological school (Thales, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, Empedocles, Anaxagoras)
In the years 500 BC – 180 AD, the Greek world, after the overthrow and then subjugation of the Persians, who had ruled since 550 BC, became a part of the Greek world. found itself in a dominant political, economic and cultural position in the international arena, which it maintained virtually undiminished for almost 2000 years (until the fall of Constantinople), despite the apparent loss of political power during the years of the Roman Empire, which did not diminish the glory of Greek civilization, as the Roman state organization can be considered its continuation at the administrative level
The Greek language in these years was enriched to a dazzling degree by the intellectuals (Socrates, Zeno Eleates, Protagoras, Democritus, Plato, Aristippus, Antisthenes, Epicurus, Diogenes, Cleanthes, Zeno Kitionis, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and others). Pyrrho, Menippus, Arkesilaus, Chrysippus, Carneades, Paneiteus, Poseidonius, Aenesidemus, Epictetus, Lucian), the verbal decoration of poets and dramatists (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Pindar, Bacchylides, Callimachus Theocritus, Herod, Menippus, Apollonius, Lucilius, Meleagros, Rufinus), the profound observation of historians and geographers (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Plutarch, Pausanias, Strabo), the stylistic accuracy and wit of rhetoricians (Lysias Isocrates, Isaias, Aeschines, Demosthenes, Hyperides), the analytical ability of mathematicians, physicians and scientists (Hippocrates, Eudoxus, Euclid, Eratosthenes, Archimedes, Aristarchus, Hipparchus, Heron, Sosigenes, Claudius Ptolemy, Galen)
In the years 180 – 1453 AD the Greek world continued its historical course with uninterrupted spiritual vigour, which was particularly felt in the field of Christian theology με ιδιαίτερα λεπτά ιδεολογήματα και απαστράπτουσα καλλιέπεια σε ποιητικά και υμνογραφικά έργα (Παλλαδάς, Γρηγόριος Ναζιανζηνός, Νόννος Πανοπολίτης, Μουσαίος Γραμματικός, Ρωμανός Μελωδός, Παύλος Σιλεντάριος, πατριάρχης Σέργιος, Σωφρόνιος, Ιωάννης Δαμασκηνός Cassiani), prose (Heliodorus, Philostratus, Logos, Achilles Tatius), historical and literary works (Procopius, Malas, Patriarch Photios, Cedrinos, Anna Komneni, Suidas, Maximos Planoudis, Maximus Planoudis Gregory Palamas, Frantzis, Chalcocondylis) and philosophical works (Clement, Origen, Plotinus, Athanasius, Iamblichus, Basil, Eusebius, John Chrysostom, Proclus, Boethius, Michael Psellus, Plethon Gemistos, Vissarion)
As Constantinople had the prestige of being the richest and most attractive “capital of the world”, the influence of the Greek language in the Western world at this time, with its various commercial, political and cultural exchanges, had a stronger dynamic than is acknowledged by Western historians Not only were the names of rulers and scholars invented or shaped “in Greek” in order to be more imposing, but the Greek language was an indispensable tool in the wealthy houses and royal courts of the West. It is enough to consider that Charlemagne (771-814 AD), the first emperor of the unified kingdom of the Franks, although he could not write at all, spoke Greek as well as his native Frankish language
With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, Greek civilisation, deprived of a vital space for autonomous exercise and expression, went into a sharp decline, losing the ability to produce new scientific and philosophical concepts, works of art and ideologies The Greek language, however, thanks to its wonderful past, retained its brilliance and influence in the Western world at least until 1900 AD During this period, and especially during the neoclassical and academic period (the 17th and 18th centuries), Western European scholars and scientists not only spoke and thought in Greek as well as in their mother tongue, but also believed that in Greek it was possible to formulate their scientific observations and philosophical conclusions more fully and accurately. This explains why during this period Greek names (with neologisms created by the same people with Greek roots) were given to most of the new ideas, processes and inventions of the time (such as energy, electricity, magnetism, atom, ion, electron, radioactivity, paleontology, photography, telegraph, telephone, cinema, wagon, etc.)
In the years after 1900 AD, the Greek language has less and less resonance in the international scholarly and scientific world, and even in the Internet era, the reverse movement of translating unchanged Western European words into Greek, such as the newer English words transistor, laser, nylon, computer, sokaro, sokaristiko, testaros, etc. It is not useless to remember, however, that even in these adverse conditions, words of modern technology such as airplane, airport, petrol, stereophonic, but also of electronic and computer science, such as Analysis, Code, Diode, Phrase, Programme, Symbol, System, Character, Graphic, Hierarchy, Index, Burn, Disc, Domain, Mouse, Serial etc. are of Greek origin
2.Features of Greek language
According to the above-mentioned, based on anthropological, historical, linguistic and artistic observations, the inhabitants of the Greek area after 1700 BC came from the admixture of early Hellenic populations and the Japhetic homophily of the Caucasian (or White) racial division
They therefore show affinity with other peoples of these two homophylyas, with whom they coexisted for a long time, at the stage of nomadic, food-gathering and early agricultural and stockbreeding life, until 2000 BC.
According to another view, which is not universally accepted, the Greeks belong to the most related to the Indo-Europeans branch of the Hamitic (Mediterranean) homosexuality and their relationship with the Indo-Europeans was coincidental. In favour of this view is the finding that a significant number of Greek words are not etymologised as Indo-European, as well as anthropological research and studies of genetic DNA markers, which show uninterrupted biological continuity of the Greeks from ancient times to the present day.
Whatever version of racial origin is valid, the Greek language, using verbal roots derived from the pre-Hellenic and Iapetian protolanguage, is structured, with a hierarchy of development, which from simple phonemes leads to the creation of complex words, in a way that seems to show self-sufficiency (e.g. from the phoneme ‘a’ indicating ‘attack’ the words ago, agama, professor, Agisilaos, agon, agony, etc.)
22 such basic phonemes can be identified, from which all Greek words are produced by linguistic mechanisms of variation and synthesis There are no (to a substantial degree) in ancient Greek obviously exogenous words, which have been taken directly from another language for the arbitrary designation of an object (without any causal relationship to the signified)
Other remarkable features of the Greek language, which place it among the most advanced in terms of linguistic constitution, are that
Περιλαμβάνει the so-called “ligur” (=specific, “noble”) phonemes “c, d, i, h” which other peoples cannot pronounce
Χρησιμοποιεί largely polysyllabic words in contrast to northern languages (e.g. English) where, perhaps to save heat energy, monosyllabic words predominate (e.g. sun, tree, street, hand, foot, chin, cheek, eat, drink, sleep, etc.)
Έχει unlimited possibility to create new polysyllabic words (e.g. super-primary-pan-universe-ultimate
Παρουσιάζει all known phenomena of linguistic ascension, such as naming (imitation of external sounds), assimilation (one phoneme becomes similar to another), alternation (using one phoneme instead of another), merging (unification of several phonemes) assimilation (elimination of one of two similar phonemes of the same word), exchange (mutual change of phonemes), transposition (change of position), haplolisation (elimination of a syllable that occurs twice)
3.Rules of formation of Modern Greek words
If the above-mentioned considerations are true, the ancient Greek language has some roots coming from the language of the Early Greeks (Pelasgians and Eteocretans), some roots coming from the Early Iapetian (“Early European”) language and words which evolved or were developed, according to the above-mentioned rules, in the 22 centuries following the (alleged) settlement of Indo-Europeans in Greece, during the Creto-Achaic, Dorozoic and Classical periods
The new Greek language was formed as an evolution of the Hellenistic “Koine” language, which was spoken in the years 100 BC to 100 AD during the medieval and especially in the late Byzantine period (after 1000 AD) Oral friction had a significant influence on its formation, during its use in the Byzantine Empire over a large geographical area, in places quite distant from each other, where local populations (mountain, lowland or sea) acquired, over time, particular features of speech
Among the most common mechanisms of the evolution of the older Greek words into the newer Greek words, the following could be noted
If it is taken into account that the transmission of identical words between alien populations as a rule occurs from the most to the least advanced peoples and to a much lesser extent in the opposite direction, because the Greek world had, as mentioned above, the lead (from a political, economic and cultural point of view) for a long series of centuries (at least from 500 B.C. to 1453 A.D.), the introduction of alien words into the Greek language was during this period imperceptible
The use in later years of the thamish types of verbs (with endings in ίζω, -azo, -asko, -asko, -ono, -euso, -aino) against the original endings in -o, was one of the basic rules of transformation of verbs in Modern Greek Examples: νομώ-νομω, ετοιμώ-τοιμάζω, δάω-δάσκω-dιδάσκω, τελειώ-τελειώνω, στερώ-τερεύω, βαθώ-βαθαίνω
The preference for the diminutive forms of nouns, ending in -ion (-i), -idion (-idi), -is (-ida), -opon, -akios (-akis and -akos), -akion (-aki), arios (-aris), -ario (-ari) -idis (-itis, -itsis), -ώδη (-oudis), -olis (-ulis, -ulis), -πωλος (-πουλος), -ίσκος (-itsos -itsa) was an equally important law of metaphorization of the older nouns Examples hand-horn-hand-hand; pig-pig-pigridion; cart-sword-sword; teacher-tascalakion-tascalakion-tascalakion-tascalakion; road-road-road-maker-road-maker-road-maker lion-lion-leson-leson-leson, house-house-house, wolf-wolf, chicken-chicken, stone-petri dish, dog-dog, chick-chicken, dog-dog, chick-hatchet
The phonemes “ch” and “j” come from
από the corruption of “x” into “ts” (especially in the preposition “x”) e.g. hexazizo>chaziz
από the corruption of ‘d’ into ‘z’ and ‘ts’ e.g. karfis>karfida >karfiza> karfits
από Composition of words containing ‘t’ and ‘s’ e.g. ouch>utoshi>etc
από the thick pronunciation of ‘k’ (as in the dialect of Crete) e.g. skkpi >scepi>tsepi
από the thick pronunciation of “t” (as in English “motor” sounds like “motor”) e.g. pet >kachoikidio>kachik
The “b” phoneme comes from
από the co-pronunciation of “p” with “n” in the accusative e.g. papa > bamb
από την παραφθορά του “β” σε “π” και “μπ” π.χ. βορράς> μπόρ
The “d” phoneme is derived from
από the co-pronunciation of “t” with “n” in the accusative e.g. tolipi> the closet
από the corruption of ‘d’ to ‘d’ e.g. dais> dai
Endings such as -aki, -iki, -eti, -ani, -ari are the Greek diminutives -akion, -ikion, -arion, -arion, and similar
Property suffixes such as -as, -τζis, -τζής are the Greek suffixes -εύς>-έας>άς and -ιδεύς>ιζεύς>ιζής>ιtζή
The suffix of the names “-oglou” resulted from the transposed pronunciation of “-opulu” > oplou >oglou (e.g. Mitropoulou>Mitroplou>Mitroglou
The most common phoneme passages that create pronunciation metamorphoses are
πάθη consonants x>ts>j, d>g.j, d>d, th>g>j, h>k, h>g, b>b, p>b, c>g, c>j, f>ts>j, f>p>b, ps>t
πάθη vowels oh>u, oh>au, u>u, a>e (in the Aeolian dialect “u” was pronounced as “u” — he=autos and avoutos)
4.Greek roots in European languages
The European languages have some roots derived from the Early Iapetian (“Early European”), roots of the Early Iapetian that were formed in the context of the Celtic culture (Hallstatt 500 BC. LaTene 300 BC), roots of ProtoIapetica that entered via Latin from the time of Julius Caesar (55 BC . roots or words of Germanic/Deutonic, Gothic and Norman origin derived from corresponding settlements of populations in European territories, words with Greek roots created by Europeans themselves after the 17th century
It is obvious to even the most simplistic student of European languages, that ultimately, with the totality of the political-social influences and cultural processes mentioned above, these languages contain a significant number of roots or words, which are somehow (according to the previous paragraph) related to corresponding Greek
At this point it should be noted that many of the known etymological dictionaries stop the etymology of the word at the Latin root, recognising the fact that the majority of Latin words themselves are related to Greek roots
Moreover, the etymologies of such dictionaries, by searching for the oldest known text in which the words occur, deceptively characterize many of them as Latin, Venetian, Italian or Turkish, whereas, if a thorough search of the deeper etymology were made, the Greek origin of the word could be demonstrated
Example The word “captain” in most dictionaries is etymologized from the Latin “capita” (=head), ignoring the fact that the word capita comes from the Greek components “κατ’ επάνω” (katapanos>katpanios>katpanios) from which the ancient Greek word “cephali” is derived (katapani>katpani>katphali>kafali>kafali) Similar Greek folk words (such as houneri (heo+water), davanturi (<entha+van+tero), askeri (<askera<sakera<sakos<sakos+akis), hui (<ion), etc.), which were probably coined in the dives of Constantinople with a mocking or derisive meaning, were not used by the ancient Byzantine scholars who were modelled on the calibre of Thucydides and Plato, but, since these words were also passed into Turkish, probably by Turkish authors who are not bound by the burden of a long and tasteful literary heritage, without this implying that the words are actually Turkish
5.Etymologies of Greek, English and Turkish words
Aware of the complexity of the issues presented in the previous paragraphs, in the word index of the three tables presented, with the ultimate expectation of a deeper understanding of the meanings, the limits, and the functions of the Greek language, an attempt is made to find the final etymology
(a) Names, toponyms and other words of the Greek language, many of which are considered so self-evidently known and interwoven with everyday life that their etymology usually varies
(b) Words of the English language (as the most widespread of the European languages) which, for any of the above-mentioned reasons, contain roots that are also present in Greek words The general estimate is that such words, including compound words with Greek prefixes, such as syn-drome, pro-gnostics, constitute about 60% of all English words
(c) Words of the Greek language that are uncritically perceived or even presented by some (according to the above mentioned) as Turkish
In the immediately following text, an attempt will be made to study cases of words which show to what extent and to what depth the language, as the main expressor of the ethos of Greek civilization, was able to form channels of education and communication with the peoples of Western Europe
1.The word Britannia [English Britain, Latin Britannia] is derived from the Greek word prytania [first in the hierarchy] which comes from the compound first + upper [= the first country above continental Europe]. The word was first mentioned by the Greek explorer and navigator Pythias of Massaliotis, who visited England around 330 BC It should be noted that the British Isles were originally called the “Castrite Islands” (because of the tin deposits in Cornwall), while Britain was also called “Albion” in ancient times Both of these words are of Greek origin The word Kassiteros is etymologically derived from the compound katas + sideros [>katasideros>katsiideros>kassiteros], while the word Albion is etymologically derived from alphos [= sub-white, white], while as a designation of England it refers to the off-white colour of its rocks (containing chalk) as seen from the Dover coastline Further, the word iron is derived from the synonyms shoicho [=to hammer] + denro [=resistant], meaning that the metal sizzles when cooled with water and becomes hard In addition, the word alphos comes from the synonyms a [stearic] + bark [=peel] >bark>alphos, denoting that the peeled branch leaves its whitish inner surface showing From the word alfos, in addition to Albion, names such as Alpheus, Alpine, Albania
2.The word England [English Anglia, Latin Anglia] is of Greek origin and is etymologically derived from the compound Ano + France[>France>Anglia = country above France] The word France is also Greek, derived from the word Galati (>Gallatia >Gallatia>Gallatia>Gallatia), which is a corruption of the word Keleti (>Kalati>Galati), from which the name Keltis The word Keletis is derived from the compound kelis [= hippos] + έχω [>εχεύς, ετωρ, ετης] and means “a man who uses horses”
3.The word Scotland is Greek, related to the word “dark” and means “land of darkness”, because of the longer duration of the night at that latitude. Note that Scotland’s earliest name was Kalydonia, which is also of Greek origin, etymologically derived from the components kalos + hydneo [=feed, increase {<dainymi}] meaning “he who brings much food” Moreover, the name Wales of the third British country is also Greek, related to the verb “vallo” [=”to bore overwhelm”], which in Latinized Western Europe was also pronounced “wallo”, and therefore means “country of people who can overwhelm” [=to defeat]
4.The word land [= land, country] is of Greek origin, derived from the word “lande” [= land, country] and is used as a suffix in many country names (Zealand, Finland, Holland, Ireland, etc.) The word lande is also Greek, derived from the components laas [=lithos, land, country] + upper [=above] + δη [=earth, place]
5.The word burg and burgh[=city], used as a suffix in city names (such as Edinburgh, Peterburg, Hamburg, etc.) is of Greek origin, derived from the word “tower” [etymologized from pro + earth, because of the great height of their construction], because ancient fortifications for protection were concentrated around fortresses or surrounded by walls. The word is also used in the form burry which is more accurately derived from pyrgia, meaning area around a tower (e.g. Canterburry<Canterburry)
6.Analogous to the word burg is the word tour[= city with a tower], used as a suffix or as a name of cities (such as Tour, Torino etc.), which is derived from the Greek words Tyrsis, Tyrris, Tyros meaning “tower”, from which names such as Tiryns, Tyrrhenes (Etruscans) and the ancient city of Tyros in Phoenicia are derived.
7.Similar is the case of the words chester and castle [= castle, city with a castle], used as a suffix in city names (such as Manchester, Newcastle, etc.) Both words derive from the Greek word castle, meaning “tower”, which is derived from the compound words kasa [= house] + tisro [=keep, observe, guard], meaning “house for keeping watch”. It should be noted that the word “kasa” (from which the Italian casa [= house], but also the Modern Greek “kasa”, “kasoni” [=box for storing things]) is derived from the word “kasa” meaning “animal skin”, from which the word kasa originally meant “hut made of animal skin”.
8.The word town, which, as a suffix to city names, is simplified to -ton (e.g. Bromton, Farington), is of Greek origin, derived from the word “chthon”, meaning “land, country, place”. Similarly, the suffix of city names ending in -ham (e.g. Birmingham, Nottingham etc.) is derived from the Greek word “hamai”, meaning “down to earth, place” Similarly, the ending of city names ending in -dam (e.g. Amsteldam) is derived from the Greek word δάμος (meaning “demos, city”)
9.It is not inappropriate at this point to recall that names of many European countries and peoples (and of Europe itself) are of Greek origin as follows
Europe< wide + ops, opos [<opazomai {=see}] = megalomaniac, the sister of the repatriated Cadmus descendant of Io
Germany<egiro=raise=raise >revolt=raise >German>German {with their constant rebellions they caused riots
Italy<Fitalus = calf, aeolian type > Latin vitulus = calf (bull
Ireland<Ierne + lande [Ierne< sacred + noi = country of people with pious dispositions
Austria <Augy [=eastern] + regia [=basic {>regia with deletion of the g as in say>say}] >Augyria>Austria> Austria
Hungary <Hungary <Hungary <Hungarian<uh [=no] + time {>hungarian>hungarian = not mature, wild
Denmark< tanuo >was>dan = for a long time >daneos ( = ancient, h>a) >danaios> dano
Finland<phenos (from phaeos=light)= having the colour of twilight, dark >phenin>phenin=dark >Finland = dark place
Sweden <Swedish <su-soi {your-your-your {pronounced as sou-sui}+ vios [=life, b>d] = our people
Russia <Russo, o>u, d>s = I am reddish
Ukraine <Ukraine <u [=no] + helmet [=helmet] = they fought without a helmet
Romania <Romania <Rome + upper <Northern Roman country <Rome = power
Bulgaria <Volgar [<boulder + gaias + roos [=current <rain] >Volgas = river flowing through land masses ] because they originally settled east of the Volga River
Malta< Melite = that which has honey (sweet as honey
Albania<alvos, from alfos (f,b>π), #alvos = off-white
Sicily< wheat + tanyo = to spread >Sicily = an area of land planted with wheat >Sicily
Sardinia<Sardonia<Sardo<sal [<als=sea] + ardine [=solid, many together] = region with many parallels
Crimea< krima (krima (judge)), because from it the access and trade to Russia was determined
Slavs<salos (al>la) + bavo ( = baino), they caused great disturbance with his coming
Saracens<syro + tent # nomads who moved around dragging their tents
Arabs<araveo = thunder <aravos = type # because they have a thunderous voice
Persians<pertho (conquer (conquest), persis = conquest, Persians = conquer
Indians<is-inos [=strong}] + violence [=life<violence] >inbia =country of strong people {referred mainly to elephant drivers}
10.We should also recall that the suffix -tania in country names (such as Mauritania, Eurytania, etc.), which in several cases evolved into -tan or -stan (e.g. Pakistan, Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, etc.) is of Greek origin, coming from the verb tanyo [=to spread, extend] and means “land area, extended country”.
11.The English verb ame is obviously related to the Greek ειμί, I am The pronoun I is related to the Greek I, which (with the deletion of the “c”, as in “λέγω>λέω”) was transformed into eo to become in Italian Io and in English I, I am Similarly, the infinitive be is related to the Greek bei (subjunctive of baino > baino, vais, bei), better known in modern Greek as συμβώ, συμβεί, which means to happen, to become, to exist, to be
12.The English verb will is obviously related to Greek will (and βούλω) from which the nouns will< βουλή [=will] are derived. Will is also used in the formation of the future tense in English, e.g. willbe, in a way that is perfectly analogous to the formation of the future tense in Greek with the verb will, e.g. will become (and “want to become”, “want to become”, “want to become”, “want to become”, etc.) which evolved into will become and ended up as will become, by converting “will” into the future particle “will”. Thus the expression willbe, is derived directly and in obvious correspondence from the Greek θέλει θέλει βει
13.The much-abused English wordlove [= love] is of Greek origin. It is etymologically derived from the synthetics ileos, ileos [= good, good] and bios [=life], from which the composition ileovios, meaning “life with good mood, love”, which evolved into “liuvios” and in Gothic into Liuva and Liuba, from which the Proto-English liuve, liuv and from it the present word love It should be noted that Liuba was the name of a Visigothic ruler who reigned in what is now southern France in 567-573, a name which, according to the above, means “a man who coexists peacefully” The same root Liub- is also found in Slavic languages (e.g. Russian) and also means love. It should also be noted that the word ‘ileos’ or ‘ileos’, which is also mentioned in a well-known song by Yannis Markopoulos, is derived from the word ‘friend’ with the deletion of the ‘f’ and is related to the word ‘ilaros’ which means ‘happy’. It should be remembered that the Greek word “love” (from the verb “agapao”) comes from the compound words ago [=to be loved] + apto [=to touch] and indicates the movement we make to embrace someone as a manifestation of love
14.The word “shop” may be considered by many people to be of foreign origin (Italian or Turkish). It is etymologically derived from the synonyms omo [= together] and agazo [= to investigate in detail], from which the composition ομαγαζείον, which means “a place where people and/or things gather for transactions”, is derived. It should be noted that the verb ‘agazo’ is a dative form of the verb ‘ago’ [=to lead, to go] Thamish types refer to actions that are frequently repeated (from the word “thama” which means often, densely (hence thamon), which is derived from the syntactics da [=and] + ama [=together] Recall that the thomis forms of verbs are formed by adding the suffix -azo or -asko, e.g. examine > examine, like > like, give > teach The English word “magazine” is derived from the word Magazi, which means a warehouse (as a place of accumulation of goods), but also a magazine (as a publication that gathers many subjects in one issue)
15.The word baroufa [= nonsense] may be considered by some people to be of foreign origin (Italian or Turkish). However, it is a Greek word (of medieval Byzantine origin). It is etymologically derived from the synonyms bary [=weighty] and style [=way], from which the composition baroufa is derived, meaning “aerology spoken with weighty style”.
16.The word samaras [= harness maker (saddlery)] may be considered by many to be of Turkish origin However, it is a Greek word in its entirety. It is etymologically derived from the syntactic words sigma [=horse rider’s seat] and aro [=harness], from which the composition samarevs>samareas>samaras results. Note that the word shagma is derived from the word είσagma [=box of luggage], which is derived from the verb εισάγω [=to bring in] derived from the compound words “εις” and “άγω” [=to drive].
17.The word tsipras is a variant of the medieval word tsipa [= modesty, shame, shyness] derived from the superlative form “chipara” > “tsipras” The word “tsipa” is Greek It came from a metamorphosis of the word ξιπασιά which is derived from the compound ξε [<ek, epithet] + πtoασιά, and means pride, arrogance The word “ptoasia” is identical with the word ptoisis {suffering from fear} which is derived from the verb ptoazo {=dying form of ptoō}] meaning to frighten, overwhelm It should be noted that the word “tsipa” in Byzantine times (with objectification of its meaning) also meant veil (in the sense that the veil hides the face and contributes to the maintenance of the modesty of the wearer) From this came the adjective “ξετσίπωτος” = a man without chipa (without pride, therefore without shame)
18.The word Vardaris, another name of the river Axios in Macedonia, is promoted by some as being of Slavic origin It is, however, a Greek word, etymologically derived from the synonyms bão [=to go], ardo [=to water, to irrigate] and roi [from the verb reo = to flow] and means “a river that flows through and by its flow waters the earth”.
19.It should be noted that the names of Byzantine generals, such as Vardas (co-emperor of Michael III), Vardanis Philippikos (emperor 711-713), Vardas Phokas (rebel 987-989) and Vardas Scleros (rebel 987), which are presented by some as being of Armenian origin, are also etymologically derived from the same synonyms. These generals came from the wider area of the (Greek from 800 BC (since 800 BC) “Pontus” and, in combination, from the “Themata” of Paphlagonia and the Armenians (or Cappadocia), which was contiguous with Armenia but not ethnologically identical to it, and they themselves, as their surnames indicate, were of Greek origin, as were the Byzantine emperors of the Komnenoi dynasty, who came from the same region. It should also be noted that the (entirely Greek) name “Phokas” does not derive etymologically from the “seals” (<vus + aspect, -opos = sea ox), but from the synthetic light + kaios, meaning “bright as light” The English word “focus”, meaning “focus of light”, is derived from the same synthetics
20.The name Axios is of course also Greek and is derived from the compound axos [future of the verb ago = to lead] and io [subjunctive of the verb είμι (ίημι) = to come] and means “a river that comes and leads the environment”.
21.The English word rich [= rich] is derived from the Greek word rex – ρηγός [= king], from which the well-known Greek name Rigas The word “rex” descended from the verb “rignymi” [=spazo >riksis, ρηξικέλευθος = he who goes ahead by paving the way], created also the word “ρηγίνα” and “ρήγισσα” [after yatrina and yatrissa], which in Latin gave the words “rex” and “regina” [=king and queen].
22.In the Gothic language these words evolved into rich (from which reich = king) and became synonyms of Western European names of the Middle Ages and modern times, such as the following
thanarich
<immortal + resx-rigos [=king] = immortal king {Athanaric or Atanaric
Alaricho
<alas-alos [=sea] = resix-rigos [=king] = king of the sea {Alarik, Alaricus
Alalaric
<ama [=at the same time] + alsa-alos [=sea]+ resx-rigos [=king] = he too is king of the sea (like his father Alaric
Vittericho
<biote [=living] + τηro + ρηξ-ρηγός [=king] = king who secures the goods of life {Witteric
Genserichos or Yzericho
<geneis [or beard = axe] + ρηξ-ρηγός [king] = king with axe, punisher {Genseric, Gaiseric or Geiseric
Woodericho
<Goderichos<transliteration of Theuderichos<god + awe + rigeus = god-fearing king {‘theod’ became ‘gud’, ‘gud’ and in English ‘god = god’ [Gunderic
Erasure
<ery- [=very, strong] + resx-rigos [=king] = strong king {precursive form of Erricus>Herricus, German Heinrich, French Henri, English Henry
Henry
<ery- [=very] + regus [<rix-regus = king] = first among kings > ger. Heinrich, Engl. Henr
{<Herricus
Henry
<eu [=good] + resx-rigos [=king] = good king {Euric or Evaric or Eurico, possible evolution to Henry >Heinric
Theodoric
<Theodoric [<God+gift] + resx-rigos [= king] = king with gifts given by God >Theodoric>Theuderich, Theodoric, French.Thierr
Roderic
<Rodon [>reddish color >pink] + king [<rix-regos = king] = king with red colors {Roderic, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish Rodrigo
Siguericho
<silence + riks-regus [=king] = king who inspires silence of respect (silence) {Sigeric
Frederick, Frederick
<ferτός-φέρteros-φέρtaatos [= strong, brave] + ρηξ-ρηγός [= king] = brave king {Friedrich, Frederic
Hunerijo
<houni [<houni = canyon] + resx-regus [=king] = king of the canyons {Huneric or Honeric
Reccaredo
<Revocard< rake [rhex-regus = king] + heart = that which is of a royal mind {Reccared or Recared>Richard, Spanish Ricardo
Richard
<Rigocard< rhegas [rhex-rhegos=king] + heart = one who has a royal mind >English Richar
Of these, of particular interest are the ancestral forms of modern names, which are very common in Western countries, such as
Erarichos>Henry, Reccardos>Richard >Richard, Frederick >Frederic, Roderick >Rodrigo and Theodorichos>Thierry (known especially from the French footballer ThierryHenry) Noteworthy are also the first synthetic forms of these names that are also Greek, such as athanatos, als-alos, biotis, genesis, eri-, eu-, eus, theos, sighe, fertos, heart, some of which are used in other European names, such as Sigbert (sighe+fertos) >Sigebert>Siegfried Note that the word “fertos” (ferteros, fertatos) here has the meaning of “carried (=supported) by god”, who is therefore powerful and excellent in all things Besides, the synthetic eri- (known in later times from the words “eritimos” and “erides”) is identical with the ari- and vri- from which a number of other well-known words are derived, such as Ares, arios, Arians (modern Iran), βρίθω, hubris, vrisia, Vrilissia, Vritomartis, Vriareos
It is strikingly remarkable that a significant number of basic English verbs have a Greek root And first the present tense suffix -ing is derived from the Greek compound en + earth [>engeos, proximal] meaning “here where we are” e.g. “being<βει en earth” = to happen here where we are This way of forming the suffix of the English present tense has a direct analogy with the use of the mora da in Greek, which means exactly earth (earth, gaias, δη >Demetra = mother earth), in expressions such as now da, not da, not is da and for flying clop where “da” means “truly”, “on the earth where we are”. The word “da, δη = earth” as indicative of a certain or obvious fact somewhere (given that the earth we tread on is the most certain element of our life) is also found in other words or expressions such as, Delos (=facilitated), declaration, davtos (<da+autos), demos, Damon (=man of demos), Damascus, damari (<damarion, diminutive of demos, torch)
24.The order of elementary English verbs with a Greek root is as follows
Becom
<be+come<be+como = go to be
First name
Begi
<be+gin<be+be+come = I am about to become
Begin
Blo
<blow = to inflame>blow
Blow
Brea
<bryo [=be strong <prefix bri- from bareo] + I [>exactly>act>act] = act with force to break a cat
Spaz
Brin
<periphery<bring+prox = bring short
Bring
Bur
oven <furnace
And
Cal
Cal
Cal
Catc
<catch
PIANE
Com
<como = come to help, take care
Come
cop
<con(<cone=hear)+poeo = make audible (=recognizable)>community
Copy
connec
common(>con) + have (>exec) >connect
Connect
correc
common(>con) + flow (>recorder)=pratt
correct
corrup
common(>con) + dirt (>rupto, =to stain) = to wear out all the masses
corrupt
Cu
<cut
Cut
defer
<do not bring [do not keep the original position
defer
di
defer {aparemph Δύειν = to sink, to disappear, to fade away {<uttaω<τύπτω = to bore, to wound
die
differ
<differ
differ
Di
<dig = pierce {<da+eat
Dig
D
<tho [=subjunctive aorist of tithing
Do
Dra
<draw = active
Draw, Draw
drin
<water + naktos [<nasso = fill] = fill water
Pin
Ea
<eat
Eat
empt
emptize = expel, empty
empty
endur
slave = wooden, hard
antech
Fal
<slip = topple (<slip
Peft
Fee
<food
Ref
Fee
<friend
Sensual name
Figh
<fighter = boxer
Fight, fight
finis
gray>famine>fene=dark # the end of the day
end
Fl
<Fly
I fly (with wings
forbid
<over + bide [=see, examine] = observe excessively
Forbid
forget (=forget
<uper + earth = to take exception = to go beyond
forget
Freez
<freeze = to shiver from cold
Peacock
generat
<generate
parg
Ge
<give – earth – eartho<gender<creator earth
Get
G
<ag
Go
Gro
<aging – aging = getting old, growing old
Grow
Hav
<have = have in me, swallow
Eh
Hur
<Hurt = curl up in a ball
Hurt, lyp
invest
<en + esthete (shortened word Festhete>vestis = garment
invest
Kno
<know<know {particular of know
Know
Lea
<leo [=lao] + agete [>anthe] >”leante”>”leant” = lead la
Song
Lear
<see + deny [=acquire] = acquire reason [=logical knowledge
Learn
Leav
<leave [<leave] + life = end my existence here
Leave
Le
<Let
Leave
Ligh
<lyki [=light>lux] + apto [=light up >”lyhapt” >”lyhpt
Lights
Los
<alosis = loss [>analosis
Han
lov
<liuve<live<live, ileos [=loving, meek {<friend}] + life = life with good mood, love {Liuva, gothic Liuba, liuve>love
agap
Mak
<make [=desire]+acos [=healing medium]>make
Make
Mea
<en + emi + noo = to perceive in moi
Mean
Mee
<participant
Meet
organiz
organize
organize
part (=separate, part
<parton [=what can be divided and taken from someone # lean
separate
pass
<pass>pass >passing>passing # pass, transmit
Pa
<pass = receive, buy
Pay
Phon
<voice, voice
phone
prove
<pro + bake = go before, try before I do something
try
Pu
<put <up [=on] + put
Vaz
Rea
<rea [=easily] + ado [=spread by speech
Read
Rid
<ride [=stand on, lean on something
Ride
Ru
<run> run
Run
Sen
<es + enclothe [=arrive, enter
Send
Shak
<see + hear [= tip, nose] = shake the limbs
Shake
Spen
<ex + invest = to invest money
Spend
Stan
<stand [<istemi (subjunctive) + antin [=up] >stand
Stekoma
Store
<storennym
store
Suppor
<sub+orth
support
Tak
<they [=this] + me [>go out>go down>go up] >take
Take
Teac
<take [<the [=who] + I [>take>take] = lead someone
Teach
Tea
<teo [<the [=who] + aro [<blood] = destroy someone
Schiz
Tel
<teo [<tis [=who] + lalo [=talk] = talk to someone
Digum
Thin
<thio {<dadao=teach] + noo + koeo [=listen] = learn with mind and ear
Think
Thro
<throeo [>throe, throne] = to throw out or to throw out
Throw
tur
turn (or toro or torneo) = turn
turn
Wak
<wake [=go] + wake [>go out>go out>go out] >wake [>wake
Wake
Wea
<bio + aro [<mult. of aro] = to take life, to wear away
Wear, wear
wil
will, will, will
will
willb
will will (happen)
will happen
Wi
<win [<vine] = to rub, eat, offend, insult, consume
Win, nick
25.We should add that elementary words that enable the German people to define themselves (apart from the well-known and obvious ones such as democracy, mathematics, music, theatre, measure, programme and many others) are of Greek origin, such as (to limit ourselves to those that apply to Germany)
Europe:< wide + ops, opos [<opazoμαι {=see}] = megalomania
Germany:< εγείρω [=raise, revolt] >revolt [=raise] >egermanos >germanos {= rebellious, because they were constantly causing riots
Austria:<dawn [=eastern] + regia [=basic {>regia with deletion of g as in say>see}] >Austria> Austria {>Ostria
Goths:<Geothoi<geothen [<geothen, gia, gea {from the earth}]+ thoi [θέω = to run] = swift in land marches
Franks:<Fraggos (diminutive -iskos) <Fereggios<φέρω + en +γη [>γαία, -γειος] = from the earth I derive power and authority, lord landowner
Celtic:<keli + have [>his] {<keli and kello = able riders of horses
Holland:< choli {=chloro green} + lande [<la{=lith, country = green country
Prussia:< pre + Russia [<rouse blush, o>u, d>s – I am reddish] = the country that is before Russia
Munich:<moniker [for the “single familiar” of Hercules, whose heraldic monument was there
Hamburg:<Hammopyrgos<hamae + tower = lower tower
Cologne:< column [there was a Greco-Roman colony there, characteristic for the columns of its temples
Leipzig:< Leipzig < Lipsoi < λείπω = no name
Bremen:< bremo (buzz, echo)
Rhine:< rheo + noo = river devoted to flow, flowing continuously
Danube:< dune + bios = river that gives life
Alps:< albus, from alphos (f,b>p) [alphos = sub-white
ABOUT THE UNIQUENESS OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE THEY SAID
Β “My greatest intellectual exercise was my service in ancient Greek.”
The great French writer Jacques Lacarrière had stated. “In Greek there is a vertigo of words, for it alone has explored, recorded and analysed the innermost processes of speech and language as no other language has done.
The great French enlightener Voltaire had said “May the Greek language become common to all peoples.
The French professor at the University of Sorbonne, Charles Fauriel, said “Greek is as homogeneous as German, but richer than it. It has the clarity of French, but it is more precise. It is more flexible than Italian and much more harmonious than Spanish. In other words, it has what it takes to be considered the most beautiful language in Europe.
Marianna McDonald, a professor at the University of California and head of the TLG, said “Knowledge of Greek is a necessary foundation of high cultural culture.
The blind American writer Helen Keller said. “If the violin is the most perfect musical instrument, then the Greek language is the violin of human contemplation.
John Goethe (Germany’s greatest poet, 1749-1832): “I heard at St. Peter’s in Rome the Gospel in all languages The Greek echoed like a star shining in the night.
Goethe’s dialogue with his students
-“Master, what shall we read to become wise like you?
-The Greek classics
-And when we finish the Greek classics, what shall we read?
-Again, the Greek classics.
Marcus Tillius Cicero (106-43 BC).
Humphrey Kitto (English professor at the University of Bristol, 1968): “It is in the nature of the Greek language to be clear, precise and complex. The ambiguity and lack of direct insight that sometimes characterizes English and German are completely alien to the Greek language.
Irina Kovaleva (Contemporary Russian professor at Lomonosov University, 1995).
H. Robins (Modern English linguist, professor at the University of London): “Of course it is not only in linguistics where the Greeks have been pioneers for Europe. It is not only in the field of languages that the Greeks are the only ones to be credited with the work of the Greek thinkers. Even today we return incessantly to the Greek heritage for stimulation and encouragement.
Frederic Sagrédo (Basque professor of linguistics – President of the Hellenic Academy of Basconia): “The Greek language is the best heritage available to man for the development of his brain. “The ancient Greek language is the best source of knowledge for the human brain, the most valuable asset of the human brain.”- “The ancient Greek language should become the second language of all Europeans, especially of cultured people. – “The Greek language is divine in essence.
Henry Schliemann (Famous amateur archaeologist, 1822-1890): “I have always passionately wished to learn Greek I had not done so because I feared that the deep fascination of this wonderful language would so absorb me that it would take me away from my other activities. (Slimane spoke 18 languages fluently For 2 years he did nothing but study Homer’s 2 epics
George Bernard Shaw (Great Irish playwright, 1856-1950): “If you don’t have the works of the ancient Greek writers in your home library, you are living in a house without light.
James Joyce (Famous Irish writer, 1882-1941): “I am almost afraid to touch the Odyssey, so oppressively unbearable is the beauty.
Ibn Khaldun (The greatest Arab historian): “Where is the literature of the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Egyptians All mankind has inherited the literature of the Greeks alone.
Will Durant (American historian and philosopher, professor at Columbia University): “Our alphabet came from Greece through Cymes and Rome. Our language is full of Greek words. Our science has forged an international language through Greek terms. Our grammar and rhetoric, even punctuation and paragraphing… are Greek inventions. Our literary genres are Greek – the lyric, the ode, the ode, the romance, the novel, the treatise, the address, the biography, the history and above all the vision. And almost all of these words are Greek.
Jacqueline de Romigny (Contemporary French academic and writer).
Bruno Snell (Distinguished Professor at the University of Hamburg).
Francesco Ligora (Contemporary Italian University Professor and President of the International Academy for the Promotion of Culture): “Greeks, be proud to speak the Greek language alive and mother of all other languages. Do not neglect it, since it is one of the few assets we have left and at the same time your passport to world civilization.
O. Vandruska (Professor of Linguistics at the University of Vienna).
Peter Jones (PhD – Professor at Oxford University who wrote a course in ancient Greek for the reading public, for publication in the Daily Telegraph) “The Greeks of Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries had reached such a point in language that they used it to explore ideas like democracy and the origins of the universe, concepts like the divine and law It is a wonderful and extraordinary language.
De Groot (Dutch professor of Homeric texts at the University of Montreal) “The Greek language has continuity and teaches you to be unconstrained and to have a glory, that is, an opinion In this language there is no orthodoxy So even if the educational system wants people who are law-abiding – in a mould – the spirit of the ancient texts and the language teaches you to be a leader.
Gilbert Murray (Oxford University Professor): “Greek is the most perfect language. It is often found that a thought can be expressed with ease and grace in Greek, while it becomes difficult and heavy in Latin, English, French or German. It is the most perfect language because it expresses the thoughts of perfect people.
Max Von Laye (Nobel Prize in Physics).
E, Norden (Great German philologist).
Martin Heidegger (German philosopher, one of the main representatives of 20th century existentialism): “The ancient Greek language is one of the models through which the spiritual forces of creative genius are projected, because in terms of the possibilities it offers for thinking, it is the most powerful and at the same time the most spiritual of all the languages of the world.
David Crystal (Renowned English professor, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of English).
Michael Ventris (the man who deciphered Linear Scripture II): “Ancient Greek was and is superior to all languages, ancient and modern.
R.H. Robins (Linguist and author). Their achievements in the field of linguistics where they were exceptionally strong, namely in the theory of grammar and in the grammatical description of language, are so powerful that they deserve to be studied and stand up to criticism They are also such as to inspire our gratitude and admiration.
Luis José Navarro (Vice-President of the EU’s Euroclassifica training programme) “The Greek language for me is like a cosmogony It is not just a language.
Juan Jose Puhana Arza (Basque Hellenist and politician): ‘We must declare that there has never been a language in the world that can be compared to Classical Greek.
D’Eichtal (French writer). It has all the characteristics of an international language, all the characteristics of an international civilization… which not only has not been alien to any of the great manifestations of the human spirit, in religion, politics, letters, arts, sciences, but has been the first tool – for the detection of all these – in a way the matrix… a language logical and euphonious among all others…
Theodore F. Brunner (Founder of the TLG and its director until 1997): “To anyone who wonders why so many millions of dollars have been spent on the hoarding of Greek words, we answer But it is the language of our ancestors and contact with them will improve our culture.
Jacques Lang (French Minister of Education). “I would like to see Ancient Greek taught in Greek schools with the same zeal as we do.

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